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Hi!
I'm hired to do a 2-3 minute long cue for a commercial.
They want to buy the song and not pay royalties.

Does anyone know a fair price?

Thanks!

I don't but you could ring a few ad agencies in your area and get an idea of what they would pay for such a cue.

Did a little net digging and found this orest
http://www.waterfall440.com/rts202.html
hope it gets you in the ballpark

I did a couple of 60 second spots for a regional bank, and a spot for an Acura dealership. I was cheap, and was low-balling to get the work, but they each cost between $500-1000. I charged based on the studio time ($35/hour) and the session singer ($100).

I have no doubt I undercharged, but there ya go!

Cheers, Eliot.

I don't have a clue, but I know of a local company that has been using the same theme song for over 40years for their tv and radio commercials. If they are looking for a theme song, my guess is that's far more valuable than a campaign. Congratulations and good luck!

I usually get about $1,500-$2,000 for a commercial. Both regional and national commercials seem to be in that ball park. But I've seen them go for up to $5,000. It really depends on a lot of things. Those are rates through a music house btw, if you were working directly with an ad agency you could probably get higher fees. But again it would depend... the budget, the market, and how bad they want your track all come in to play.

I'd see what their budget was but I would probably want at least $1,000. Royalties on commercials seem to be pretty lame btw. I'm sure that if you get a really big commercial or a theme/jingle type of thing then it might pay decent royalties. But from what I've seen, your typical commercial that you see for a few weeks during the summer or even for a few months really doesn't pay much in the way of royalties. Not in the US anyways. So whether or not you will be getting any kind of royalties, I would negotiate as high of a fee as possible because that buyout fee is pretty much all you will get.

HTH,
Steve

orest wrote:Hi!
I'm hired to do a 2-3 minute long cue for a commercial.
They want to buy the song and not pay royalties.

Does anyone know a fair price?

Thanks!

Ask them what they normally pay, or what their budget is first. The above posts have the ballpark in the $1000-$5000 US range.

What Steve (slideboardouts) said, but the biggest determining factor is 'market'. Try to find out who did their last two-minute commercial score,(way too long to be considered a jingle) or speak with other composers who serve that market. And yes, even a so-called "buyout" is subject to royalties; if it's long enough and repeated enough it can generate royalties, but most of the money will be made up front, so try not to be too shy about the fee.

There are a lot of variables when writing music for commercials: how big is the client, in which market will it air, how well-known are you and if you have any major credits, etc. If you're new at this, you might consider taking whatever is offered just to get a credit and a foot in the door. That was advice from Music Supervisor Ashley Miller to us.

From our experience, we had a song in a Disney film earlier this year. It didn't pay a lot, but a few weeks ago a friend told us she knows a famous songwriter who offered Disney the use of his song for FREE just to get a credit in one of their movies! This placement opened a lot of doors for us, so it was well worth it. We've had our music in nationwide PSAs (public service announcements) and a couple of commercials worldwide for free or at lower rates just to get a start. So, go for it!

Also, you might get some back-end (writer's share), even though you stated the company doesn't want to pay "royalties." Sometimes, again depending on the situation, it's not up to them to decide. Be sure to contact your PRO rep (if you're with ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, etc.) to find out more information. Good luck!

~ T&V Marino

This is an internal commercial movie intended for the existing clients.
They will get a USB memory, plug it into their computer and watch it.
So, it won't be great money, but I'll do it anyway. I need all the promotion
I can get. This is also the first time I do anything in my own country.

Another question about buyout. Are there any time limits?
Or do I compose it and they can use it forever?