Music Commissions and Services by A-zu-ra

Paid and free commissions are currently OPEN right now!

One thing that I do besides writing blogs, streaming tabletop games, and working the office at a warehouse is making music. I’m officially starting up music commissions and other services for those that want to request music from me, whether it’s for listening pleasure or for a project. Feel free to direct your questions and paid commission requests to my Bandcamp, my Soundcloud, or my Twitter DMs! (I have a separate form for free commission requests a little further down below)

(Scroll all the way to the bottom for an abridged version of this whole page.)

But A-zu-ra, I don’t know what your music sounds like.

Not a problem! I have a demo reel that you can listen to right here!

This is a sampler of some of my latest works which includes, in order:
[ a commission I did for a friend ]
Cork’s Rhythm Negotiation ～一つずつなのに楽しくなる交渉～ (50回だけの交換版) (request from Kirara Fantasia Discord)
ハルトピア ~Utopia of Spring~ (featured in Harutopia and Arcaea)
未来派 ~the futuristica of techs~ (2018 Remaster)(remix of halc’s Futuristica)
[ a collaboration I’m doing with a friend ]
Roads (WIP)

Okay, now I know what your stuff sounds like.

Coolios! But before we move on, I need to establish a few basic terms for my commissions. These terms apply for any and all songs, commissioned or otherwise, that you would like to use:

  • Credit me as A-zu-ra, and specifically with this spelling. That’s capital A, dash, lowercase zu, dash, lowercase ra.
    • I accept no capitalization or dash variants. That means no A-Zu-Ra (this happens a lot), no Azura, and DEFINITELY no Az-ur-a (yes, this one has actually happened at one point).
    • On the other hand, I do accept language variants. That means アズラ and 마즈라 are fair game.
  • Provide a link to either my Bandcamp site at https://a-zu-ra.bandcamp.com or my Soundcloud at https://soundcloud.com/a-zu-ra.
  • No redistributing or selling my works without prior permission and approval.
  • You are free to make edits or cuts to any of my works that you use.

I have no monies/I’m too poor/I don’t feel like paying/I can pay in exposu–er, anyways, can you do commissions for free?

I can! Just toss a theme or idea that you have below in this field!

However, since they’re free, they’re subject to:

  • a 1 minute content cap (2 minutes if I really like the idea or theme)
  • a backlog where paid commissions (more on that later) get higher priority
  • my own interests (meaning I may silently pass on ideas that I’m not interested in for any reason, and I won’t share said reasons, either, even if you ask)

And you can’t do the following on a free commission:

  • apply any additional service listed under my paid commissions section (e.g. looping capabilities, exclusivity, etc.)
  • any personal themes (i.e. no birthday or wedding song requests)
  • remix requests (no exceptions, not even for a short song that’s under 1 minute)
  • expect timely delivery of your commission (because, you know…free)

All ideas and themes will be posted in the description of a free commission on my Soundcloud. Additionally, I have the right to release the free commissions in an album on my Bandcamp (all of them will be Name Your Price).

Okay, I actually have money now. What do I do if I want to pay for a commission?

First things first, thank you very much for your offer on a paid commission! Second, you can contact me through my Bandcamp, Soundcloud, or Twitter DMs as listed at the top of this page for a paid commission request. The process will usually be as follows:

  • You contact me with a request through the contact channels that I mentioned. From there, we can discuss further details such as your budget (if it’s for free, then it’ll automatically be subject to the limitations and lower priorities of a free commission), what your request is, how it will be used, whether or not it will be used commercially, any deadlines that I should know of, and so on. At some point, I will ask you for an e-mail address, preferably one that you use for PayPal, because…
  • I will provide an invoice through PayPal (payment in USD) based on the details of the request. Once you approve of the invoice and the money is sent, I will begin work on the commission.
  • Throughout the commission process, I will contact you with a low quality sample of the commission to see if everything’s up to snuff. You’re free to give feedback and any ideas for adjustment. I may do this 3 times at most.
  • You can expect paid commissions to be done within 2 weeks of when you accepted the invoice (more likely than not even earlier). If you don’t offer any adjustments during the times that I contact you, I will send you the final commission as-is a day after the last sample I sent.

That’s all fine and dandy, but how much do you charge for a commission?

The base pricing of a commission depends on the type of commission you’re going for, of which that pricing may be modified based on your budget and needs, song length, instrumentation complexity, whether commercial use is involved, and whether the commission is needed much sooner than my usual estimate of up to 2 weeks.

I offer a variety of options, of which I will list base pricing for each below. Pricing is in USD and is up to date as of April 19, 2018.

  • Normal songs: typically around $75-100 per minute of content; shorter songs and/or songs with more elaborate instrumentation may cost more per content minute, longer songs and/or songs with simpler instrumentation may cost less per content minute.
  • Short themes or doodles (around 20-45 seconds): typically around $50-60 for the whole thing on average; themes and doodles with more elaborate instrumentation may cost more overall, simpler instrumentation may cost less overall.
  • Ringtones or texttones (or a set of them): typically around $30-40 for the whole thing on average; more ringtones/texttones to a set or more ringtones/texttones made from scratch may cost more overall.
  • Modifying a work that I’ve already done: typically around $50-70 for the whole thing on average; more modifications and/or additions may cost more. I offer a separate option for using works as-is for projects; more on that later.
  • Remixes: typically around $120-160 per minute of content; shorter songs and/or songs with more elaborate instrumentation may cost more per content minute, longer songs and/or songs with simpler instrumentation may cost less per content minute.

