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"I got a chance to work with Paul McCartney over the past couple of years, and that was for me personally a super highlight of my career," O'Donnell said. "He's a really nice guy, amazingly talented, fun to work with, easy to work with. At one point when I was talking to him, we were talking about some specific thing and he made this comment: "Well I don't want to do that. That would be a little too 'work-for-hire.'"

"I've always been work-for-hire," O'Donnell said. "And there are some things that can happen aesthetically that are maybe not as pleasing to your creative soul because you're work-for-hire, because you're trying to please somebody else. So you always have to fight just pleasing somebody else and also staying true to your own artistic sensibilities."

I'll venture that explains what happened.

This isn't really Destiny-related (or even Halo-related)... but it's a pretty interesting read. GamesIndustry.biz interviewed Marty about the concept of 'work-for-hire' - and his thoughts are worth checking out.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2014-08-04-work-for-hire-hits-the-wrong-notes

Well... seeing as you own the place, I think we'll let it slide this once.

"I think the industry itself is probably on the verge of going through some relatively major changes," O'Donnell said. "The big development studios are probably going to be fewer and fewer, and there are going to be a lot more smaller developers, mainly because I think the days of the big AAA titles that need 600 people to develop are probably going to go away. And that means the need for teams with multiple audio professionals that are full-time, in-house, will probably start to dissipate.

I think its too early to say this. Why? Go where the money is.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2014-08-04-work-for-hire-hits-the-wrong-notes

So it's going to get harder?

Why not Unionize? Unions can ensure a good working environment, as well as offer some form of creative protection. For instance, the DGA guarantees at least 8 weeks for a directors cut without studio interference. Other unions allow creative professionals to get points as standard so they benefit more.

J/K

I wonder what's next for Marty. Maybe this revelation from Sir Paul will push him to release some kind of stand alone album. I would love to hear what he could come up with out of the blue, with no constraints.

This isn't really Destiny-related (or even Halo-related)... but it's a pretty interesting read. GamesIndustry.biz interviewed Marty about the concept of 'work-for-hire' - and his thoughts are worth checking out.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2014-08-04-work-for-hire-hits-the-wrong-notes

As a freelance illustrator, I can definitely understand these feelings. "Work-for-hire" is an evil word to me, and yet it's the only work I can usually get in-industry.

The literary side of illustration, as in folks who get work with New Yorker, National Geographic and so forth, they seem to have made it over the hump of work-for-hire and now there's a lot more respectable expectations when it comes to contract. You get more for reprints, you can retain original non-exclusive rights, you'll get paid in a fair amount of time, etc. You don't just sell your art forever to a company for them to do as they please as is common with most genre illustration and popular comic book work. There are artists and writers who created characters that Disney or Warner Bros are making millions on right now that are getting nothing. Sometimes they don't even get credited. Look up Bill Finger or why Image Comics was created for more on that...

Of course work-for-hire and that idea of losing most of your rights to a bigger entity wouldn't be as scary sounding if it was assuaged by a payment worthy of such a compromise. But again, genre-illustration hands out the most paltry of sums unless your name is recognizable across the field. When I've sat down and figured out my finances, my work from in-industry has been, compared to the hours spent on the work, less than minimum wage, sometimes much less. And since freelancing is not consistent, you can go months with no work. One of my career goals right now is to just try and get somewhere close to the poverty line of my state with art. But that seems very far away!

I'm still waiting on payment from a company I worked for a year ago now - and it could be even longer till I get it. The way these work-for-hire contracts are formed are all in the benefit of the employer, and there's loopholes that continue to keep them and their investments safe. And if you want to negotiate or play hardball to get a fairer contract? You lose because there's a thousand other hungry freelance artists who are just like you and trying to get their foot in the door. Some of the art directors I've spoken to talk as if they're doing you favor by even reaching out to you. Imagine the feeder at the aquarium and a thousand gulping fish wanting one or two of the jobs they drop in...

I don't mind a challenge. I understand art and entertainment is a crazy industry and ridiculously competitive. But many employers take advantage of that. Getting a job was hard - earning a fair wage for it seems even harder. That's the absurd part I'm trying to point out.

And this is all another reason I'm making my comic, Mayflower. If I'm going to starve, I might as well starve making something I can pour my heart in.

I have purposefully stayed silent on the entire issue until now. Been foolishly waiting for TotalAudio to reassemble...and Bungie to hire Marty and Mike as independents again. But it seems so clear that ship has sailed and bridge burned. Every new 'development' and legal action just reopens the wound and makes me more and more sad. I think this article has all but confirmed some of my silent suspicions?

I for one, will not purchase the "Destiny Soundtrack" or "Music of the Spheres" (if it ever releases - F*** you Geoff Keighly), no matter how good it is, unless it is explicitly credited to Mike and Marty and they are both receiving residuals or royalties of some kind per sale.
It is not about the money, it is about the artist getting their credit where the credit is due and being compensated fairly for it. Of any of the mostly independent and somewhat progressive video game companies, Bungie should be the one working with the audio team and trying to reshape the industry for the better. Instigate the change, not resist it while contributing to the larger problem. Re-shape the business model. (Maybe their hands are tied by Activision?)

I will not pad Bungie or Activision's pockets for letting Marty go and benefiting from his heart filled artistic creations. If there is no plan for fair compensation to Marty and Mike, I hope that the official soundtrack or "Music of The Spheres", and any future soundtrack installments sell ZERO copies. If Bungie/Activision's final case is for ripping off the arists they employ (be it audio directors, concept artists, engineers, writers, programmers, producers, etc.), I attest that each of us should donate the money that we would have spent per soundtrack copy to Marty's Daughter's non-profit charity FosterKinship or the Bungie Foundation instead of purchasing the soundtrack. Let's instigate the change in the business model instead of laying down. We can make a significant statement and benefit others at the same time.

That's an odd sore spot to have -- I thought one of Marty's claims to fame was that he was one of the very few video game composers who was *not* work-for-hire. That is, he was a long-term salaried employee, as opposed to the freelancers and contractors that do most VG music.

You'd think that given that the Halo series is now Microsoft's intellectual property, this would also include the theme tune to the Halo games that Marty composed, but they elected not to re-use it in Halo 4, and the teaser for Halo: Guardians suggests 343i are sticking with creating their own, new theme. But is that a creative decision or is it because the rights to that theme still reside with Marty? In which case, with him no longer even working at Bungie, does that mean they might metaphorically gather dust in the cupboard?

I've always found it interesting that for game tie-ins of major movie IPs like Star Wars and Harry Potter tend to go one of two routes: they either use the exact music from the films (e.g. X-Wing: Alliance, which had snippets from the whole series on the game disc) or they hire another composer entirely to create a thematically-similar but most definitely entirely new soundtrack (Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, for example). But maybe that was because the main theme ‘belongs’ to John Williams? Is there a similar situation with Marty?

Feel free to chime in here, by the way Marty :)