Is my gig priced too cheap?

[charliezmusic]

Hi!

I have a gig that offers music composition services. Myself is a professional composer with over 10 years of music experience. I wanted to reach as many people as possible with my gig. However, I’ve heard that having a low price makes people think that it is not professional and might be a scam.

I want your opinion, does my gig seem like a scam? What could I do to improve my gig in general? Please be as HARSH as you can with the criticism.

Here’s the link: https://www.fiverr.com/share/D53lpo

Thanks!

[looseink]

I would look at ANY Gig that charges $5 as a scam.

Can you compose something and honestly say you provided someone with top-quality work that you are only going to earn $4 on (after Fiverr takes their cut)?

Don’t cheapen your product to where it starts to take on the appearance of a joke.

I would start at $25 at the very least for what you offer.

But I’m not a composer.

I also wouldn’t expect much for $5, either.

[uk1000]

I wouldn’t put “unlimited instruments” on all the packages, including the $5 one. If someone asks for 32,000 instruments you probably wouldn’t want to add that many. It might be better not to add unlimited revisions on the premium package too.

Yes it’s probably a bit to low priced especially for the duration you’re offering.

[rahulkajla1]

Short answer, yes. It is way too cheap for something original / custom made and this is coming from a guy from a third world country. If I go out there to get this done locally even an newbie would charge more than $25. But if you are trying to get some reviews, I understand. Make it at least $10 or $15 to avoid scammers.

[charliezmusic]

I would look at ANY Gig that charges $5 as a scam.

Can you compose something and honestly say you provided someone with top-quality work that you are only going to earn $4 on (after Fiverr takes their cut)?

Don’t cheapen your product to where it starts to take on the appearance of a joke.

I would start at $25 at the very least for what you offer.

But I’m not a composer.

I also wouldn’t expect much for $5, either.

OK. Thanks for the feedback!

[moonstaredits]

Hi!

I have a gig that offers music composition services. Myself is a professional composer with over 10 years of music experience. I wanted to reach as many people as possible with my gig. However, I’ve heard that having a low price makes people think that it is not professional and might be a scam.

I want your opinion, does my gig seem like a scam? What could I do to improve my gig in general? Please be as HARSH as you can with the criticism.

Here’s the link: https://www.fiverr.com/share/D53lpo

Thanks!

If you are a professional and have 10 years of experience, 10$, from which you get only 8$, is WAY too cheap, and this is coming from someone who has a gig starting at 5$ and lives in a third world country.

I’ve seen some composers ask for 30$ just for a commercial use license of their pre-recorded copyright-free tracks, let alone you offering something completely original for that price. I understand you want to attract customers, but this would only be asking for trouble.

I would NEVER offer unlimited revisions, services nor products (like you did in all the packages), and certainly not for 10-40$. Also free commercial use for original tracks (not generic ones like some composers do and offer just the license) is very problematic in the sense that people can get lot of money out of re-selling you tracks. Of course you have no control over that, but at least make sure that you

price up to get money you deserve for your songs, so that a potential scammer wouldn’t bother in re-selling them.

This gig is like calling for trouble, cheapos and scammers. Try to balance between attractive pricing to buyers vs. underpaid work, taking also into consideration that cheap work can also lead potential customers to think you’re a scammer/you offer bad quality work.

Good luck! ⭐

[benedictrm]

Yes, offensively cheap. Even for a beginner (at Fiverr).

How long does it take to score a 1:30 Film?
I don’t just mean the bit where you poke a piano sample in your DAW, I mean the whole process of finding and landing the job, understanding the job, doing the job, checking the job, adjusting and improving the job, selling the job to the customer, adjusting the job and re-delivering.

If that is much less than 10 hours, I assume that you are using loops from libraries and not actually composing. If people like the results, ok but that is not being a Composer.

Hollywood Grade is Hollywood Grade (whatever that is) and that don’t come cheap. Nor should it. Just software alone to pretend you have an orchestra (that isn’t exactly the same one used on the last 75 films someone saw) is expensive work.

