Sell Custom Score & Cue Commissions From Your Bio

Composers sell custom score and cue commissions by publishing a priced listing on their bio link instead of scoping "can you write me a piece?" requests for free. The client describes the brief and pays upfront, then the composer delivers a finished cue, stems, or a short score inside a set turnaround window. Custom Work lets you offer clearly scoped commissions and services: you set the price, the scope and the delivery time, and followers submit a brief and pay before you start.

Followers pay upfront as guests before you start; you deliver the cue within the delivery time you set, up to five days. You can decline a request.

No monthly fee, you only pay a small platform fee when you get paid. 8% platform fee when a follower pays for work, 5% platform fee on tips and goals. Card processing is separate. Each commission is a one-time purchase, not a membership (Brillay pricing).

A student filmmaker, indie game developer, or podcast host messages: "I love your music — could you write something for my project?" That request is a real commission, but scoping it, agreeing on a fee, and delivering a file through DMs usually means unpaid back-and-forth before a single note gets written. A priced Custom Work listing replaces that negotiation with a fixed brief, a price, and a delivery time.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics lists the 2025 median pay for music directors and composers as $73,710 per year, or $35.44 per hour, in the Quick Facts table of its Occupational Outlook Handbook profile (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook: Music Directors and Composers, page last modified August 27, 2026). The same BLS Quick Facts table records 51,100 music director and composer jobs in 2025 and a job outlook of 1 percent for 2025–35 — an employment change of 600 jobs, which BLS labels "slower than average" (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook: Music Directors and Composers).

What counts as a custom score commission?

A custom score commission is a from-scratch writing job: a composer creates original music to a client's brief — a short film cue, a game loop, or a small ensemble piece — for a set price and a set delivery time. A commission is not feedback on an existing track, and not a license for a pre-made cue.

The commission-versus-feedback distinction decides the scope of the listing. A beatmaker giving notes on a follower's existing track is a narrower offer with a different price; paid track feedback for beatmakers covers that format. A composer commission starts from a brief (mood, instrumentation, length, reference tracks) and ends with a delivered audio file, so a commission listing should name the input the client supplies and the output the client receives rather than promising to "write you something." Writers who take custom work face the same scoping problem in a different medium; how fanfiction writers price and scope custom fic commissions works through the equivalent brief-to-deliverable structure for prose.

How much should a composer charge for a commission?

There is no single published rate card for a custom score, so composers price against survey medians and then adjust for experience, instrumentation, and delivery time. The most-cited U.S. benchmark is a median commission fee of $1,500, or $150 per finished minute, reported by New Music USA's Composer Commission Pay Survey.

The Composer Commission Pay Survey by David E. Farrell and Loretta K. Notareschi, published by New Music USA on February 3, 2021, found a median commission fee of $1,500 — $150 per finished minute — across 871 commissions reported by more than 200 composers (New Music USA).

New Music USA's survey found that 37% of the 871 reported commissions were unpaid. If people already ask for music in your DMs, publish one tightly scoped commission with the price shown upfront instead of relying on optional support or negotiating after you start.

"Many professional composers, at all levels of experience, take a mix of paid and unpaid commissions." — David E. Farrell & Loretta K. Notareschi, Composer Commission Pay Survey, published by New Music USA, February 3, 2021

Game and interactive scoring runs on a per-minute convention. The GameSoundCon 2025 Game Audio Industry Survey reports that 81% of AAA freelance game composers and 55% of indie freelance game composers charge by the finished minute of music (GameSoundCon). The same GameSoundCon 2025 survey puts the median freelance rate at $407 per finished minute for indie games and $1,700 per finished minute for AAA games. GameSoundCon's own framing of the gap between those two medians is that "composition rates vary widely by game size/scope".

Two sourced pricing rules follow from the New Music USA and GameSoundCon surveys. Custom Work lets you sell a small, defined cue you can deliver in up to five days. Treat the $1,500 survey median as market context, not as a recommended Brillay package for a larger commission. A composer writing for indie games can set a first listing at or above the GameSoundCon 2025 indie median of $407 per finished minute, which puts a 60-second loop near $407 rather than at a hobby rate.

The table below is a decision aid for choosing which commission format to list first. The dollar figures in the table are Brillay-authored starter packages, not survey results.

*The four price ranges in the table above are illustrative starter packages written by Brillay — not survey data, and not a guarantee of what any client will pay. For sourced market figures, use the New Music USA median of $1,500 per commission and the GameSoundCon 2025 indie median of $407 per finished minute.

Why isn't a paid question enough to commission a score?

Custom Work accepts file deliverables for commissions, while Paid Questions are for one private question and one written reply.

Brillay documents the Paid Questions reply format as "Replies are text, written privately" in the FAQ on its Paid Questions page, confirming that the offer provides one written reply.

With a custom request, a client can attach up to five reference files when ordering, and you can deliver a written note, up to five files of 500 MB each, up to five links, or a combination.

A paid question still works for a narrower ask that resolves in words alone, such as "would a minor-key or major-key theme fit this trailer better?" Requests for a demo, a stem, or a finished cue belong in a custom request listing.

What should a composer commission listing include?

To prevent scope creep, make six things clear before a client orders: what the client supplies, what you deliver, how you handle corrections, your delivery date, the usage rights, and what is excluded. Each of those six lines exists to stop a fixed-price commission from expanding into unpaid work after delivery.

