Game Audio Network Guild

Game Audio Survey's 2009 Game Audio Marketplace Survey is Launched
 
http://www.gameaudiosurvey.com/
 
Game Audio Survey is a not-for-profit organization run by Dan Reynolds which intends to inform our Industry with analyses of data collected through surveys.
 
As professionals in an industry driven by an unregulated freelance marketplace, it is in our best interest to inform ourselves about our own industry.
Market power is about having control of that marketplace and the people who have the control have it because they have the most information when making a decision.
You can help us all take back that market power by participating in this 5 minute survey.
There are many surveys conducted by organizations which collect data on compensation for in-house employees.  These invaluable reports offer insight into the financial side of the games industry.  However, freelance audio services are thoroughly and unfortunately neglected.
The freelance marketplace is a diversified and volatile market that can, at times, seem impossible to understand.  Most of our dealings are done in private emails and rates are rarely publicized.
However, when we have an objective perspective of the marketplace as a whole, we can begin to see where we, as contractors, stand in the marketplace.  This is important as a litmus test for the pure economics of our industry, of course, but it is also important as an index or reference for beginning and intermediate professionals who lack the resources to even understand what could be considered fair pricing in our industry.
My preliminary research has already suggested that intermediate and beginning professionals with fewer than 3 years experience have no clue how much they should and can be charging.  Many think they are even over-charging for their services when their rates suggest that they sit on the low-end of the spectrum.
This survey is simple and anonymous.
This survey is meant for the following Game Audio Professionals:
In-House Audio
Freelance Composer
Freelance Sound-Designer
Freelance Music-Sequencer
 
It is also meant for people who provide audio services for free or paid, credited or uncredited.
 
The data will be subjected to cross-sectional analyses which will be published in a report and made public later this year.  This report will discuss the various angles of pricing and experience in our industry and how those prices change depending on the profile of the project and the profile of the audio professional.
The report will also explore suppositions conclusions and aberrations in the data and encourage an informed discussion on this most important topic.
Again, the survey is completely anonymous.
If you have already taken the survey, thank you for your support, but please do not take it again.
The survey can be found here:
http://www.gameaudiosurvey.com/
 
Inquiries are welcome.
 
Finally, thanks for helping us help ourselves.
 
Sincerely,
- Dan Reynolds
 
PS: Since it's been asked, data will be handled by myself and Anthony Hannagan who has a Bachelors in Economics from the University of Colorado, additionally, outside consultants will occasionally be employed for discussion of the data set.

We are proud to announce the 2nd release from Deprogrammed Studios entitled “A Descent into the Darkness”. The album is available for Pre-Order now, and will feature 13 new tracks that we’ve unleashed via digital distribution to the masses, available exclusively now via FiXT Music.

 

“A Descent into the Darkness” features contributions from Johnny Ostrem, Brian Skeel, Kenny James, Savannah Kocher, and composer Leif Chappelle

This release also features artwork by Alex Seminara

 

Upon Pre-Order, you’ll receive 5 of these tracks immediately, and ALSO be entered into a Giveaway for a FiXT Store Gift Card ($25 value), and a free 12 month Xbox Live Gold subscription ($50 value)

http://www.fixtstore.com/category/136/Deprogrammed

To view other Deprogrammed releases and remixes also available @ FiXT Music, click here

Thanks for your continued support! Cheers,

_______________________________________

Otto Cate
Owner/Lead Composer, Deprogrammed Studios

http://www.deprogrammedstudios.com

http://www.ottocate.com

 

Sound moves around us every day and the human ear is capable of discerning both the location and relative direction of its motion. "3D sound" or "sound spatialization" is the process of placing and controlling the movement of sounds in space.

Though "sound spatialization" has been of interest to composers and sound designers for years, recent breakthroughs in computing, software design and psychoacoustics have brought this exciting realm of sonic expression within reach of creators and engineers in all aspects of design and production. And with the proliferation of surround sound technology and surround media standards for cinema, gaming, computing and home theatre, any consumer now has access to the power of spatial sound within their own home media environments.

Immersive Media Research is dedicated to providing sound designers, musicians, and composers with professional, affordable, and powerful software products that address the entire production chain associated with the development of multichannel and binaural audio content.

Our tools are designed to inspire and enable surround sound content development, replacing the tedium once associated with this work with efficient, fun-to-use, powerfully expressive tools for designing sound in space.

Sincerely,

Terry Maedhce

CEO Immersive Media Research

 

Hey all -

So here's a quick summary of updates from Deprogrammed Studios for June 2008!

More details can be found at: http://blog.deprogrammed.com/

STAFF

Deprogrammed Studios is proud to announce our new partner John Ostrem, who will be handling business for our SW division, in addition to drum tracking services in Austin, TX. We've also brought on several collaborators from around the globe to help expand our catalog.

MUSIC

Nucleus Soundlab asked us to develop a couple of tracks to demo their new release "Viral Outbreak", a sound library based on sounds from the legendary Virus Ti synth. Check out the tracks "Infekted" and "Contagion" at http://nucleus-soundlab.com/viraloutbreak.htm. Reason Refill and VSTi formats and available now!

We've also contributed to several new releases over the last couple of months:

FIXT/Position Production Music Series: Volume 32 - Electronic (Digital + CD - 2008)
Celldweller: Take it and Break it Round 3 - "Switchback" (CD - Release Date TBA)
Transcendence (Score accompanying the book of photography by Alexander23 - 2008)
Harsh Realm: Dual Remix L [Arrhythima/Blood of Another] (CD - 2008)
Deprogrammed Studios Production Music Series: Volume 1 (CD - 2008)

LICENSING/PUBLISHING

The last CD in the list above is our own release, which features 30 tracks that cover multiple genres and moods (action/battle, horror, rock/metal, etc), all of which are available for immediate licensing for film/tv/games/other media.

Our list of publishers is growing rapidly - Stay tuned for more exciting news ahead. =)