Music supervisor asking for demo fee

[phustedt1]

Hello TAXI forums!

New TAXI member and first time poster.

I am a music composer and was just contacted by a music supervisor looking to pitch my stuff out and was asking for a demo fee/demo turn around time as a composer for hire.

It seems this is for making demos for clients to see if they are interested.

What do you think an appropriate fee would be for a new composer looking to get in but not look too greedy or too desperate?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks!

[andygabrys]

Hello TAXI forums!

New TAXI member and first time poster.

I am a music composer and was just contacted by a music supervisor looking to pitch my stuff out and was asking for a demo fee/demo turn around time as a composer for hire.

It seems this is for making demos for clients to see if they are interested.

What do you think an appropriate fee would be for a new composer looking to get in but not look too greedy or too desperate?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks!

In my experience in commercial music houses both as an intern and then a free-lancer after that:

for a piece you usually would expect +/- $250.

That is totally variable depending on:

Whether or not the client is offering demo fees in the first place (it never hurts to ask)
Your standing as a composer (if working for a company, they might give more senior writers demo fees and you starting out nothing)
etc.
etc.
etc.

But like I said, that was for commercials, and that was working for entities that had direct client contact. When it comes to TV show placements etc. (which is general I think you can say have lower budgets that commercials - which are sometimes very high budget affairs) - I don't know.

Turn around time is up to you and your skills - usually for commercial stuff its within the day asked but depends.

P.S. - when you are getting money for demos, its usually assumed that they are pitched and then you get the music back and own 100% of the rights to it (i.e. your entity giving you the demo fees doesn't retain it) but you would do well to clarify that with the music supervisor. Sure its cool to look experienced and hip by not asking newbie questions, but its also a drag to do something expecting a certain result and end up with another.

Hope that helps.

[janbaars]

I don't really understand.

Do you mean that the supervisor would hire you to make tracks that they then would pitch to other supervisors?

[phustedt1]

Thanks for the great info andygabrys.

I sent a clarification email to the supervisor and it looks like what they are looking for is a demo they would pitch to clients (corporate/advertisers, etc) . If the client accepts, then the deal varies by what the client is looking for. Sometimes they offer buyout or licensing, but the dealmaking starts there and the copyright is yours until then.

It seems like +-$250 seems fair and the advice about having a turnaround time within the day is very helpful.

Thanks for the info!

[burpo]

Cool thread.

[DesireInspires]

So you have to pay $250?

[remmet]

I was also confused by the question. Is this person asking to be paid to pitch your music? Or is he asking how much money you would want in order to produce a demo that he could pitch? Or is it something else?

If the person wants money for pitching your music, I'd be very wary. After all, music libraries will pitch your music without you paying any upfront costs. A few of the better libraries may even pay YOU to sign over a piece of music to them. The library generally gets paid the same way you generally get paid -- through a performance rights organization like ASCAP or BMI, based on the broadcast usage your music gets. In addition, if there are any direct licensing fees paid by the end user, the library (publisher) usually splits it with the composer.

On the other hand, if the person is willing to pay you a demo fee to produce a cue that he can pitch, that would be, in my experience, fairly unusual. But if that is the case, what happens after a successful pitch - who gets what? And how long will the person have the right to pitch your music, and will you be allowed to pitch it on your own (or through other 3rd parties) during this time?

Richard

[andygabrys]

Just for the record:

I am saying that the composer would get $250. That is reasonable and normal in the commercial world.

If the music supervisor is asking you to pay money to pitch that seems a little strange as music supervisors already get paid by whatever production they are working on.