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Interview with Jon Holland
Like I mentioned, I am a big advocate of composers retaining some of the publishing rights for game music. I think the concept of the all-encompassing "buy-out", with no provision for shared future exploitation by the composer, in this day and age is pretty primitive. If a game publisher decides to release a game soundtrack as an album, basically they’ve become a record label at that point. Now the work that was delivered by the composer under the pretense of being a game score, and compensated as such, becomes a CD master tape belonging to the game publisher. In the record biz artists are given advances and expect royalties from the label based on the sales of that CD. There are few additional costs to the label in this case since the artist/composer recorded the music at their own expense. Normally the recording of an album is a tremendous expense for a record label. In this case, except for manufacturing and promotion of the CD, it’s theoretically not too difficult for the label to make a profit on the disc, especially if the music is strong enough to merit a CD release in the first place. Composers should be sharing that profit and there’s no reason they shouldn’t be. In a nutshell, CD royalties and some part of the publishing should be retained by the artist. Period.
The same goes for game companies using game music in films or television. Maybe as a compromise to the current unilateral situation, they could offer to double the up-front buyout price to the composer. That way the composer will be happy because they get substantially more money up front and the game publisher will have no further obligation to pay any other fees or royalties. Then they could do whatever they want with the score. But the composer should get to choose which deal they want. Just a thought. It’s a rapidly evolving industry with a lot of lines being blurred and new issues to deal with as the Internet gets more sophisticated. I’m sure that before too long we’ll have it all ironed out and it won’t be the composers versus the game companies any longer. Ultimately, I would love to be the first composer to come from the games industry and have a radio hit or a platinum record. I don’t like the fact that I now have to treat my interests in both of these fields separately. It’s always bothered me. Only with the support, faith, and blessing of the game publishers will I be able to achieve this. I believe it can and will happen. What’s your secret to networking with the right people? No secret really. I’m not a big industry-function kind of guy, but I do travel quite a bit in California and Europe. When I do go somewhere, it’s more for people than for the functions. My trips are not always directly games-related, but they are usually tied in somehow. I’m a pretty intense guy and I usually know what someone thinks of me within a few minutes, through body language and facial expressions. If I feel like they approve of me, we usually end up being friends on a personal level, not just in business. If I feel they don’t dig on my vibe [Laughs], I can usually diffuse their attitudes by smothering them with a positivity thing. I don’t like dealing with people who are negative and don’t dream. To me, they were the people on the playground who had cooties. [Laughs] What advice would you give to developers looking for music and sound effects? Producers should trust composers. If you pick the right composer they’ll take good care of you. Composers specialize in finding the right music for a visual. Naturally we are paid by the producers to deliver what they want. It’s always nice to have some guidelines, but we know options that they might not consider. It’s all about being open to trying new things. I’ve been very lucky not to be boxed in musically and I feel most producers I’ve worked with are happy with my judgement. 
Where do you see game music headed? It seems to me that the games that get high accolades always have great music scores. Naturally it’s not just because the music is exceptional, but because the music is pulling its weight in the game. No weak links in the development team – an all-star cast, if you will. Music is not the most important factor in a game, but it can be as important as high-glitz graphics and sound effects. The synergy of those elements really creates the recipe that equals success. But you have to have a cool game, because if people don’t sit through the gameplay, then all the great graphics and sound will never get a chance to shine. I’d like to hear more CD-quality Red Book soundtracks in games as well. Another thing I’d like to touch upon are games designed for females. Where are they? It’s a shame that developers think that young girls don’t play videogames. Sure they do. It’s just that most of the games out there are designed for Bash-em-up-Billy and have very limited appeal to girls. I’m not sure girls care that much about "Monster Truck Hell 1999" or "Motocross Psychosis" for PlayStation! It may sound corny, but I think when someone out there decides to make an innovative love story or a game about the human condition that it will open up new possibilities for interactive game marketing. Life would be pretty bland if all we had was ESPN and murder shows to watch on TV. I would love to write the music for a game like this. Let’s face it, "Blade Runner" was as much a love story as it was a sci-fi film. As far as technology in music in general, surround sound is a big interest of mine. Dolby 5.1 for music is awesome! I’ve heard impressive sound effects demos as well but I’m mainly a music guy. The most impressive demo I’ve heard so far has to be Meridian’s MLP technology for DVD Audio. DTS is cool as well. I hope to be scoring a game in 5.1 soon. |
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