One rule of thumb used by some studios and production companies to estimate and arrive at the music budgets for series as well as for movies of the week is to allocate $20,000 to $25,000 per hour for all music-related costs.
If a show is a one-hour series or a two-hour movie of the week, the initial rough music budget would be $20,000 to $25,000 for the series episode, and $40,000 to $50,000 for the movie of the week. Miniseries would be handled in the same manner.
The budgeted music costs include the composer's creative fee, studio rental time, tape, engineers, musicians, instrument cartage and rentals, music-licensing fees, and miscellaneous other music-related costs.
After the initial allocation figure, the actual costs of each project are discussed and calculated more accurately.
Some factors that affect the cost are the size of the orchestra that is to record the work, the amount of music to be composed, and the number of pre-existing songs that are to be licensed.
If a large orchestra is needed and two or three hit songs are used in the show, the costs of musicians, studio time, and synchronization fees could substantially raise the $25,000-per-hour figure.
On the other hand, if very little music is needed for the show and no outside songs are being licensed, the music costs could be substantially less than the initially allocated $20,000 to $25,000 rule of thumb.
Another budgeting approach involves preparing an initial generic budget from a "read through" of a script. The music supervisor looks at a show and determines whether it needs a full orchestral score or suits itself to an electronic or small-ensemble score. One then determines whether "outside" songs as well as master recordings are necessary. After completing all of the cost estimates, there is a discussion with the producer to see if the figure allocated for music fits into the total budget and to find out if the producer is in agreement with the necessity of all the items included.
© 2009 Jeff Brabec, Todd Brabec
This article is based on information contained in the new, revised 6th edition of the book "Music, Money, And Success: The Insider's Guide To Making Money In The Music Business" written by Jeffrey Brabec and Todd Brabec (Published by Schirmer Trade Books/Music Sales). www.musicandmoney.com
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