The music Industry is chalk-full of many different branches, industries and opportunities. And as the world develops there comes new opportunities by the decade. When music softwares were introduced, so was the opportunity to sell sample packs. As adverts became more popular, musicians could be hired to create music specifically for these advertisements. And as video games rose from the horizon, so did video game soundtracks and compositions. And for the future of my career in the music industry, it is video game music that I would like to delve into and therefore detail in this essay. Anne J. Blood & Robert J. Zatorre (2001) states in their studies that music elicits biological reactions involving multiple parts of the brain related to reward/motivation, emotion and arousal, therefore exclaiming that music causes highly positive and rewarding biological feelings. So involving music in already awarding video games creates an even more powerful reaction. And with this in mind you can really see the evolution of gaming music from simple sound effects and “beeps” to complete orchestral cinematic scores. Creating such tracks just appeal to me as any job could secure my work in popular culture as well as being complimented by a video game that would elicit even more positive reactions than just songs by themselves. So with all that said, I will now detail all of the aspects to the job of being a video game composer that I have found in my research. 

The job of a video game composer is to create a soundtrack to a video game. A typical job in this profession would start with the brief in which they are told by the game developers of what the game is, what it’s about, what the themes and aesthetics are and what type of music they’re looking for. According to Loopcloud (2024) typically, there are two ways the composer will go about writing the music. The first way is they could be given a set time that the soundtrack needs to be (either as a whole or for specific sections of the game) and so create a soundtrack that the game developers and music editors will edit and mix in order to integrate the tracks into their game. This would be for more simple games that could just be action sequences and relaxed ambience or simple background music. The other way (which is more common for bigger AAA modern video games) is for the composer to be more heavily involved with the creative processes of the game itself. This would allow the composer to watch cutscenes and so create music tailor-made for these scenes as well as giving them the freedom to edit and mix the music into the game. This can even broaden their mind to truly see the game developers’ vision by working closely with them thereby helping the composer with their inspiration on how the music should sound and what it should convey to listeners. 

When creating the music, the composer must also keep in mind that their music will be involved as background music in actual gameplay. Meaning that the tracks can be played for longer than they actually are or could transition into a different track at any time depending on what the player does (e.g. wandering around then going into a combat arena). As Ian Bryce Jones (2023) says, “Game developers have no way of knowing how long a player may need or want to remain in an area for, and therefore pieces of music have to loop.” He goes on to talk about how difficult it is for composers to create an engaging theme that doesn’t turn attention away from the gameplay itself but must find a way to make sure the looping music has enough variation in it so that the player doesn’t get bored or annoyed by it. Game music could also transition from one section to another unpredictably by the player’s actions, so the tracks must also have shared motifs/themes but with enough differences so the transition from one track to another doesn’t occur by suddenly cutting the previous track, and so the shared motif does not bore players with its repetitiveness. So as you can see there is a lot that a game composer is responsible for and must keep in mind when working. 

But in order to perform this job you do need to have a specific skill set as detailed by ELVTR Magazine (n.d.). You don’t need to necessarily have any specific academic qualifications for this job (as most game composers are freelancers), but any grades, A – levels or degrees in music production will definitely help attract clients. The most obvious skill is musicianship. A game composer needs to be able to create original music in quick succession based on prompts, scenes and visuals. They also need music versatility since they would be making tracks for different games, so they would need to be able to create various genres of music and video game styles with a wide variety of instruments. You’d need to have technical proficiency with DAWs, audio manipulation and audio middleware (which is what implements audio assets to a game engine). They also need to be aware of how video games work. Not just so they can help programme the music into them, but also to know how to compose the music. 

• “Composers need to understand how game mechanics influence music composition, particularly in the context of adaptive and interactive soundtracks. This knowledge allows them to create music that seamlessly integrates with gameplay, enhancing immersion and emotional impact.” – ELVTR Magazine (n.d.)

