Filmmakers Pick the Price and It Worked with Isaac Haines

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Overview

Isaac Haines is a composer in rural Alberta who sells his whole catalog straight to filmmakers with a one-time, pay-what-you-can lifetime license. Recording from his truck mid-elk hunt, Isaac shares how a tough year led him to launch the idea with paid ads, and how it's grown his audience and changed his family's life. He and Ryan also dig into pricing, value, and the role good music can play in making or breaking a video.

Key Takeaways

Your old work might be an asset. Isaac's catalog was sitting on a hard drive until he packaged it into one product.
Traffic comes from organic or paid. With only 452 followers, Isaac leaned into ads and built toward an offer that could run profitably.
Price on its own doesn't mean much. Isaac built extra products and a $200 "regular price" so buyers could see what his $40 minimum was really worth.
Before talking budget with a client, ask what the video needs to accomplish. That's where the value conversation starts.

About Isaac Haines

Isaac Haines is a singer, songwriter, and composer from rural Alberta, Canada, creating raw, cinematic music shaped by solitude and the outdoors.

In This Episode

[00:00] Welcome to the show!

[06:36] Meet Isaac Haines

[08:31] Music For Creators

[19:23] Advertising

[26:47] Understanding Value

[34:44] Importance In Music Choices

[39:10] Increased Income

[48:13] Connect with Isaac

[49:06] Outro

Quotes

"We all want to be paid fairly... there's a flip to that. We should try to pay fairly when we can." (Isaac Haines)
"Price in isolation doesn't really make any sense." (Isaac Haines)
"If you put trash music on top of that, it's just gonna be a trash video." (Isaac Haines)
"Before we even think about your budget, what do you want this video to do?" (Ryan Koral)
"Would you spend fifty thousand dollars to make a million? I hope so." (Ryan Koral