Earnings of (top) composers

Originally Posted by datschge

(sound directors focussed on the sfx sound design are more common, with more general music direction handle by the game's main director/producer or the composer himself), audio related staff beside the composer are mostly sound programmer, synthesizer operators and sound (effects) designers/editors. Who of thosewould earn more than the actual composer?

I wouldn't be surprised if Koji Kondo (the sound group leader of Nintendo) and Mieko Ishikawa (she is credited as the coordinator in later Falcom games, and according to a report on the shareholders' meeting, she does the sound direction) earn (much) more than composers, even if the staff credits don't explicitly confirm their directing role. I also assume Minoru Akao (one of the very earlier Square staff but finally left SQEX lately. Isn't it resonable to assume he earned lots than composers except for Uematsu?), Junko Ozawa (ex-the leader of Namco sound effects team), Kanako Kakino get paid more than youngers with composing roles. There could be more to list, given Japan's salary structure that worked against composers. I wish I also had fetishism in collecting staff credits to talk with you.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I heard of his departure one or two years ago, and regardless of whether it's the same person or not, I must add that sound programmer Minoru Akao is seen in Platinum Games's Mad World credit.

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Yoshinori Tsuchida becomes the leader of SQEX's sound section despite being the programmer of other areas in the past and I think he would get paid the big bucks. Also, Hiroya Hatsushiba is sometimes listed as the sound directer, and he might be an upper earner than the inhouse composer like Riei Saito (she was originally the sound effects staff though).

All that being said, if they earn more, it's pretty much because of their administrative positions, not just because of their sound directing roles.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by datschge

Taisai, in the most cases you mentioned have nothing to do with the difference of payment between a composer and a sound director but more with climbing the career ladder. o.O

That perfectly corresponds with my last statement ("All that being said, if they earn more, it's pretty much because of their administrative positions, not just because of their sound directing roles.")

The problem is, how to differentiate doing the sound direction from becoming an elder member and achieving an administrative role in the company is not so clear, at least in Japan's conservative system where one has to stop composing music and have a managerial post to earn more. I don't think there are many cases where somebody newly employed, without career or ranks, directs the sound production and leads the elder employees, but that again, I'm a cry far from expert.

It's sometimes said a freelance composer gains 100k JPY (=10.5k USD) for composing 15-20 tracks (an average number of the tracks an action/racing game has), so I don't think today's many prominent freelance composers left their own companies for the sake of money.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

By '15-20', I mean the number, not the length, of the total tracks (and mixing or implementing process is also included). I was told so by one game developer, and if I remember correctly, this sum wasn't so far from what Nobuyoshi Sano revealed in the closed website. I think it's uncommon a composer gets paid per a minute (but who knows? Miki Higashino, when a part time worker, got paid per bar and she used 2/4 instead of 4/4 )

You know conditions of a contract vary greatly in each case though, so please take it just as a reference.

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