Musician

[Jake]

I need a song for Hydrothermal. I am willing to pay for it, post your price you are requesting. Here are the requirements

1. 4+ minutes long, it will get repetitive if any shorter, I would actually like something longer or two songs
2. Done within two weeks
3. Has to be relaxing and good for a sim city type of game

Also, if you can find a good free piece for me I will pay you too.

[Jake]

Hold up on replies for now, I have been contacted twice and am emailing both musicians back (I don't mind two songs :)).

[Achenar]

damn, I need to check this boards more often :p

[Jake]

Update : The person who wrote the song is not replying to any emails and is a week late. I will pay $30.00 for the first song that I get that is satisfactory.

[Indicator]

Jake -

I think there are a few folks on here that might be interested, but by saying "...for the first song I get.." as a composer I'm disinclined to write anything. How do I know that I'll be "satisfactory"? How do I know how many people are in line to compose music for this?

I've seen your site and your work looks quite good - but you need to treat your potential contributors as professionals as well. If I were to contribute to this game - and I think I could likely meet your requirements - I would want direct communication from you that I was the one being contracted, specific requirements for the song, milestones, etc. Composers already have a rough time getting respect in the industry - and being treated like we're a commodity isn't going to draw good talent to your game.

Given that you're looking at possibly doing this game as shareware, you may want to consider revoking the $30 offer for a 4 minute song and instead offering royalties and/or in-game credit. My belief is that at that price an amateur musician would rather work pro-bono. And a professional would laugh and tell you that $30 will get you about 15-20 seconds of music. Given that any composer worth his salt will easily spend 1-3 hours per minute of music, you're looking at what could easily be less than minimum wage. So while the offer is a nice one, I think your $30 is better spent elsewhere - royalties and in-game credit would be a more attractive offer for a potential composer.

Again - this is only constructive feedback. I appreciate what you're trying to do and I want to help support that by giving you some advice from someone who would possibly be willing to help out...

[Jake]

Thanks for the response Indicator -

Your right. Its just that the last musician I hired sounded great and we got everything worked out, and he is now ignoring my emails with a late song. And I have always had trouble getting music to my previous games.

But your right - I guess my impatience and frustration wrote that last message. I have had a game ready to go for 3 weeks now and have just been waiting on music.

What do you guys think about this, Shivers wrote it, its good quality but idk if it fits a sim city type game perfect.

http://nuclearnova.com/temp/JazzForAraby.mid

[blobbo]

Jake: I'm not terribly impressed. It's a bit boring, and not terribly catchy.

[Indicator]

Jake -

How are you delivering the audio? Is a MID the only method or do you have the option of higher quality audio files (OGG, MP3, WAV, AIF, etc.)? While Shivers' tune is interesting and has some nice jazzy hints to it, as a gamer, I'm not sure that I'd be willing to sit and listen to it (repeating) for 4+ minutes. And the fact that it is a GM (general MIDI) file means that the instrumentation isn't really all that great to begin with.

I would almost think that something more simple and ambient would suit your game better. This tune might work if it were a more traditional SIM, but after all you're working with Hydrothermal Power here! ;)

If you can post some more details about what exactly you're looking for, I'll see if I can fit this into my schedule. Check out my demos to see if you might be interested in my stuff (see link to my site below).

[Taxxodium]

Hi,

I could help you in making music. I did most of the jingles for the uDevGames 2004 contest. Although I'm more into electronic music, I can also make some classical sounding music.

I'm currently busy with putting some tracks on my site, but here is a sneak peek:

Eutan-Asia (http://jesus.edot-studios.com/unborn/music/Eutan-Asia.mp3)
Inside The Forest (http://jesus.edot-studios.com/unborn/music/InsideTheForest.mp3)
Raw (http://jesus.edot-studios.com/unborn/music/Raw.mp3) (experiment)

Let me know what you think.

[Jake]

I am open to other things than midi, I just like it because it keeps the size down. I wouldn't mind using a 64kbps AAC or something. Do 95% of users have the ability to play AAC files yet?

Taxxodium - I LOVE your music. Where can I buy your CD? I am listening to all 3 songs now - would you consider allowing me to use one of those songs? So far I have only listened to Inside the Forest, and it seams perfect (haven't tried the other two yet)

[Taxxodium]

Unfortunatly you can't "buy" any of my music yet. However, I have an account with Kagi so if you'd like to make some donations, you can do it here (http://order.kagi.com/cgi-bin/store.cgi?storeID=33D&&).

If you want some particular style or melody, just ask. I have experience in making songs on demand.

[Jake]

So that is a no to using Inside The Forest in my game? If you don't want me to use that can you make another some similar to that, I like the way it sounds and I think it sets the right mood for the game (and I am normally picky about songs).

[Achenar]

Hi there Jake,

I'm also a musician and I think I could help you. I posted a thread where you can listen to some stuff I've made. Here it is: http://www.idevgames.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8889

If you want, I could try my hand with a track for your game. I'd just need an explanation of the game, a small demo to get the feel of it (or at least screenshots) and your ideas on what kind of music you'll want to have in it.

Cheers

[Taxxodium]

I didn't say no. You are allowed to use the song if you wish. But before you do that I would like to discuss the rights you get.

I'm not gonna write the rights here. If you choose to use my music send me an email (you can do this via this website by clicking on my name above the avatar I believe).

[Jake]

It says you have chosen not to receive emails at this forum, can you just send me a blank email to my address (in sig) so I can email you from Eudora?

Indicator and Achenar - Thanks for the offer, but Taxxodium has the perfect song already done.

[Indicator]

No problem, Jake. Keep the constructive criticism in mind for future projects, though - chances are this isn't the last time you'll be looking for music for your games, and the more you know, the better. :)

As for the rest of us, there are plenty of fish in the sea... ;)