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Basil Poledouris tests the mixes for Starship Troopers in his studio.

N

ot many film music fans, even those who own hundreds of soundtrack albums, know the inside workings of the film music industry. A long time ago, composers worked for a single studio... producing 10 to 12 scores a year --netting a steady, although usually insignificant income-- for that studio, including genres of films that often ranged from musical comedies to suspenseful westerns. These days, though, the industry is more complex. Loyalties are divided, relationships are rocky, and the fate of a composer can twist at any time. Composers and their versatile agents, in the process of adapting to this new system of contracts, have to be saavy accountants as well... for the system of fees, royalties, and payments involved in the film music industry of the late 20th century is far more complicated than most people would believe.

The great monetary success this year of James Horner's Titanic has brought this issue to the forefront. Rumours have spread involving the vast (and I mean vast) amount of monies that Horner has earned for that score alone, and many fans have raised the issue of composer contracts and earnings in general. How much money do composers make? What do they charge for? What happens if a score is rejected? What are the legal implications of a scoring assignment? These questions could be answered with hundreds of pages of supporting materials, however, I hope this condensed Theme of the Month satisfies your curiosity in this intriguing and sometimes mysterious field of study.

The Contract

A director or producer of a film may contact the agent of the composer and express interest in his/her services, or if a previous relationship has been established, the composer may be contacted directly. Sometimes, a composer catches a glimpse of a film in an early or mid-production stage and requests that his/her agent negotiate a deal with the studio. Once in contact, the agents of the studio and composer can sign a standard or non-standard deal. Although most deals are standard (uniform throughout the industry), negotiable non-standard deals can be arranged depening on such outstanding factors as: 1) the size of the music budget for film, 2) the influence and experience of the composer's agent, and 3) the recent and long-standing success of the composer. The contract itself often consists of these key elements:

• Services Performed by the Composer:
  

  This outlines exactly what the composer shall undertake and lay out the order and extent to which each step should be managed. In most cases, the composer will be hired to do the following: compose the underscore as according to the cue sheet of the director/producer, compose (if necessary) an accompanying song, arrange and orchestrate the music, conduct a specified ensemble or orchestra, arrange for the performance to be recorded, supervise and edit the master recordings, consult with the producers/director of the film, and provide a finished, mixed product to the movie studio by the given deadline.
  

  
  

• Time Allotment for Completion:
  

  A composer is usually allowed between 4 and 9 weeks to complete his/her end of the deal, often depending on the amount of music needed for a film (which can range from 20 minutes to 2 hours). The size of the performing group also is a factor. Whereas the Media Venture composers, led by Hans Zimmer, are limited sometimes to ten artists or less, other scores require a large orchestra, such as the London Symphony Orchestra, and therefore the entire process takes longer. Most composers enter into the production process as filming is being wrapped up, however occasionally, a composer can be involved from the very start of pre-production. This occured with Patrick Doyle and Ken Branagh, who were already friends long before Branagh began production on Doyle's first score, Henry V. Doyle composed "Non nobis, Domine" in pre-production and shooting, and it was played over loudspeakers during the actual filming of the scene.
  

  The nightmare of any composer is an assignment for a film that is hopelessly behind schedule or over-budget. Occasionally, when a composer's work is rejected at the last minute, a new composer can be expected to produce a replacement in just three weeks. This was the situation facing Jerry Goldsmith when trying to complete Air Force One in 1997, and he enlisted the help of Joel McNeely to assist in getting the score done. These types of disasters occur mostly during early summer and December, when the studios are rearranging the release dates of pictures for profitability reasons. Goldsmith, however, is the master of handling these scheduling nightmares.
  

  As far as the specific designation in the contract is concerned, the studio and composer agent can agree on one of two possible deadlines: 1) they can insert a clause stating that a composer should complete his/her duties in the most prudent fashion in relation to the post-production schedule of the film. Or 2) they can assign the composer a given amount of time, such as 8 weeks, during which the composer must complete his/her duties. Both designations can include a fixed starting date. Composers usually prefer the fixed deadline, as it gives them a time bracket by which they can pace themselves. The contract should also specify what type of compensation the composer will receive if the producers of the film ask for more music over a longer period than expected. In these cases, a weekly sum of $15,000, for instance, might be promised for additional work beyond the specified end date.
  

