Creating around 500 MIDIs over the last decade or so for all sorts of people has been a lot of work, but tons of fun, and it’s been brilliant to have worked with so many people on so many cool things. But most of these things I’ve done for free! I am now a highly confident composer as a result of all of these experiences and it’s time to get serious and professional.
With that said, introducing commissions! With these offers you’re getting quality-assured music from someone with close to twelve years of experience in music composition and online community work. A fast turnaround is also guaranteed.
WHAT MY MUSIC SOUNDS LIKE
Here are some examples of previous works of mine just so you get an idea of my compositional style and approach.
A six-minute adventure of electronic synths and basses coupled with mellow guitar flourishes, powerful choirs and a hyperactive percussion line. A nine-minute atmospheric rhapsody that modulates between lullaby-like major keys and death-march minors, with largely fluid time signatures. Features mainly orchestral and choral instrumentation with a slightly rocky breakdown towards the end. A seven-minute piece with emphasis on embellished chords, slower passages with gracefully descending scales, repeated motivic ideas, and cheeky arpeggios. Instrumentation is a potpourri of ideas rooted in heavy rock, with both rhythm and solo guitar, rock organ, and piano, the main focus being on percussive keyboard sounds and the tribal sound of an echoing pan flute.
A list of completed (non-exclusive) commissions is available on this page.
First we’ll go over some basics:
HOW TO ASK / GUIDELINES
- Get in touch! Send me an e-mail or private message, with the word “commission” somewhere in the subject line, to ensure that it gets flagged/starred when it reaches my inbox.
- In the message body, you will need to specify the track LENGTH and track QUANTITY. Details of how fees will apply are below.
- Fees are in Australian dollars (AUD).
- The fees listed here are minimums. The final fee WILL BE VARIABLE depending on how much time I end up taking, and the difficulty of the composition – easy, quicker stuff will be cheaper, but I charge progressively more for more serious/demanding tasks.
- Payments must be sent upon receipt of a PayPal invoice. You will first need to send me your e-mail address associated with PayPal so I can invoice you – after that, send over the money as soon as you’re ready.
- Please be as specific with every track in your request as possible to guarantee your satisfaction with the end product. These specifications include but are not limited to:
- Speed/tempo, mood or feel (slow and sombre, or fast and hectic? etc.)
- Instruments to include/exclude (guitars, percussion, specific instruments like church organs, accordions, steel drums, etc.)
- Any musical criteria you can provide (major/minor key, chordal structures, etc.)
- It will help me immensely if you can provide a download link, or YouTube video, of a reference track or two that you’d like me to emulate the style of. This will be a mandatory inclusion if you’re asking for a remake of said track(s).
- It will also stimulate/accelerate my creative process if I can get a copy of the project you would like me to compose for, or see screen captures at the very least.
- I can refund in extreme cases if you aren’t satisfied with the result, or if I find that I can’t complete the request.
Fees
Tracks will start at $60 AUD, and will vary depending on the LENGTH of the track you would like.
| Track duration | Minimum fee (AUD) | Approx. fee in GBP (×0.5) | Approx. fee in USD (×0.66) |
|---|---|---|---|
| < 1 minute | $120 AUD | £60 GBP | $80 USD |
| 1:00-1:59 | $120 AUD | £60 GBP | $80 USD |
| 2:00-2:59 | $150 AUD | £75 GBP | $100 USD |
| 3:00-3:59 | $180 AUD | £90 GBP | $120 USD |
| 4:00-4:59 | $210 AUD | £105 GBP | $140 USD |
| 5:00-5:59 | $240 AUD | £120 GBP | $160 USD |
| 6:00-6:59 | $270 AUD | £135 GBP | $180 USD |
| 7:00-7:59 | $300 AUD | £150 GBP | $200 USD |
| 8:00-8:59 | $330 AUD | £165 GBP | $220 USD |
Please convert the fees from AUD to your local currency for how much I will charge.
