Earnings of (top) composers

Hiho everyone!

A few hours ago I've read an interesting news about incomings of video game composers and although the news itself is on German its source is an English-language website. Reading it you won't be informed about money only but also what different composers think what makes VGM so special.

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That seems pretty high, and most likely only possible for the hottest and most in-demand of FREELANCE composers..

As opposed to the vast majority of composers who are regular Company Employees and get paid the same salary as any other staff members working on game titles (programmers, character designers, etc..).

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Thanks for the link, Hamu! It was an interesting read, yet rather ignorant and generalizing. I mean, while some names might require a pay of "between $1,000 to $2,500 per minute of music" it's obviously not true for the vast majority.

Also, "brave new world of game scores"? Doesn't anyone check on these things =p

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WOW! I would love to know how much Nobuo Umatsu earns, he's awesome!

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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).

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by Arcubalis

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

<plays ignorant>What's that?</play> In my experience audio directors with the accordingly far-ranging power of decision are rather seldomly credited in Japanese games (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 those would earn more than the actual composer?

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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.

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Originally Posted by Taisai

I also assume Minoru Akao (one of the very earlier Square staff but finally left SQEX lately.

Oh, do you know if he has retired, or is working somewhere else? He's a real unsung vgm legend =)

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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.

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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. I mean, of course a young composer usually is worse paid than someone who had been at the company for longer and raised his ranks meanwhile. Konji Kondo and Mieko Ishikawa being paid more would be a given, the opposite is what would be surprising considering their decades of loyality. Hiroya Hatsushiba is actually the co-owner and head of tri-Crescendo, so I'd hope he earns more than one of his employees. Etc.

An interesting example would be Motoi Sakuraba and Michihiko Shichi in tri-Ace's case. Sakuraba is traditionally connected to tri-Ace and popular, but a freelancer. Shichi is tri-Ace's new sound director since when tri-Crescendo stopped doing the sound work for tri-Ace this gen, he's new but worked as composer and sound director at KOEI before. (The answer is likely a tie where Shichi earns less in the same time, but as an employee has a steady income per year while Sakuraba is paid per project and could (theoretically =P) end up with less.)

Edit: Oh damn, programmer Shuhei Rokumoto worked on Mad World? o.O

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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.

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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.

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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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