  
  

• The Composer's Production Fees:
  

  The amount of money required to add music to a film varies greatly, with almost a dozen factors weighing heavily on the final sum. Most importantly, the past success of the composer is the #1 factor. The services of James Horner will be far more expensive than those of Cliff Eidelman. If the composer had recently won a major award, such as an Academy Award, Grammy, or Golden Globe, his/her services will be more expensive. The budget of the film is also important. The Lost World: Jurassic Park will obviously allow more monies to be designated for the music than A Fish Called Wanda. The prestige of the studio is also a factor; 20th Century Fox will allow for a more expensive score than Miramax. The size of the orchestra can also dramatically effect the musical budget. The London Symphony Orchestra will cost more than the typical group of musicians in Los Angeles. If a film is using pre-existing songs from original masters, royalty fees must be paid to the composer or estate that owns the copyright of the song (same applies to the use of another score-- for example, the use of Zimmer's Broken Arrow by the producers of the Scream films will bring in some income for Zimmer).
  

  Also, the composer can be paid seperately, or his payment can include the costs of the entire scoring process. Occasionally, an experienced agent can negotiate a better price for the composer he represents. The overall total of a professional composer's fee ranges from $20,000 to $400,000, depending on the above factors. Danny Elfman has been known to do very cheap scores for his friends and relatives, while John Williams and James Horner net incomes of hundreds of thousands for even their smaller efforts.
  

  The payments to the composer can also be divided up, depending on the terms of the contract. Say, for instance, Jerry Goldsmith has a $180,000 contract for a film such as L.A. Confidential. He could receive $30,000 up front just to get the process started, and provides for the time when he is meeting with the director and producers of the film to discuss strategies. If a composer's reputation is outstanding, this initial sum can be much greater. Then he could receive $100,000 for the actual recording process, during which the monies would be used for Arthur Morton and Alexander Courage (the orchestrators), the orchestra contractor, copyists, mixing artists, and, of course, the musicians. Then, for his troubles, he receives the remaining $50,000 upon handing over the finished masters, and he can use that money to cover any remaining costs or pocket it and walk home. The payment could also be divided in two lump sums, one at the start and one at the finish of the scoring process.
  

  The composer has the option of including all the technical fees in his contract, or have them negotiated separately. The process of actually recording a score, as described briefly, can often run between $75,000 and $100,000. If the score requires a popular artist, such as Itzhak Perlman for Schindler's List, or a massive choral ensemble, such as the Harlem Boys Choir for Glory, the costs (when combined with a 90-piece orchestra) can be frightening! The contracts that include all these costs are not usual for the major composers; they are paid specifically for their "composing and conducting" services and all the extra costs are explicitely specified in the contract. Young composers who are trying to break into the field often take the "entire package" deals, as it allows them to spend most, if not all, of their fees on the actual scoring process. Even if they walk home with only a few thousand dollars (or even sometimes lose money), they end up with an impressive score to place on their resume and promotional items.
  

  The orchestrators are, many times, paid in a separate clause in the contract. It's the oddball cost of the entire process; The number of musicians the orchestrator has to copy and prepare for often changes by the whim of the producers. Costs of orchestrating a score can range from $5,000 for a small effort to $12,000 for a large project. If the composer is also the orchestrator, then this fee will likely be included with the composing and conducting costs.
  

  Overall, in summary, the fees of the composer often look like this: *
  

  Student or apprentice assignments (solo performance or band): $5,000 to $10,000 Low-budget films (small ensemble/electronic score): $20,000 to $30,000 Small or medium-sized films, independent or major studios (small orchestra/complex electronics with solo artists): $60,000 to $100,000 Large, international films (regular orchestra, perhaps with small choir or solo artist): $120,000 to $250,000 Blockbusters by major studios (full orchestra, full choir, and solo artists): $300,000 to $400,000

  * These fees vary, of course, on all the factors listed in the previous section.
  

