Customer service is priority #1, but I don't see it getting so far as completing a piece of music, then a client simply not liking it. There will be a very open dialogue through each step of the process, the client involved in approving each step before we proceed to the next step.[/quote]

A couple $0.02 comments on that...
1) while it's certainly important to keep the client in the loop, at the same time, you probably don't want to engage your client quite this much-- Remember, your client (the game producer most likely) is juggling 158 other balls relating to the project. So you don't want to take too much of their time. (indeed, i've had many clients say "I like working with you because I can just forget about the audio"). Talk about what they want, look at the game visuals, perhaps even talk about stylistic examples. Then go off and do your stuff.

1a) Another reason to be careful about too much 'looping' in is that 'music by committee' tends to not be the greatest way to compose (IMHO). Nothing worse than a "more cowbell" game producer-- (or like that scene in Amadeus where the King tells Mozart "Nice..but too many notes.")

2) sort of related to 1)... For the most part, you only want to give your client music (or any audio) that is already quite polished. Remember--you, in your head-- have an idea as to what the 'finished' music will be, even if you only give them a rough-cut rhythm track. The producer doesn't have that vision. First impressions are important (both for your first deliverable to a client, as well as the first pass at a piece you provide for part of the game). If you want to get their feedback on something, produce 8/16 bars of highly polished stuff to get an idea of whether or not its in the right direction.

3) that means you'll regularly find yourself having a client not like what you've done . or more accurately, it wasn't what they were looking for.

4) 3's really not so bad-- just keep a thick skin, and figure how what you gave them wasn't quite what they wanted

Good Luck
Brian Schmidt
Executive Director,
GameSoundCon
GameSoundCon Oct 24/25, San Francisco, CA