I would get rid of the highlighted bit about pandering to the clients like they are gods and you their lickspittle boot boy. This just screams Hack - to me anyway. Maybe you were trying to be the complete opposite of me when I say that I work for the Song (or Story) and by extension not the client directly. The upshot of my approach is not egotistical, it is about not having an ego and even moving past the ego of the client to serve the Work and thereby the client when the result is better for the Song or Movie being worked on and they do better than if they settled with just another clone of Zimmer or Silvestri (and failed to win awards as clones are struck immediately in reputable festivals).

As another Composer, I think you do good work. Work that people will want to buy as you have that sound that most people want. If you want to present as a professional, you need to operate a step (or more) above the wannabes who all rabbit on about their Pro status and DAW but price like they are not even talented amateurs. This is not how Herr Zimmer speaks.

Ultimately though your call.

🙂

On the matter of time per job I tracked time for all jobs over a month and what that really equated to:

This 2 minute film was one of the jobs I did and it used 12 hours of studio time over 3 days (not counting advice to the 1st time Director on how to edit their story so it worked - and wasn’t confusing 15 mins). Even at $10ph that would need to be $150. To get $25ph (base semi-skilled casual rate in my country) that is $375.

This one I just did because I was in downtime, waiting for a client (the video I added later). While I had a result in about 8 hours, Listening after TV Time and 4 more hours the next day massively improved the overall work and mix. That tracks to the same sort of money to make it worthwhile. While I could try to sell for $5 it would not work in my favor (as I have found from attracting only scavengers whose jobs and reviews have not brought me more work).

[imagination7413]

So many newbies are being taken advantage of here on Fiverr by a small minority of predatory “buyers”. This is my take on how to protect yourself, thereby reducing the chances of a cancellation or negative review.

 

 

 

Special shout out to @melissaharlowvo for the buyer requirements section.

Enjoy!

 

[anweshapati]

Just popping in to say your music is epic! I could listen to the second one on repeat for hours! Rooting for you!
(do you have a youtube channel?)

[moditha_damindu]

If you starting off that’s the way to go but answer to your questions is yes

[visualstudios]

Man… $15 for “Hollywood grade orchestral music”? I don’t even need to hear it, that’s a lie.

Also, “If you ever need me, please don’t hesitate to contact me, and remember - even if you don’t end up ordering from me, It is the job of the seller to satisfy the buyer, not the job of the buyer to satisfy the seller.”

Bend over backwards a bit more, please. Serious buyers just love people with zero self respect.

Btw, this whole “Hollywood grade” thing also happens with video here on Fiverr. And it’s also always a lie. There are no Tarantinos or Kubricks or Spielbergs here. Just like there are no Zimmers nor Williams nor Newmans. Because if anyone was that good, they wouldn’t be here, it would make no sense. They would be making millions in big productions. Know your market, know your place.

You can be great at what you do, and a lot of people here are. That doesn’t make you “Hollywood”. Not until you actually work there. And once you do, I seriously doubt you’ll be coming back here. I’m not saying that’s good or bad, it’s just the way it is.

[genuineguidance]

Man… $15 for “Hollywood grade orchestral music”? I don’t even need to hear it, that’s a lie.

Also, “If you ever need me, please don’t hesitate to contact me, and remember - even if you don’t end up ordering from me, It is the job of the seller to satisfy the buyer, not the job of the buyer to satisfy the seller.”

Bend over backwards a bit more, please. Serious buyers just love people with zero self respect.

Btw, this whole “Hollywood grade” thing also happens with video here on Fiverr. And it’s also always a lie. There are no Tarantinos or Kubricks or Spielbergs here. Just like there are no Zimmers nor Williams nor Newmans. Because if anyone was that good, they wouldn’t be here, it would make no sense. They would be making millions in big productions. Know your market, know your place.

You can be great at what you do, and a lot of people here are. That doesn’t make you “Hollywood”. Not until you actually work there. And once you do, I seriously doubt you’ll be coming back here. I’m not saying that’s good or bad, it’s just the way it is.