  
  

• Recognition for the Composer:
  

  In the 1990s, practically all composers are given a "Music composed (and conducted) by..." in the main credits of the film, whether at the beginning or end of the film. Occasionally, the composer can also negotiate to have the performing orchestra included in the credits, as was the case with the LSO and the Star Wars films. Some of the better-known composers can negotiate to have their names included in printed advertisements or the credits at the end of television trailers. Goldsmith, Williams, Horner, and Barry are composers with commercial success who almost always appear in these advertisements. On a rare occasion, a composer can be specifically mentioned in a theatrical trailer along with the actors and director, as was the case with Hook (if you recall, Williams wrote music specifically for that trailer as well). The "name and likeness" clause in the composer's contract gives the producers of the film the right to display and advertise the name and biographical info of the composer at their own discretion. Once again, the powerful composers often have a say in what biography (and the wording thereof) is used by the producers.
  

  
  

• Project Exclusivity:
  

  Most contracts state that a composer must devote all of his scoring time to the designated project or studio for the duration of the collaboration. This would mean the composer would not be allow to moonlight for another film or compose works on the side for any other medium. Sometimes, this clause is not included, allowing the composer to bartend at a local saloon after 10pm if he so chooses, or even compose a score for another film if the current score under contract is delayed because the film as a whole goes horribly wrong and is postponed. Jerry Goldsmith is the master at juggling assignments, sometimes engaging in three contracts at once and successfully completely all of them to the producers' liking.
  

• Extra Composer Expenses Covered by the Studio:
  

  If, for instance, Rachel Portman, a British composer who composes at home, needs to assist her conducter for some reason in Los Angeles, the studio will provide her with a clause in the contract that effectively covers her traveling costs. This "transportation and expenses" clause will cover all hotel, airline, food, and telephone/telecommunication costs. They often allow for the composer to travel very comfortably, with first class airline tickets and even (sometimes) an allowance for the spouse of the composer. The monetary amount of these typically add up to $1,000 to $1,500 a week.
  

  
  

• Final Ownership of the Copyright:
  

  Interestingly, the composer himself does not usually end up owning the copyrights to the music he has composed for a film. Most composers sign a grant-of-rights provision in the contract that hands all ownership of the music over to the producers of the film; in most contracts, this is required. The producer, therefore, has the right to edit, sell for CD publication, negotiate re-use licenses, mutilate, or otherwise do as he pleases with the score once the masters are in his hands. The composer still receives the royalties that a songwriter would be entitled to for the use of the music elsewhere (such as television advertisements --Horner's Glory used by the teachers' unions, Goldsmith's Air Force One used during the 1998 Major League Baseball Playoff telecasts, and Barry's Dances With Wolves used by the United Way). Sometimes, the composer can become very angry at a producer for severely editing the composition, or combining it with another composer's works, without ever even notifying the composer. This, of course, is how fall-outs happen betwen composers and producers/directors who were once good friends.
  

  
  

• Rejected, Mutilated, and Lost Scores:
  

  This is a controversial and volatile subject. Once the composer hands the masters over to the producer (and thus, the copyrights), the producer can do ANYTHING he wishes with those masters. He has NO obligation by contract to use the score in the film, promote it, release it on CD, or even release the entire film! The producer can reject the score for any reason he chooses. He can take it and throw it off a cliff without punishment. He can, however, request (force) the composer to alter or revise the score prior to acceptance. If the composer did not adequately consult the producers of the film, and thus made an error, or produced masters of inferior (unusable) quality, then the composer must pay the additional expenses of rectifying the problem. If the producer just decides that he doesn't like the music, or a director's cut requires a few more minutes of music or a different arrangement (which is what typically happens), then the producers pay the composer the amount necessary to make the chances and compensates him/her for the time. For John Ottman, this must be a unique experience, since he has both scored and edited the same projects in the past (such as The Usual Suspects).
  

