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[Kmuland]

this is a message from mr_lou 

Hello fellow composers

I'm writing you because I'm creating a site at www.indiegamemusic.com which I plan to become a link between indie game developers and musicians. This letter is an invitation to you as a composer, to participate in the design phase with your suggestions and ideas so that the site will end up being something you would like to use.

The idea
In short, I want to make it possible for you to offer your music to indie game-developers, so that they can buy or freely download your music, depending on your choices. A few steps I have in mind so far, is that you
   

• register and login
• click "New track", and input standard info such as Title, Duration, Style, Category (music, soundscape, soundeffect, loop part) etc.
• click "Add file", and upload a specific format (mmf, midi, mod, xm, s3m, mp3, ogg etc)
• enter info about the uploaded file (filesize, resolution, channels or polyphony, frequency etc) and availability (see below)
• optionally click "Add preview", and upload a mp3 preview of the file

Availability:
   

• is this track available for exclusive resale? If yes, for how much?
• is this track available for non-exclusive resale? If yes, for how much?
• is this track available for free for freeware productions?
• may the game developer manipulate this track as he sees fit (e.g. create his own mp3 version of your XM), or is this track restricted to be used in its available formats only? (you may upload several formats to each track)

Game-developers should then be able to search for music for their games by e.g.
   

• format
• max file size
• style
• availability (free for freeware? available for non-exclusive resale? exclusive resale? for manipulation?)
• category (music, soundscape, soundeffect, loop part)
• channels or polyphony
• max price
• maybe preferred bpm and more

A note about formats
You might be a tracker, doing MOD and XM files. You might also do MIDI files. Maybe you use a larger equipment, making OGG or MP3 your preferred format.

Whatever format you're doing, it can be used for a game on some platform. Flash games uses MP3 files. Nintendo DS, Playstation Portable and Gamepark (GP32 / GP2x) devices uses MOD and XM files. The Gameboy Advance uses S3M files (I think), and Java ME games (mobile phones) uses GM MIDI. Maybe you create a little of each, and that would make a track ideal for game-developers who ports their game onto multiple platforms.

So... That's the idea. What do you think? If this sounds like an interesting project to you, feel free to participate with ideas and feedback at mr_lou@vip.cybercity.dk

Some of the things I'd like some feedback about is
   

• how should payment happen? Paypal? Bank-transfer? Game-developer contacting artist and agreeing their own method of payment?
• do you think composers would have to agree on a somewhat equal price, or would it be fine to let the individual composer decide his own price?
• should the files be available for download in their original format, or should the site only offer previews, requiring the artist to mail the original track to the game-developer pr. request?
• and of course: do you think you'd use such a tool like IndieGameMusic.com?

 

Sincerely,
Roald Strauss
Mr.Lou / Dewfall Productions
www.dewfall.dk
www.lublu.dk