Composer fees

[Lostin Space]

Hi David - thank you for doing this. I have a question regarding composer fees.

It might be difficult for young/"up-and-coming" composers to discuss composer fees. One one hand the young composer really need to score some movies in order to get credit and experience. On the other hand; filmfolks often seem to deprioritize the music budget to a level that makes the composer feel he/she is selling the music for absolutely nothing. Keeping the balance between these two are sometimes nerve-wracking:)

What are your thoughts on this subject?

Thank you!

[David Newman]

When you are starting and get a film you NEVER SAY NO. Unless you have to put your own money in (and even then, depending on the movie, it's something you might consider) you NEVER SAY NO. Film scoring is not a linear career. You want to score a movie that is a financial or critical hit. It will completely change your life once you get one of those two options. You can only do that when you WORK. sorry, it sucks, but it's the way it works. and there is nothing about film composing that is NOT NERVE-WRACKING. It's part of the job.