What to quote for a job

[roughly]

Hi gang,I have a question about what to charge for licensing some music. Hopefully someone will be able to give me somewhat of an idea, we're totally lost about a starting point to quote and don't want to over or under bid.It's for an interactive type of arcade game. Something that would be at a Family Fun Center type of place though it's more than just an arcade game, more of a 2-5 minute full body interactive experience where the music really will make it more exciting. They are interested in about 3 of our songs we have already written but we don't know how much to charge. It would be non-exclusive. Anybody have any experience with billing for arcade games?I haven't been on this board for a while and have a lot of catching up to do it seems. Looks like you have all been busy. Thanks for any info.-Theresa

[zircon]

Well, I would say you should try to figure out how many people will be using this game/interactive experience. Are we talking like a handful of people a day, or more like a few hundred? Is it going to be at multiple locations, or just one? How much revenue is it going to be bringing in? At least get ballparks here, because you gotta know this kind of stuff before you figure out a price.If this is a project that a bunch of hobbyists are putting together for a local arcade, that's going to be much different than if it's the next Dance Dance Revolution.

[andreh]

Is this a high-profile company with a track record and, more importantly, a budget? If so, then you should be able to negotiate between $500-3000 per track.If there are other artists' songs being licensed under an MFV agreement ("Most Favored Nations," meaning everyone gets the same amount of money for their tracks), then the fee is not negotiable.If this company is clueless about the value of music, then try to find out what kind of budget they have, and be sure to let them know that you SHOULD get ~$2k per track even if you agree to take less...that way next time around they'll have their expectations set.As a point of reference, custom music in the game industry typically brings in 1-1.5k per minute of produced music (unless there's an orchestra involved; then you can at least double that figure).Andre

[matto]

Theresa,I don't have any experience in the Arcade world but I agree with zircon and andreh that you'll want to find out as much as possible about the project and company...because what's "fair" depends to a large degree on what their budget is.A lot of times you can find out a great deal of detail from companies by appearing very enthusiastic about the project in question ("WOW...this is REALLY cool...tell me more!!") Another thing to keep in mind is that if the budget is really low, you might be able to negotiate some kind of step deal.

[roughly]

Thanks so much guys for all the input. Andre, thanks for the numbers and Zircon and matto, thanks for what to ask about. It is a small startup company so I think they will be clueless about the value of music. There's definitely a chance to do much more business with them so I think I will start on the lower end with the ability to step up (and let them know up front that they are getting a good deal to start). It will be something that will have probably a few hundred people through a day but most likely only at one location. Thanks so much guys! What you all said really helped.-Theresa