Page 28 - Mar_Apr23

The Business of Composing, Part 1 - Commissions & Publishing

Composers Jake Runestad and Dan Forrest have cre- per minute of completed music, while a composer at
ated this two-part article about The Business of Composing the top of their field might charge $2,000 or more per
to help demystify the financial aspect of composition. minute, depending on the length and instrumentation.
The first installment will explore “Commissioning and In the choral world, an established composer’s fee cur-
Publishing,” while the second will focus on “Licens- rently (as of 2023) hovers around $800-1,500 per min-
ing.” These articles are aimed at educating composers, ute of completed music for SATB choir with/without
conductors, and choral organizations alike. We hope piano accompaniment.
that this information (though not the entirety of a com-
poser’s financial life) will help to sustain the careers of
composers through proper support and licensing from All commissions, even if there is no
conductors and choral organizations, which ultimately “
helps keep choral music vibrant and growing! money exchanged for the commission,
The pillars of a composer’s music-related income should utilize a contract signed by all
are formed by commissions, publishing royalties, per-
formance royalties, residencies/appearance fees, and parties involved.
licensing (for the sake of this article, we’re considering
teaching a separate entity). While there are industry
traditions within each of these categories, there is also Some composers have a minimum amount they
a fair amount of variation and flexibility. Due to the charge for all commissions, no matter the length, and
limited space in this article, we can’t cover everything, then calculate per-minute above that. For example, a
but hopefully this is a helpful introduction to these ele- composer may have a $4,000 base fee for pieces up to
ments. 5 minutes in length, then calculate a per-minute fee be-
yond 5 minutes. Both Dan and Jake often spend more
time finding the right idea and text to commit to, than
Commissions actually bringing that idea to life in a score. Composer
A composer receives a commission when asked by Abbie Betinis notes: “After the idea phase, which can
an individual or ensemble to create a new piece of mu- last weeks to months, it takes me at least 20 hours to
sic (a “work”). Funding for commissions can come from write, proof, edit, and engrave one minute of music.” 2
the ensemble, from grants, and/or from private donors. While we haven’t tracked our own hourly rates, Abbie’s
Sometimes a composer may acquire a funding source calculation is a useful number in establishing a rough
and search out an ensemble or group of ensembles baseline. New Music USA has a Commissioning Fee
to be the commissioner(s). Either way, commissioning Calculator on their website, which is also a helpful re-
music is an extraordinary process in which a customer source (do a Google search for “commissioning fee cal-
pays for a product sight-unseen, based on trust in the culator” to find it or see the link in note 3).
3
composer’s past work. In that light, every commission Attempts to calculate per-minute fees must also ac-
is a great honor, not to be taken lightly! count for different densities of notes and textures. Fast
music is more time-intensive to write, relative to slow
Fees music. A simple, 4-part chorale takes less time to write
Many composers calculate their fees per minute of than a polyphonic motet of the same duration. All of
completed music. This fee changes depending on the size these details should be factored into a commission fee.
of the ensemble. For example, writing for unaccompa- Some composers include their residency fee in their
nied unison choir requires a different amount of work overall commission fee, while others have a separate
than SATB chorus with full orchestra. Fees vary widely fee structure for their time spent with the ensemble. Of
depending on the composer and the demand for their course, composers can make adjustments to these fees
work. An inexperienced composer may receive $100 for various reasons that may be to their benefit (a pro-

26 CHORAL JOURNAL March/April 2023 Volume 63 Number 7