All commercial/jingle/voiceover production is royalty-free: once purchased, you own the material and may use it exclusively however you see fit. I do not charge by market.
The Process
You tell me what you’re after in as much detail as you can think of. It doesn’t have to be literature, a bulleted list is just fine. Something like this would work:
30 and 60 second versions
two voices, male and female
piano music, like Jim Brickman. drums maybe. Banjo would be cool.
medium tempo
leave room in the middle for talking‡
I’ll price out the demo based on your requirements (see below).
Upon payment of half the demo price, I’ll record two or three versions of a low-quality demo and – upon payment of the other half of the demo price – make them available online.
You provide feedback (“faster”, “bouncier”, “slow it down”, “louder in the middle”, etc).
I’ll revise the demo, provide a “proof” – a low-quality version of the final (or close-to-final) product.
On approval and payment, I’ll provide a high-quality version of the final product on your own, password protected page on this site.
Done. It’s yours to use as you like.
Pricing Structure
Pricing is tiered: the final price of your project depends upon the options chosen.
| Base Package | ||
| Demo | Two or three variations, based on your requirements. Temporary vocals, single instrument†. Low-quality output. | $200 |
| Final Production Master | Based upon approved demo: Finished vocal(s); full instrumentation. Broadcast-quality output. | $500 |
| Options | ||
| Copywriting | For 30-60 radio spots or Music On Hold | $150 |
| Voice Talent | Singing, spoken word; price is per artist | $150 |
| Musicians | Generally, we can provide digital instrumentation that is indistinguishable from the real thing. There are times, however, when you just can’t beat the real thing: bagpipes, banjo, electric lead guitar are just three examples. Price is per instrument. | $100/electronic $200/real thing |
Example:
| Copywriting | $150 |
| Three singers, 1 male, 2 female | $450 |
| Piano, bass, strings, drums | $400† |
| Demo + Final | $700 |
| Final Price: | $1700 |
Interested?
Questions and Answers
How long does it take to get the finished product? Once we have approval of the demo, it takes about fourteen days. Adding more vocalists and/or instruments can increase the time, especially if the instrument and someone who knows how to play it are hard to find. If that turns out to be the case, we’ll let you know as soon as we know.
What is the payment schedule? 1/2 of the demo price up front to get started. Upon completion of the demo, the balance is due. When a selection is made, 1/2 the of the production balance, with the last 1/2 due on completion. Only after we have payment in full will the broadcast-ready material be released.
How do I get the demo and final product? All materials will be made available for download from this site for thirty days after your final payment is made; we’ll send you a link and password. The demo will be low-quality MP3; the final product will be available in both high-quality MP3 and WAV. (After 30 days, I delete the files and page they were on. It is up to you to save them to a safe place with reasonable backups.)
How do I pay you? I take Mastercard, Visa, checks††, and good ol’ cash. For the right project and product, I’ll even barter. Whaddaya got?
Is that pricing schedule firm? Sort of. We understand that there are going to be re-mixes and re-dos when things aren’t quite right, and we want you, as our customer, to be happy. However, we’re not going to re-work the material forever. We’ll provide reasonable revisions, but I get to decide when it’s no longer reasonable. At that point, we’ll have to revisit the cost of your project.
What if I don’t like the demo or decide to move in a different direction. Do I get a refund? Nope. Once work has begun, deposits are not refundable. We have to pay for studio time, outside talent, gas, electricity, etc.
Where can I use the material? Some agencies limit the scope of use (state, region, Neilson DMA, etc.), but I don’t have the time or patience for it. Use it anywhere you like: it belongs to you.
For how long? Forever. There are no licensing fees or renewals.
Can you work with copyrighted material? Only if you own the copyright.
I don’t need music, just voiceover, talking no singing. We can work that out on a case by case basis.
Will you copyright the material. No. It’s yours to copyright if you wish.
Where will you do the work? All work is produced at the studios of Map’s Edge Media in Independence, Missouri. I can work at other studios, but you’ll have the responsibility of arranging and paying for that separately.
‡ in industry terms, by the way, that’s called a “donut”
† all of those instruments can be reproduced electronically
†† Yes, but your project will be put on hold until the check clears. Sorry.