Earnings of (top) composers

In the West, industry standard is 1k/minute. Top composers can get 1.5-2k/minute. Japan, it's usually a project based budget that depends on the amount of time it takes to write. Varies by the developer in that if you know they can afford more, you ask for more.

Salaried composers in Japan cap out at about 60k, audio directors don't make much more (~80k).

Jam it back in, in the dark.

You're right, I used audio director and sound director to mean the same thing, although their responsibilities are a bit different. Doesn't matter though, any "manager" role in audio doesn't break 100k. So I imagine Koji Kondo doesn't get nearly as much as he ought to get at Nintendo. No way of knowing though.

Getting 100k for 15-20 minutes of music doesn't sound likely, but who knows. Supposedly top freelance composers in Japan are familiar with the game's total budget and size, and are able to adjust their quote depending on that. Might be 10 minutes of music for game A and game B, but game B has a bigger budget, so the composer charges team B a whole lot more money.

There's nowhere I can't reach.