Write me a song
March 22, 2019 2:23 PM Subscribe
I need a song. I'd like it to be in a catchy, Broadway style. Short but sticky. Any suggestions of who to ask?
Or, alternatively, who are you considering?
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 2:31 PM on March 22, 2019
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 2:31 PM on March 22, 2019
Response by poster: Responding to the first question, how much does writing a 1-3 minute song, with original music and lyrics in that style cost? Are there songwriters who know how much their time is worth and have something like a worksheet for work by the hour or by the project? It would help for me to have a starting point.
posted by CollectiveMind at 2:50 PM on March 22, 2019
posted by CollectiveMind at 2:50 PM on March 22, 2019
Speaking as a musical theater composer -- it really varies (which is maybe not a helpful answer). Besides musicals, I've written songs for people for special occasions, songs for people for their cabaret acts, songs for gala concerts, etc.
I think people will take into account your budget, and what it's for (an individual or, say, an organization) and how much it has to hit a particular parameter (like, for someone's birthday or something like that). The cost will vary, too, on what the deliverable is -- a lead sheet, full piano copy, a recording so someone can learn it.
All that said, you're probably looking at $200 - $400 (depending on who it is, of course...)
posted by profreader at 3:37 PM on March 22, 2019 [4 favorites]
I think people will take into account your budget, and what it's for (an individual or, say, an organization) and how much it has to hit a particular parameter (like, for someone's birthday or something like that). The cost will vary, too, on what the deliverable is -- a lead sheet, full piano copy, a recording so someone can learn it.
All that said, you're probably looking at $200 - $400 (depending on who it is, of course...)
posted by profreader at 3:37 PM on March 22, 2019 [4 favorites]
Maybe a year-year and a half ago there was a rash of youtubers using Fiverr to get custom songs written for their channels. Results were a bit across the board as I recall but there were some pretty decent once.
A quick glance at the site looks like Fiverr has stepped up their game since then. As a person who knows absolutely nothing about the music business, if I needed a song written for me, I would check out Fiverr.
posted by phunniemee at 5:31 PM on March 22, 2019
A quick glance at the site looks like Fiverr has stepped up their game since then. As a person who knows absolutely nothing about the music business, if I needed a song written for me, I would check out Fiverr.
posted by phunniemee at 5:31 PM on March 22, 2019
Do you need an entire song of lyrics & music, or could you use new lyrics to a existing music?
Jobs.metafilter.com
posted by theora55 at 11:46 AM on March 23, 2019
Jobs.metafilter.com
posted by theora55 at 11:46 AM on March 23, 2019
Craigslist could be an answer. A while back I encountered a recording which had a piano part I wanted a transcription of, and after giving it a go myself, it seemed there were some subtleties to it that were escaping me. So... I looked through the "musicians" section of craigslist and found some locals who'd hung out their shingle for writing, arranging, transcription, production etc. I picked out a Berklee grad who had some nice samples and got good results (in profreader's price range). Of course, this was Southern California, which one might expect to have working music professionals, things may vary over different geographic areas.
Also, these days I have several acquaintances among the working musician class, would be happy to reach out and see if any of them can meet your needs.
posted by wildblueyonder at 12:18 PM on March 23, 2019
Also, these days I have several acquaintances among the working musician class, would be happy to reach out and see if any of them can meet your needs.
posted by wildblueyonder at 12:18 PM on March 23, 2019
I would charge somewhere between $500 and $2500 to write something in that style. For that you'd get a simple piano melody on sheet music, a single-pass demo, and lyrics.
But I'm mostly unknown. I'm sure someone hungrier might ask for less; someone who does this for a living might have firmer rates.
It really depends what you mean. The question of performance and recording is huge here. Are you just asking for a piece of sheet music with a melody line and lyrics, or are you wanting something that actually sounds like a Broadway production? Are you buying performance and distribution rights, or just a song, so you can e.g. use it in a film?
We really don't have enough detail, but in your shoes I'd start by contacting local music studios and go from there; bigger places will often know people who do various kinds of gig work. Craigslist is potentially solid, but you'll have to do some filtering for weirdos, talentless hacks, etc.
posted by aspersioncast at 2:20 PM on March 24, 2019
But I'm mostly unknown. I'm sure someone hungrier might ask for less; someone who does this for a living might have firmer rates.
It really depends what you mean. The question of performance and recording is huge here. Are you just asking for a piece of sheet music with a melody line and lyrics, or are you wanting something that actually sounds like a Broadway production? Are you buying performance and distribution rights, or just a song, so you can e.g. use it in a film?
We really don't have enough detail, but in your shoes I'd start by contacting local music studios and go from there; bigger places will often know people who do various kinds of gig work. Craigslist is potentially solid, but you'll have to do some filtering for weirdos, talentless hacks, etc.
posted by aspersioncast at 2:20 PM on March 24, 2019
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 2:31 PM on March 22, 2019 [1 favorite]