Something13, nice work! you’ve got a lot of talent and skill there :)
When I can acquire almost any music imaginable for free or almost free, I can’t really justify hiring a composer.
Sadly, this has become the case. It’s a daily struggle to survive when competing against such a market, and I personally resent the people that provide music at such a low rate.
Now I’m not saying that I’d never work on a project for free. In fact, for most of the regular Kongers, I most likely would because this site has proven itself such a helpful and supportive resource for budding developers.
However, advertising publicly that music is/can/should be free or close to it is despicable. For the four years I was in high school, I took piano lessons from one of the best pianists in the world. Finding her and being accepted as a student was hard enough, paying her was a whole other matter. That entire time, I worked whenever and wherever I could to be able to afford the $60 per lesson every week. And when I wasn’t working, I was practicing. It took 2-4 hours of practice every day just to keep up with the amount of work she was giving me. Not to mention getting involved playing with local groups and the Steinway Society so much that almost every weekend was spent at a gig in some remote town a couple hours away.
Later, I went to college to study music theory and composition. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you how much that cost and that the workload got a lot bigger. Practice time went up to 6-8 hours a day, plus there was all the other work I had to do for my other classes. And to top it off, all music majors had to attend two concerts/recitals each week. Those were almost always held on Friday and Saturday nights. Again weekends gone.
So by now, you may be wondering why I felt the need to tell you my life story. The point I’m trying to make is that my story is a common one. I and all the other composers out there have sacrificed tens of thousands of dollars, every minute of spare time, and almost all chance of having a social life in order to pursue one goal, in dire hopes that someday we will be rewarded for our dedication.
And so when someone looks at me, listens to my music which is filled to the brim with a mixture of hard work and my own soul, and says “Why bother?” I hope you can understand that I get a bit upset.
To all the developers reading this: I understand your point, truly I do. It is logical and seems like common sense. I only ask you to take a minute to consider mine. Those resources should not have existed in the first place. The next time you are looking for assets for your game, I implore you to think twice about going to one of those websites. Take a second look at the musicians you have here. They are all talented, skilled, and most importantly passionate about what they do. They don’t create music because they want to churn out as many half-composed songs as fast as they can to make a quick buck or get a few cents from the ad revenue of their website. The do it because they love to do it. Please support them and show them that it is possible to do what you love in this world without going hungry.
To my fellow musicians: Something13, Bakuda, and Di3oxide, I have listened to your works and it is obvious that you all care deeply and are very passionate about music. Never lose that. To you three and any other musician reading this, never lose sight of your dreams. I guarantee that if you keep working and remain passionate and driven that you will find your place. You will earn your reward and you will attain your lifelong goal. When conducting business with clients, it’s all up to you, but do not publicly lower your standards for any reason, no matter how tempting it may be.
This is why professional music regularly costs so much: interest has been accruing over years of work.