I also offer these additional services if you desire them for your needs:

  • Sound design work: typically around $45-60 for a moderate amount of assets, both in amount and length. Longer assets, larger amounts of assets, as well as how involved I am in the sound design process (i.e. whether I’m providing just a sound pack or actually overdubbing through source material) determine any additional costs.
  • Work exclusivity: typically around $30-60 for every month of exclusivity. Longer periods may cost less per month. Lifetime exclusivity is not an option; I only go up to 2 years. Works with exclusivity will not be posted on my public channels before the exclusivity period is up. unless you give explicit permission for me to publicize the work on my public channels (in which you forfeit the remaining amount of time to your exclusivity period with a refund of 50% of the remaining work exclusivity cost only).
  • Looping services: typically around $15-30 for the whole thing on average. How long the source track is, as well as how involved I am in the process (i.e. whether I’m just making a long 30min. repeating track or configuring projects to tailor a looping system that you have in mind) determine any additional costs.

Lastly, I apply a 15% discount for any commission that is made specifically for a video game project or a web video project (e.g. YouTube), as well as an added 25% discount for more than 3 commissions to a single specified project.

Oh, there’s this song that I really like of yours that I wanna use for a project of mine. May I?

I have options for that, too! I have a sizable catalog of songs from Bandcamp, Soundcloud, Battle of the Bits, and ThaSauce that I’ll allow you to use for your projects. However, depending on your project circumstances (mostly relating to monetization), you may need to contact me beforehand for usage.

For non-commercial projects (like YouTube videos without AdSense or anything on social media), just follow the basic terms that I established earlier and leave me a link to the project in question and you’re good to go!

For free projects that are monetized via ad revenue or subscriptions (like YouTube videos with AdSense, Twitch affiliate/partner channels, and mobile games with ads), you’ll need to contact me beforehand using the aforementioned contact channels (Bandcamp, my Soundcloud, or my Twitter DMs if you need a refresher) with the works you would like to license, what the details of your project are, and how you plan to monetize your project.

In most cases, I’ll approve usage for free! For the other not-most cases, a license fee of usually $12, but no more than $20 will apply for each track you want to license out. License fees are based solely on song length and are negotiable based on your budget and needs.

For commercial projects or free projects that are monetized via microtransactions (like video projects with a price, games sold at digital storefronts like Steam, or any game with microtransactions), you’ll most definitely need to contact me beforehand with the works you would like to license, what the details of your project are, and how you plan to monetize your project.

A license fee of usually $30, but no more than $50 will apply for each track you want to license out. License fees are based on song length and instrumentation complexity and are also negotiable based on your budget and needs.

All licenses are done per-project, meaning that you’ll need to reapply for a license if you want to use it in multiple projects. In those cases, repeat licenses get a 60% discount with proof that the work was utilized in a prior project. Lastly, I offer an additional 10-15% discount for bulk licenses of 5 or more songs to a project.

 

 

 

Whoa, that is a LOT of text. Can you break it down to the bare necessities, please?

Gotcha.

Contact me via Bandcamp, my Soundcloud, or my Twitter DMs for questions and paid commission requests. Scroll all the way back up this page for my demo reel of my current works.

Basic terms

“A-zu-ra”, link to Bandcamp (https://a-zu-ra.bandcamp.com) or Soundcloud (https://soundcloud.com/a-zu-ra), no giving away or selling my stuff unless you ask me and I say yes, and you’re free to edit my stuff to your liking.

Free commissions

Use the Google Form above; 1 minute of content max (2 if I really like your idea), lower priority in overall backlog, I may pass on your idea if not interested and will not share why. Also no remixes, no personal themes, and no additional services.

Paid commission (process)

Using the contact points above, we’ll discuss stuff about the commission, then I’ll send you a PayPal invoice, then start composing when the invoice is accepted and I receive the money. I’ll send periodic samples of my commission at most 3 times, then send you the final product within 2 weeks with any changes you may have suggested from my periodic samples.

Paid commission (prices)

Base prices below which can also be affected by not just what is mentioned per category, but with commercial use and/or tighter deadlines.

  • Normal songs: ~$75-100 per content minute; length and instrumentation affect pricing
  • Short themes and doodles (20-45s): ~$50-60 overall; instrumentation affects pricing
  • Ringtones/texttones (or sets): ~$30-40 overall; tone count and tones made from scratch affect pricing
  • Modifying existing works: ~$50-70 overall; more additions and modifications affect pricing
  • Remixes: ~$120-160 per content minute; length and instrumentation affect pricing

Services:

  • Sound design: ~$45-60 on a moderate amount/length of assets; longer assets, large amount of assets, and involvement in process affect pricing
  • Exclusivity: ~$30-60 per month of exclusivity up to 2 years; length of exclusivity affects pricing. Will not post the work on my public channels unless you give explicit permission to (refund of 50% of the remaining exclusivity cost will occur)
  • Looping: ~$15-30 overall; length of source material and involvement in process affects pricing

15% discount for commissions made for video game projects and web video projects. 25% discount for more than 3 commissions to a single project.

Use of existing works

Take most anything from Bandcamp, Soundcloud, Battle of the Bits, and ThaSauce.

  • Non-commercial projects: follow basic terms and link to your project and you’re good!
  • Free with ad monetization or paid subs: contact me with works you want to license, details of your project, and monetization methods. Most usage approved for free, but other usage cases may be charged ~$12, but no more than $20 per song.
  • Commercial or free with microtransactions: contact me with works you want to license, details of your project, and monetization methods. You will be charged ~$30, but no more than $50 per song.

60% discount for repeat licenses (proof needed). 10-15% discount for bulk licenses of 5 or more songs.

 

And that should be all of it! Phew, that was quite a lot to convey D:

(Last updated April 20, 2018)