contract questions about composing and payment

[chagos]

greetings all,
I'm currenly getting ready to compose around 2 hours of music for a miniseries that will be on European television.

I will be paid a percentage of the net profit for my services. my question is: how much percentage of the net profit does the composer usually get?
i was thinking around 5-8% , but i could be really wrong.

I just want to make sure that i am not working my tail off for an underpaying job. basically, what percentage would be normal for this kind of contract?

if you know of any websites that will help, that would be appreciated too.
thanks for your time

[Paul Nelson]

Do you know these people? If you don't........never.......never.........(you get the point)
work on a film (or anything else) for "Net" profit. It is WAY too easy for a producer to make it look like the picture didn't
make any money! If you value your work and I hope you do, making deals like this( unless you are personally related to
and even then I would never extend that kind of effort for my relatives) can sour you on the whole scene. Imagine your
embarrasment when you tell your loved ones that the last three to five weeks you've just spent on this project was purely
a philanthropic effort and you hoped that you would be rewarded in heaven. That aint gonna pay the bulldog my trusting
friend. Arrive at a price for the whole score. Get 1/3 up front. next third midway, and last third on final delivery. they are foreign
so make sure and have them direct deposit in your acct in american dollars unless theirs is worth more. Trust me. They have a budget in mind.You gotta get it out of them. GOOD LUCK!

[chagos]

i've actually worked with them before and i had no trouble from them.

so lets just say, under perfect circumstances, in a perfect world, what would the percentage be for composing, mixing/producing the score?

[dr sound]

Chagos,
You are living in a dream world if you think you can get 5-8%. Get what you can up front and use this film as a calling card for your next film. I know many big composers and they don't get a piece of the action let alone 5+ %! Good Luck with your score!!

[JKD99]

Hi Chagos
Even if you don't get a composing fee, a composer is normally paid via publishing royalties (when the series airs, hopefully MANY times!) in addition to their fees for composition and recording costs, etc.
Back-end royalties from the sale of the film/series itself are VERY unusual: you're basically acting in a producer's capacity at that point. You ARE a member of ASCAP or BMI, right? If not, it's time.
If you've worked with them before, I hope it all works out well again.
Hope this helps, good luck!

[TVPostSound]

The first thing I was taught, was get it from the GROSS, NOT NET!!!!
Because net can become negative. If net is all they will offer, get what you can up front.