And if he were “Hollywood”, he would be Fiverr Pro charging thousands for his work like Will I Am (I think I got his name right) who I think has a Fiverr Pro account here.

I was glad to see @benedictrm chimed in, this is his area of expertise!

GG

[visualstudios]

And if he were “Hollywood”, he would be Fiverr Pro charging thousands for his work like Will I Am (I think I got his name right) who I think has a Fiverr Pro account here.

I was glad to see @benedictrm chimed in, this is his area of expertise!

GG

Will I Am is here? Jesus, he really has gone downhill.

[charliezmusic]

Just popping in to say your music is epic! I could listen to the second one on repeat for hours! Rooting for you!

(do you have a youtube channel?)

Thanks! I don’t have a YouTube channel for music, although several people had asked me to make it, I might!

So just to humbly ask for your opinion, if you were to buy the gig, what price do you think would be appropriate?

[english_voice]

Here’s one of your examples: I would like you to score this 5 minute film for me, with a cinematic, and relaxing soundtrack. Also sync the audio when the scene changes. (This would be about $15).

You are prepared to earn just $12 (after commission but before tax) to compose and sync original music to a five minute film? Where I live in the UK, $12 is about equivalent to the adult hourly minimum wage (the very lowest legal wage). I suspect your composition will take far longer than an hour, and I know for a fact that such a skilled service should be charging way above the minimum wage.

In my opinion your gig is way cheap and makes you come across as naive. As a result, the serious sellers will pass you by, and you’ll instead attract the nightmare cheapskate buyers who haven’t a clue what they want and will ask for revision after revision.

[charliezmusic]

Here’s one of your examples: I would like you to score this 5 minute film for me, with a cinematic, and relaxing soundtrack. Also sync the audio when the scene changes. (This would be about $15).

You are prepared to earn just $12 (after commission but before tax) to compose and sync original music to a five minute film? Where I live in the UK, $12 is about equivalent to the adult hourly minimum wage (the very lowest legal wage). I suspect your composition will take far longer than an hour, and I know for a fact that such a skilled service should be charging way above the minimum wage.

In my opinion your gig is way cheap and makes you come across as naive. As a result, the serious sellers will pass you by, and you’ll instead attract the nightmare cheapskate buyers who haven’t a clue what they want and will ask for revision after revision.

Ah, from that order, I ended up using about 6-8 hours working, so yeah it’s very low for hourly. I’ve had 4 orders so far, and all my buyers actually seems pretty experienced, and they were satisfied. I just wanted to attract more buyers. But maybe pricing it cheap isn’t the way?

[moonstaredits]

Ah, from that order, I ended up using about 6-8 hours working, so yeah it’s very low for hourly. I’ve had 4 orders so far, and all my buyers actually seems pretty experienced, and they were satisfied. I just wanted to attract more buyers. But maybe pricing it cheap isn’t the way?

“Attract more buyers” is not necessarily your ultimate goal. By pandering to more buyers, you’re also allowing inexperienced, cheapos, scammers, etc… I think having good reviews should be your goal as for now. How can you get positive reviews if the majority of customers are bad ones?

Plus you can’t underprice your gig because that’s not sustainable. It may be for amateurs who have some kind of knowledge of the field like me (who is editing with a computer that’s not made for editing at all, and using only my trial and error practice until I became decent at what I do) and I don’t even plan on keeping the prices low, I just wait until I build some reputation, but for you, given all you said, low prices are not going to work, not even as a starter, let alone keeping them as they are.

[benedictrm]

Ah, from that order, I ended up using about 6-8 hours working, so yeah it’s very low for hourly. I’ve had 4 orders so far, and all my buyers actually seems pretty experienced, and they were satisfied. I just wanted to attract more buyers. But maybe pricing it cheap isn’t the way?

Did you read what I wrote? I took ages to respond as requested. What I said was in-line with what others after me have said. You replied to them but ignored me. Why? Do you have a personal problem with me?