• Input: Reference tracks, mood and tone notes, length, and any required instrumentation.
• Deliverable: A single stereo file, stems, a written score or lead sheet, or a combination.
• Corrections: Say what a client can ask you to fix after delivery; your correction and revision policy is shown to them before they pay.
• Delivery time: Name a delivery time you can reliably hold. Brillay states that on each custom request you set a price and delivery time, and one delivery closes the order.
• Usage rights: What the client may do with the finished piece, stated in the listing rather than left implied.
• Exclusions: What is out of scope — a full album, mixing or mastering of the client's own vocals, or unlimited revisions.

For example: "One 30–60 second instrumental cue matched to a reference track and a one-line brief. Includes one final delivery."

Who owns the music after a commission is paid for?

Ownership after a paid commission depends on the written agreement, because U.S. copyright law does not automatically transfer a commissioned score to whoever paid for it. The U.S. Copyright Office limits work-made-for-hire treatment of commissioned works to nine statutory categories, and only when both parties sign a written instrument saying so (U.S. Copyright Office, Circular 30).

"A work specially ordered or commissioned for use … as a part of a motion picture or other audiovisual work … if the parties expressly agree in a written instrument signed by them that the work shall be considered a work made for hire." — U.S. Copyright Office, Circular 30: Works Made for Hire

Circular 30's wording matters for composers specifically. A cue written for a film, a trailer, or a game cinematic can fall inside the second of the nine categories — "a part of a motion picture or other audiovisual work" — but only with a signed written agreement, while a standalone concert piece appears in none of the nine categories (U.S. Copyright Office).

The U.S. Copyright Office sets four criteria a commissioned work must satisfy to be a work made for hire — one of the nine categories, a written agreement, express work-made-for-hire language, and signatures from all parties — and states plainly that "if a work fails to satisfy any of these requirements, it is not a work made for hire" (U.S. Copyright Office).

Two sourced ownership rules follow from Circular 30. Because the U.S. Copyright Office states that "ordinarily, the author is the person or persons who actually created the work" and treats works made for hire as an exception to that rule, a composer who signs nothing remains the author of a commissioned cue by default (U.S. Copyright Office). Because all four of the Copyright Office's work-made-for-hire criteria must be met, a composer selling a film or game cue should state the rights term in the listing itself — a single line such as "includes a license for use in this project only" or "includes full transfer of rights on final payment" — rather than leaving ownership to be argued after delivery.

What else can a composer sell besides commissions?

One Brillay link can carry several offers at once: Paid Questions, Personalized Videos, Tips, Goals, and Brand Collaboration Inquiries. Running them as separate listings keeps the commission listing narrowly scoped instead of absorbing every incoming request into one unclear price.

• Paid Questions: Paid Questions let a follower pay upfront to ask one private question, and you send one written reply on your own time — no live call or scheduling.
• Personalized Videos: Personalized Videos let a follower pay upfront for one personalized video for themselves or someone they care about: you set the price and the delivery time, then record it on your schedule.
• Tips: Tips let followers send a one-time thank-you, with nothing for you to deliver and no membership for them to join.
• Goals: A Goal is one named goal with a progress bar: followers make one-time contributions and every contribution is yours whether or not the goal is reached — no deadline unless you set one, and nothing to ship.
• Brand Collaboration Inquiries: Brand Collaboration Inquiries is a “Work with Me” form on your Brillay page that collects a brand’s budget, timeline, and deliverables into a separate brand inbox.

Freelance work is a normal channel for this kind of income. The GameSoundCon 2025 Game Audio Industry Survey found that 25% of game audio professionals freelance as their only source of income, a further 8.7% freelance alongside a day job unrelated to audio, and another 11.3% freelance while holding a salaried game audio job. Paid Questions, Personalized Videos, Tips, Goals, and Brand Collaboration Inquiries are enabled from the same Brillay creator dashboard as a commission listing (how Brillay works).

How do you get a commission offer live?

Getting a commission offer live takes three decisions: which commission formats you accept, what each listing includes, and what delivery time you can reliably hold. Write the brief requirements, deliverable, no-revision terms, delivery time, and rights terms before publishing, because every one of those is easier to set than to renegotiate mid-commission. You do not need to compose or upload a cue before publishing; the listing goes live first, and you make the score after the paid order arrives.

To take paid orders, connect your bank through Stripe. There is no degree, guild membership, follower minimum, or application, and Brillay supports creator payouts in 41 countries. Brillay's homepage FAQ answers the question "Do I need a minimum number of followers?" with "No. There's no follower minimum and nothing to apply for — the only requirement is that someone wants to interact with you," so a composer can publish a commission listing at any audience size.

Create your free Brillay page and turn the next "can you write me something?" message into a clearly scoped paid commission.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a music degree or guild membership to sell score commissions?

No degree, certification, guild membership, follower minimum, or application is required; connect your bank through Stripe to accept paid commission orders. Describe your training and credits accurately in the listing so clients know exactly what they are commissioning.

Should a commission be a Paid Question or a custom request?

Use Custom Work for the commission itself, because you can deliver text plus up to 5 files and links.

How long can I take to deliver a commissioned piece?

You choose a delivery time of up to five days for each custom request; the follower pays upfront, and one delivery closes the order. Set a delivery time you can reliably meet for the scope listed — a 30-second cue and a full ensemble piece do not belong in the same delivery time.

Who owns the copyright to a commissioned piece?

Ownership is not automatic: the U.S. Copyright Office restricts work-made-for-hire treatment of commissioned works to nine statutory categories and requires a written instrument signed by both parties (U.S. Copyright Office). State in the listing whether the client receives full rights, a limited-use license, or something narrower.

What does Brillay charge?

Getting paid on Brillay costs a percentage-based platform fee, taken only when a commission is paid — there's no monthly fee to list one. Card processing is a separate charge, billed by Stripe: its published pricing lists 2.9% + 30¢ per successful transaction for domestic cards in the United States (Stripe pricing).