In general, 1 AUD = £0.50 GBP, or $0.66 USD. The conversation rate will obviously vary, though. Search “AUD to GBP” (for example) to check the rate at that exact time.
Below are the commission batches, ranging from express (cheap) to extreme (costly). The UPPER-CASE words are the KEYWORDS you’ll need to add to the subject line when commissioning me via PM or e-mail, so I know roughly how much work you’ll be asking of me. Please read below for the offers I have:
Bulk Commissions
You may order any number of tracks, of the same length or of differing length.
Fees will apply the same as in singular orders for tracks of differing LENGTH. I will invoice you for all of these in one.
If you are ordering a set of commissioned MIDIs of the same LENGTH, the same fees apply but will be multiplied by the number of tracks you order, with every fifth track you order being discounted. If you order 5 tracks, you’ll pay for four, and if you order 10, you’ll pay for eight, etc.
| # of tracks | Fee multiplier |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1x |
| 2 | 2x |
| 3 | 3x |
| 4 | 4x |
| 5 | 4x |
| 6 | 5x |
| 7 | 6x |
| 8 | 7x |
| 9 | 8x |
| 10 | 8x |
| And so on… | |
Additional – EXCLUSIVITY RIGHTS
All these offers are “non-exclusive” – i.e. your commissioned tracks are eligible for use by myself or the rest of community, since I post everything I do to my online MIDI portfolio here. However, if you wish to buy “the rights” to the music I compose for you, you will have to pay double the commission cost. For this price you’re getting the guarantee that the works I compose for you will not be released into the public sphere, and they are yours and yours alone – not even I can do anything with them.
WHAT I CAN DO
- MIDI files in a wide range of genres: rock, metal, electronic, ambient, pop, and I can give a damn good shot at (within reason) anything else you throw at me. Bear in mind that I’m working within the confines of MIDI, however, so there will be some significant degree of limitation I am working within.
- MIDI files in a range of musical styles and forms: traditional verse-chorus-verse, progressive, atonal, non-repeating, etc.
- Guitar/synth solos, and to a certain extent drum solos.
- I can imitate the compositional style of certain popular MIDI composers – such as Bobby Prince, Lee Jackson, Bjørn Lynne (Lemmings/Worms soundtracks), Seppo Hurme (Gubble soundtrack), etc. Or those known to Doomworld – like Mark Klem, David Shaw, Jeremy Doyle, Marc Pullen, Stuart Rynn, Sarah Mancuso, Jazz Mickle, etc.
WHAT I WON’T DO
- This should go without saying, but, any work for which you elect that paying me is optional. If you’re emailing me for work, I won’t do a single thing until I see payment.
- Any work for a project that clearly doesn’t exist yet. As per the guidelines above, send me screenshots, video, or something as tangible proof of effort.
- Any work where you specify absolutely nothing to me and just tell me “do whatever”. I work better under limitations or at least regulation.
That about wraps it up. I hope you’ve all enjoyed my music over the years and I sincerely hope I can create more for this community, and I’d like to imagine beyond as well, for whatever reason. 😀 Cheers!
EXAMPLE MESSAGE
Subject: COM: SPEEDY MIDI 1: For my upcoming video game!
Message: Hi James! I’m working on a little shoot-em-up game, which needs a really quick midi for its background music. I was thinking something in the style of the Microsoft Pinball theme, a classic spacey tune. The track need only be 2-3 minutes long but feel free to make it longer if you can find the inspiration! I would also like exclusivity rights to the track, as I’d like my game to be the first time people hear it. If you’re fine with this, I’ll send over payment as soon as I can.
Best regards,
Joe Bloggs
I WANT TO COMMISSION YOU!
Well golly gee, that’s nice of you! Please email me using the form below, and let’s get talking!
Alternately, we can start up a conversation through either of these two online forums I frequent.
PM me via Doomworld – requires Doomworld forums account. (Send to: “Jimmy”)
PM me via ZDoom.org – requires ZDoom forums account. (Send to: “Jimmy”)