Ok so this seems sad of me to raise but if you want to appear professional yet forget(?) to even acknowledge someone who put a lot of time into your situation, you appear a lot less than. Again, this is not how Herr Zimmer behaves. I know he is gracious when engaged 😉

Your job timing is about inline with mine yet you still struggle. This I understand. It is hard to value one’s self, esp when the whole environment is built on the debasement of value in everything (except the price of iPhones). It is about building value - as everyone here is trying to do with/for you.

However, joining the losers in their mud pits is not the way to be.

:-I

[psykkopatte]

Don’t work for cheap, or work for cheap until you got 10 reviews and then raise up your prices.

[charliezmusic]

Did you read what I wrote? I took ages to respond as requested. What I said was in-line with what others after me have said. You replied to them but ignored me. Why? Do you have a personal problem with me?

Ok so this seems sad of me to raise but if you want to appear professional yet forget(?) to even acknowledge someone who put a lot of time into your situation, you appear a lot less than. Again, this is not how Herr Zimmer behaves. I know he is gracious when engaged 😉

Your job timing is about inline with mine yet you still struggle. This I understand. It is hard to value one’s self, esp when the whole environment is built on the debasement of value in everything (except the price of iPhones). It is about building value - as everyone here is trying to do with/for you.

However, joining the losers in their mud pits is not the way to be.

:-I

Hi Benedictrm, yes, I have read your post right when it got posted, I have just read it again. Thank you. It seems that I might have forgotten to reply to you, sorry about that.

Thanks for your kind note and your thoughtful analysis. Obviously for me, it is quite crucial for another fellow composer like you to give feedback to me. I might have took your feedback for granted the first time I read it, and didn’t realize the time and effort you put in. It is my deepest apologies.

I have thoroughly read your post again, and listened to the two pieces. I genuinely think they are great, you have a lot of talent. (I genuinely think this not just to be polite). For the star trek one, I especially liked the repeated themes and motifs, the storytelling of the music also does enhance the picture a lot.

As for the men in boats, the contrapuntal orchestration has a very watery feel to it. (Maybe consider listening to Debussy’s La Mer

I personally take a lot of inspiration from La Mer when scoring ocean or water related films.) I also liked the “conversation” between the upper and lower strings you had.

Thanks for your time and effort put into making the post, you have certainly earned another fan. I sincerely apologize for not replying in the first place. Cheers! 🙂

[benedictrm]

Hi Benedictrm, yes, I have read your post right when it got posted, I have just read it again. Thank you. It seems that I might have forgotten to reply to you, sorry about that.

Thanks for your kind note and your thoughtful analysis. Obviously for me, it is quite crucial for another fellow composer like you to give feedback to me. I might have took your feedback for granted the first time I read it, and didn’t realize the time and effort you put in. It is my deepest apologies.

I have thoroughly read your post again, and listened to the two pieces. I genuinely think they are great, you have a lot of talent. (I genuinely think this not just to be polite). For the star trek one, I especially liked the repeated themes and motifs, the storytelling of the music also does enhance the picture a lot.

As for the men in boats, the contrapuntal orchestration has a very watery feel to it. (Maybe consider listening to Debussy’s La Mer

I personally take a lot of inspiration from La Mer when scoring ocean or water related films.) I also liked the “conversation” between the upper and lower strings you had.

Thanks for your time and effort put into making the post, you have certainly earned another fan. I sincerely apologize for not replying in the first place. Cheers! 🙂

Thank you and thank for understanding and thoughtful comment on my music. i feel engaged now.

I hadn’t thought of Men In Boats as contrapun(k)tal but I grew up with Da playing Bach, Scarlatti and the like on his Harpsichord next to me. Baroque is in my blood.

🙂

[sharuf_mirzaa]

My opinion is yes. your gig price is cheap. follow the other price range then figure a average price for your gig.
😊

[genuineguidance]

Will I Am is here? Jesus, he really has gone downhill.

He was when the Fiverr Pro thing was new and I think some guy from Apple was here too.

GG