Does anyone know how the process of making the soundtracks for World of Warcraft goes? I can only find so many YouTube videos of orchestral performances of WoW music- and it's awesome! Is the music we hear a recording of a live performance? Or is it all individual pieces weaved together through a computer program? Does Blizzard have a team of musicians, or are orchestras hired for every piece? What is the typical production cost? The more details about the process, the better!
The music of World of Warcraft is so severely underrated, I think. I've been listening to a lot of the tracks on Spotify, and i'm amazed at how distinct each play is from one another. For about 80% of the tracks, I can recall exactly where in game I have heard it before.
If you haven't really listened to much of WoWs soundtrack, I highly recommend putting on a good pair of headphones and taking a good listen. A few of my favorites:
[Pride of Kul Tiras]
[Might of Zandalar]
[The Wandering Isle]
[Nightsong]
[Clan Warsong]
[Tavern]
[Howling Fjord]
I don't have any musical talent right now, but one day playing a part in one of WoWs compositions is definately on my bucket list. Would love to see a live performance in person, too.
You will have answers on the blizzard wow forum, I just know that Neal Acree is the man that composed a lot of wow musics, I have no idea how they make it happen.
Regarding the general question: the usual procedure is to hire composers, then hire ("rent") an orchestra to play whatever was composed (or just a few musicians in case a full orchestra is not necessary), and then mix and master the result in a studio (to add tracks that are generated electronically, change volumes, etc).