Hi Christopher,
Sorry for the delay....I have been travelling and I wanted to be able to spend a bit of time on my reply to you!
This caught my eye. I often get calls from composers on deadlines who need me to transcribe and orchestrate from MIDI files. I've been arguing with my clients constantly about whether this constitutes "orchestration" or not; they claim that since THEY are making the decisions as to whether a given line is strings, woods, brass, etc., that THEY are the orchestrator and I am the copyist. I never charge copyists' rates for this kind of thing (I charge more, way more) but I still have a big argument every time, even with the same clients.
In my opinion, you are right. This is midi transcription and orchestration. Both are separate services with different ways of being billed. This is not copying in my opinion. And you should be charging differently for each as you are now. If the composer is also claiming to be the orchestrator, he/she should be handing you a complete file or paper score (with dynamics, articulations etc. etc.) that can extracted from or copied without any additional work.
Even if we come to an agreement, the quality of the MIDI files I am given varies wildly, from beautifully set-up files laid out in score order with separated woodwind, brass, percussion and string sections, strictly quantised to import nicely into Finale; all the way to "noodling" on a couple of different patches that needs to be completely arranged pretty much from scratch, assuming that I can figure out what is going on, which is not easy in these cases.
Here in L.A. this (midi transcription) is usually charged for by the hour. Charging a time rate may also help to solve your problem because high quality midi files will take you less time to straighten out than sloppy ones. So your bill will be reflective of that and those clients that are more thorough and neat will have a less expensive bill...as it should be in my opinion. If you are looking for what to charge for different things exactly, the unions are a good place to start. You mentioned the rate sheets for New York and Los Angeles. You can can check out the Music Prep Rates for reference and can download them in PDF format from some of the union web sites. I use the base orchestration hourly rate for midi transcription.
Contrary to what might be said by some, I believe one can follow union guidelines for what to charge without being abusive or overcharging. If you are good at what you do, if you are conscientious and if you can be trusted to deliver a viable accurate product, people will pay you a for your services.
I consider midi transcription to be any or all of these things:
--Deleting redundant and/or empty tracks from a midi file
--Quantizing each remaining track within my sequencer so that it will come into Finale nicely after export.
--Exporting cleaned up and quantized midi file and then importing it into Finale.
--Taking down any other loop or sample information that is part of the piece but may not be fully indicated as notes in the file (I ask the composer to provide an audio file along with the midi file to make sure my work is accurate and has everything included.)
--Setting up a completed sketch from the imported file in Finale which is an accurate representation of what is going on in the midi file complete with brief indications of where horns are muted, stopped etc. and strings are pizz, arco etc. and what notes are in harp glisses for example. Also if articulations are part of a patch name, I'll include a note about that in my sketch (i.e. stacc. horns) This final sketch should be similar to what a composer might normally hand his/her orchestrator.
At this point, I have had one of two things happen in my experience. One, I give this completed sketch to an orchestrator who then does their thing with it and gives it back to me completed to copy (I have gotten both computer scores and hand written scores back from orchestrators) or two, I become the orchestrator.
In this way of working, I consider adding dynamics, hairpins and filling in more complete articulations etc. as part of the orchestration process rather than part of the midi transcription process but there are some who might argue this. If I am doing orchestration, during the orchestration process, I am again listening to the audio file provided by the composer if there is one for reference. So I prefer to do the dynamics etc. by ear rather than by looking at midi information. It seems more musical to me that way. Again, that is just me.
Traditionally, orchestration is charged by the 4 bar score page here in LA. Page rates charged vary from orchestrator to orchestrator depending on how well established they are.
So when I think about what the difference between Midi Transcription and Orchestration is, I'd say Midi Transcription is the doing whatever it takes to create a complete sketch from a midi file. From there, orchestration can be looked at in the same way that it always has been traditionally when receiving a sketch from a composer.
Once the score is orchestrated, I charge the customary page rates for copying and time rates for proofreading.
I know that composers like Danny Elfman work like this, passing on MIDI files in various stages of completeness to an accomplished arranger/orchestrator, whereas some others like John Williams hand over highly detailed 6-staff sketches, leaving the orchestrator with little to do besides prepare the full score and decide section splits (and maybe add in some accents and crescendos that JW might have missed.) It seems to me that BOTH extremes get credited as "orchestrator", but the amount of work and the responsibility assumed by the orchestrator is wildly different in the two cases.
You are right here.... both are credited as orchestrator. And, yes, John Williams' sketches are very detailed already. And yes, the job descriptions are very different but both scenarios are common in the industry. Everyone works differently. Midi Transcription is still credited as part of music prep at least for now but again, it is definitely a different service than straight copying.
To me, composing and orchestrating are one in the same from a creative standpoint. But there isn't enough time in the day to write out everything every time given the amount of music in a film, the fact that A list composers sometimes have more than one film going at a time, and the time constraints of deadlines. Hence the need for midi transcriptionists and/or orchestrators.
.....and arranging?
In my mind, arranging is more about a chart for a pop/show tune or a jazz composition. I charge a flat rate for the whole arrangement if I am writing the arrangement. Fees will vary based on instrumentation and how long the chart is and of course, again, how well established the arranger is. Copying is a separate charge. Any takedown/transcription that is necessary as part of this processes is also charged separately. Takedowns in this situation would be charged at an hourly rate. Copying at the usual page rate. Again, I would again follow Brad's suggestion here...be very specific about what you are charging for and break it out for the client.
Of course, there are gray areas here too. When dealing with Film and Television, even "Tunes" are often treated as orchestrations rather than arrangements depending on their context and whether or not they are falling under the category of underscore (including source music)
Having said that, I would say that "arranging" as you are looking at it does occur in film music also, but it still usually falls within the domain of the orchestrator's job depending on what the working agreement is between the composer and his/her orchestrator. In other words, you wouldn't normally see an arranging credit but rather an orchestration credit for underscore in a film even if "arranging" has taken place.
How much responsibility do you assume for how the final work will sound, which seems to me to be the main point when deciding rates?
I think you are talking about those cases where you get very little from the "composer" and you do the brunt of the work. If I take a job like this, it is my job to make him/her look good and make it sound as good as I possibly can. But yes, your rates should reflect the amount of work you put into a situation like this and the fact that you have the skills to be able to do this sort of work. You need to feel like the job is worth your while.
In some cases, I have also heard of people being able to negotiate an "additional music by" credit where they have had a significant part in the creating of the music. It is a way for a composer to remain the composer but to also give credit where credit is due. However, with some personality types, this can be quite touchy for obvious reasons!
-K
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