  Not very often does a producer find the score so hideous that he completely rejects it; this situation is usually avoided in the composer selection process in pre-production. When this unfortunate situation does occur, the producer often allows the composer a few weeks to change the existing work, or even write an entirely new score. Understandably, this drives composers absolutely crazy, causing them to become irritable, frustrated, and completely cranky. In some extreme cases, the producer downright fires the composer, and hires a new one to take his/her place. This is the ultimate show of disrespect for a composer, and often causes an enormous amount of resentment since the situation will undoubtedly tarnish the reputation of any composer. Most composers will do anything possible to avoid being fired, even if it involves altering the score to a verison that the composer himself does not like... just to accomodate the desires of the producers and thus have the score used in the film (with credit to him/her, of course).
  

  Sometimes, replacing a composer in the last minute can be a disaster as well. When the producers of Last Man Standing rejected Elmer Bernstein's score, they hired pop artist Ry Cooder, who provided them with an even worse score! In a rare show of respect, however, the producers allowed Varese Sarabande to release Bernstein's score on CD. Other times, the last minute change requests and fundamental differences of opinion between the producers, directors, and composers can cause the composer to purposefully write poor music. This is rumoured to be true of the much-troubled post-production relationship between the producers of Jade and James Horner.
  

  In any case, even if the score is rejected and burned by the producers of any film, the composer has completed his contractual obligations and will be paid in full!
  

  
  

Total Income for the Composer:

In the table below, you will find the major sources of income for a top-ten composer who has scored an average Hollywood score with a medium to large-sized orchestra. The composer can continue to receive income in royalties many years after the score first appears in American theaters. A breakdown of this income can look like this:


$165,000	Original composing and conducting fee (as described above), including U.S. theatrical royalties.
$150,000	First year of foreign theatrical royalties and other performance royalties (such as concerts and radio) outside the United States.
$60,000	Foreign theatrical royalties after the first year.
$250,000	First year of foreign, cable, network, and local television royalties (for showings of multiple films with music by the composer on the televised medium), divided as such:
	$25,000	Cable
	$40,000	Networks
	$15,000	Local
	$170,000	Foreign
$450,000	Television royalties after the first year (sometimes spanning over five years), including commercial and trailer use.
$40,000	royalties from the soundtrack CD release, averaging 12 tracks, 50 minutes of music, and 100,000 units sold world-wide.
$9,000	Promotional guest appearances and lectures.
Total Income:
$1,124,000	All royalties include earnings over a five-year span for multiple scores in circulation, assuming that a composer scores two to five films a year. All totals are net income, without factoring taxes. Significant amounts of these totals translate directly into the equipment and other scoring necessities of the composer (for future projects).





These totals are an example of a busy, popular composer's earnings. Other well-known, but not massively successful composers will often make a total of around $400,000 for any singular film score in its first year. So if the composer does only one score a year, this would be his salary. Someone like John Williams, who has done only about 25 scores since 1985, charges a much higher rate for his services, and therefore can live comfortably by composing only one or two scores a year. On the other hand, a composer like Jerry Goldsmith, with his tendancy to score a wider variety of smaller films, charges less for his services... however Goldsmith might earn the same as Williams in any given year because he scores up to six projects a year.


If a composer scores a major blockbuster hit, and the album sales of the score soar (also causing performing royalties to soar), then he can hit the jackpot quickly. This has happened notably twice in the 1990s, first with John Barry's incredibly popular score to Dances With Wolves in 1990-1991, and then, of course, with James Horner's Titanic in 1997-1998. Although secure figures have not been released as of yet, Horner could make over $50 million off of Titanic after the song royalties are also figured (not to mention the possibility of reviving a concert tour kicked off after the huge album sales). Even for a regular composer, though, the completion of two accepted scores a year allows him or her to live a comfortable life and afford the scoring equipment necessary to thrive in the industry today.

Notes about this report: Most of the figures and descriptions that appear here were the result of lengthy investigations on my part. The two main sources of information were the two major United States performing rights agencies for composers: BMI and ASCAP. Other figures and facts were compiled from my numerous conversations with record label producers and a few composers (who, at this time, will remain anonymous). Many thanks to all who helped coordinate this information!

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