Anyone else doing sound design/sound effects on the side ?

[Jay]

I accidentally got into sound effects awhile back by having a live mic capture something cool years ago in my apt in NY…I put it up @ AS and it started selling so now I have about 200 SFX/sound design/ambiance pieces that sell weekly (I use these in indie films occasionally as well)
I have them @ AS, RV & P5 (I hope this is alright to mention Art)

anyway..is anyone else doing this and selling (for a decent price) at places i’m not aware of ? I’m not interested in places where they sell for a few dollars and they set the price or low traffic sites…

thanks..Jay

[Art Munson]

I have them @ AS, RV & P5 (I hope this is alright to mention Art)

We have evolved to abbreviations being okay, just no mentioning of libraries by name on an open forum. Music Library Report is about music though, not SFX or sound design.

[Jay]

Music Library Report is about music though, not SFX or sound design.

I know Art…I’ve been coming here since the site launched and make most of my $ through music..I just figured a few here may be doing SFX on the side to help pay the rent etc…SFX is just a small revenue stream of mine I’d like to see get bigger that’s all..Jay

[Art Munson]

Sure Jay, nice that you found another income stream. It’s all about multiple income streams!

[Greg]

I have actually be thinking about doing some sfx. Good to hear you can make at least some $ with them.

[Rob (Cruciform)]

Jay,

I do a lot of sound design but it’s always in the context of my music. I’ve never tried selling it.

[Desire_Inspires]

Jay has opened up a new way of looking at my music. I am going to examine my catalog and see if I can stretch my catalog to support SFX.

[Tbone]

Jay:

What kind of Sound FX are you selling? What sort of price points?

I have a bathroom sound that sold for errr a couple of bucks. My only ever FX sale!

[Jay]

Tbone…I have everything from bird & weather sounds to motorcycle/car/equipment/construction sounds to chef sounds/kitchen/household sounds and so on…quite a variety along with some involved sound design/ambiance pieces – I also do some Foley work – some are priced around $8.00 (max at that site) and $16 – $20 at another site and up to $50 for some hard to get rare sounds..I just raised all my SFX prices substantially and found they still sell just as well..can’t wait to see what I make in the winter when they seem to sell best..I’m hoping to find a few more sites like the ones I mentioned above with freedom to set prices and high traffic…it’s actually a fun little hobby and more involved than just throwing up a mic..great when music is burning you out..hand held recorders work best…Jay

[Tbone]

Hey Jay,

Thanks for the reply. I use an M-Audio Microtrack portable recorder with a Sony ECM MS957 stereo condenser mic attached. What set up do you have?

Do you mind me asking how many total FX you have for sale? And roughly what revenue they bring in per month on average? I’ve only got 10FX in total and just had one sale recently.

[MichaelL]

Funny this thread should come up now. FX and sound design are cool. I did sound design for a year or two for a major media company, back in the 90s. I still hear my “sounds” on radio all the time…the little noises in between everything else.

Since getting back into the “business,” I’ve been collecting new raw material for a few years with a Zoom H4N. It goes wherever I go. I also set up foley stuff in the studio. I’ve got hundreds of raw sounds. One of my first projects, after the dust settles here is to edit, process and upload the whole collection.

It’s fun. Even my wife has gotten to the point where she’ll hear something and say, “that’s a good sound, you should record it.”

“…all you have to do is listen” _August Rush

Cheers,
Michael

[Jay]

having trouble replying to this thread..had an answer for a few questions but it’s too long to type again and the site won’t let me post it for some reason through copy & pasting it..i’ll try again tmrw..jay

[Jay]

I had a Tascam DP 04 recorder for about a year and captured around 200 sounds but it had an issue..so having bought the extended warranty I returned it and to my surprise they simply gave me my $ back..@ the time I had no use for it as I ran out of sounds to record so it worked out well…I’ll buy another if I feel there’s a lot more sounds I need to capture as I was quite happy with the built in condenser mics..

It’s fun. Even my wife has gotten to the point where she’ll hear something and say, “that’s a good sound, you should record it.”

that’s how I came up my sounds Michael…my Foley stuff surprises me when it sells as I hear myself “faking something” but apparently others hear what I hoped they would..

Do you mind me asking how many total FX you have for sale? And roughly what revenue they bring in per month on average? I’ve only got 10FX in total and just had one sale recently.

it varies greatly but I have about 200 sounds and right now in summer (slow season for me) around $50. monthly but just having raised my prices substantially I hope to @ least double that in winter..time will tell..

so getting back to the original thread..does anyone know of a good place to sell other than the libraries I mentioned above or any other way to make more $ with SFX ?

[Art Munson]

having trouble replying to this thread..had an answer for a few questions but it’s too long to type again and the site won’t let me post it for some reason through copy & pasting it..i’ll try again tmrw..jay

Some replies get caught in the moderation cue for various reason. Sometimes for links, sometimes for words that might be a partial match for a profanity or just mysterious reasons. Your post has been set free! 🙂

[MichaelL]

it varies greatly but I have about 200 sounds and right now in summer (slow season for me) around $50. monthly but just having raised my prices substantially I hope to @ least double that in winter..time will tell..

As with other areas of this business, it sounds like it takes a a few thousand FX along a substantial investment of time and money, to get a decent return.

[Author]

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