How Do I Contact A Composer?
Check out my previous article for different ways you can find a composer online…
It can be quite intimidating contacting a composer. This may be because you don’t know much about their field of work or how to communicate effectively with them. In this article I’ll show you how to best contact a composer and what content to include to make both of your jobs easier!
The First Email
Subject
Something along the lines of ‘Music For My Game’ or ‘Music for
<Game Name>’ is perfect.
Content
Try to be as descriptive as possible. It doesn’t matter if you don’t use musical terms it’s part of a composers job to interpret what the client wants and they will appreciate every extra detail.
Here is a general list of things to include in the email:
- Compliment the composer on his/her work.
- Introduce your company.
- Working name of the game.
- Genre(s) - RPG, Casual Clicker, Shooter…
- Platform(s) - Windows, Android…
- General description of the style you want - orchestral, electronic, retro…
- Description of project size - e.g. 7 looping tracks of about 3 minutes in length.
- Time frame - when will you need the music completed by?
- (Optional but the composer will probably ask for this eventually)
2–3 references to other songs which you think is similar to what you’re looking for. Also include what you like about them. It’s okay if you only like parts of the song such as the way the melody/tune sounds, the instruments used or the vibe! - What game engine you’re using - Unity, Godot, custom…
- Do you want interactive elements such as layers or sections that can be moved around while the game is being played.
- See Compensation section below ↓
- A thank you!
Compensation
The compensation side of things can be awkward to discuss but it is incredibly important that you discuss this before ANY work has begun to ensure that it runs smoothly and save you both time! I can’t stress this enough.
Composers need to earn a living too and they won’t be very happy being asked to work for free or for |despised term of every creative| “exposure” UNLESS they are just beginning their career and have little to no credits. Take note that if you’re going to earn money from your project that you should then either pay your workers or give them a share in the profits. Otherwise it simply is not fair :)
Generally the easiest way to talk about it is to either ask ‘what is your rate?’ or state your budget for sound and they will let you know if it is possible.
Composers rates can vary dramatically from $10-$1000+ per minute of music depending on many factors including the quality of music, experience and location. You will get what you pay for and a $100 per minute composer will deliver many orders of magnitude better music than a $10 per minute composer.
Next Steps
The composer will dictate this; either they are interested or they may be too busy to accept your work. If they are interested they will ask for more info and you will have your music in no time at all. Good luck!
In case you missed it my previous article is about different ways you can find a composer online…