Let's talk about SFX and music prices
Hi everyone!
So I have an important question to ask all game devs reading this (ranging from my first "Game Maker project" to "I'm doing this full-time").
My friend Gavin Culpan (krazman) and I are composers and sound designers and we are planning to start our own sfx and music library website. We want to know, how much would you guys be prepared to pay for a single sound effect? And for a song? And perhaps, what is the total you would be willing to spend on the audio for your game?
We are also thinking of offering themed sound packs, which include all the basic sounds you'd want in a particular genre of game.
I know that there is a lot of free audio out there and that there are libraries like Audio Jungle that sell samples for like $1 - $5 for a sound, but I'm curious as to whether there is a market for what we're trying to achieve. All sounds would be sold in rands.
Your feedback is really appreciated!
So I have an important question to ask all game devs reading this (ranging from my first "Game Maker project" to "I'm doing this full-time").
My friend Gavin Culpan (krazman) and I are composers and sound designers and we are planning to start our own sfx and music library website. We want to know, how much would you guys be prepared to pay for a single sound effect? And for a song? And perhaps, what is the total you would be willing to spend on the audio for your game?
We are also thinking of offering themed sound packs, which include all the basic sounds you'd want in a particular genre of game.
I know that there is a lot of free audio out there and that there are libraries like Audio Jungle that sell samples for like $1 - $5 for a sound, but I'm curious as to whether there is a market for what we're trying to achieve. All sounds would be sold in rands.
Your feedback is really appreciated!
Comments
I think you need to determine the value to the sound effects that you create, as you will know the costs involved. Asking a potential client to value your services is risky.
Let's say it costs you R1000 to set up a recording session at a gun range to record various shotgun sounds, from clicks to bangs - you're paying for access to the range as well as the time of a licensed shooter and the use of their gun and ammunition. Add to that the time you'll spend editing the recordings and processing the sounds to get a number of ready-to-use audio files.
You've now got a shotgun SFX pack. What's it worth? Are the sounds going to be exclusively licensed to one game, or are you going to sell the pack through your site and recoup the costs after X number of sales?
The same applies to music - is it exclusive or available to anyone to license?
On Music.
And on music and SFX.
These are guidelines, of course.
My last thought, don't price in Rands, unless you plan to only target the South African market. US Dollars is a far more convenient international standard.
(There are a number of things we could discuss further, like the pros/cons of having your own site and sales portal vs. listing on various asset stores... but, I'm going to stop here. ;-))