Furthermore, they would need to understand things like free-roam areas and boss arenas so they can help with seamless transitions from one game area to the next. One of the largest skills required would be in business and communication; they need to be able to reach out to game developers and session musicians, establish professional relationships, negotiate payrolls, manage time effectively to balance their work-life lifestyle, be able to bounce between projects and tracks, interpret a client’s needs to their satisfaction through clear communication and be able to network properly so as to pursue work. But how do you go about networking and making these contracts for yourself in this profession?

The main mode of promoting oneself as a game composer as also mentioned by ELVTR Magazine (n.d.) is by creating an online presence. Specifically, a website with all of the things you’d want potential employers to see. These include a small biography telling people who you are, why you are passionate about working in this industry, your education and relevant experience (this would work like a type of CV). The most important thing to do on such a website is to add streaming links to tracks you’ve created whether for games and projects or just ideas you’ve created by themselves or in EPs and albums. This would show those looking to possibly hire you what you can do, what you specialise in and if you are right for the job. Or you can simply contact game developers and companies and send them your CV to apply for any job opportunities that might come up in the future. Another example is that of joining communities. PCAM (n.d.) discusses the importance of community and building relationships via finding and joining online gaming developer and composer communities on places like Discord or Facebook. You could then introduce yourself to those already in the communities and ask them questions and get to know them. Building such relationships can gain you advantages in the industry and the people you meet might hire you for jobs themselves. 

Now when it comes to being hired, ELVTR Magazine (n.d.) says that there are 2 types of game composer career options: In-house and freelance. Most composers are freelancers, which means they work in their own home studio and produce the music either by themselves, with hired session musicians or hired assistants. This would allow flexibility and freedom to choose working hours and projects while having the possibility of earning a very high fee. However, this choice in career would lead to an unstable income; freelance game composers would not be regularly paid since they choose projects which means there will be times where they will not get any income at all for periods of time until they’re able to find a good job that’s looking to hire. And royalties don’t really apply to video game music as you don’t just get paid every time the game is bought and played despite it playing your music. Although, you can receive royalties through streaming if the soundtrack is released on streaming platforms (which is the norm nowadays), but this means you’ll have to detail the music copyright and make sure you get permission from the game developers to upload the soundtracks. So generally, the only money the composer gets paid is the flat-out fee. This means they must be very precise with the payment in negotiations, making sure that it covers all of the equipment, session musicians, assistants, electricity and time that is required to finish the job plus profits. For agreeing on rates, ELVTR Magazine (n.d.) provided these general guidelines: Indie games: $50-$500 per minute of music, Mid-tier games: $500-$1500 per minute, AAA titles: $1000-$2500+ per minute.

The In-house career is essentially getting an official job as a composer in a video game company. Sacrificing the freedom of choosing working hours for a secure salary. This career choice provides more financial stability as well as the opportunity to work on large-scale AAA game titles in large groups of composers and producers. However, you must hand over the copyright to the company you work for, so if the music is performed live somewhere, on TV or released on streaming then you won’t receive any royalties. While you will be given credit for working on the music, chances are your name won’t stand out or really be known by the public compared to freelance composers who can make names for themselves and build up their own reputation. But as an in-house composer, they would have the opportunity for promotion and gain new jobs such as sound designer (a foley artist who creates the sounds you hear in game like footsteps). Or be promoted to audio director, who oversees the entire audio team including composers and sound designers. 

And it’s not just copyright and finance that cause problems. Writer’s block is irritating, but can be detrimental to someone who relies on their creativity as their income. If a game composer can’t think of what to write/compose for a period of time when they have a deadline, then this could lead to not enough music being created or the resulting tracks not reaching the level of quality that matches the clients’ needs. This could be overcome through acts of relaxation such as meditation or going on a walk. This would relax and clear their mind, allowing them to “reinvigorate” their creative processes. A large problem which is the case for many workers, is work life balance. Knowing when to concentrate on work to achieve deadlines while also keeping your own personal life free, mentally healthy and social. Discipline and planning is the key to this. Saying objectively when and for how long you’re going to work and what times you’re going to hang out with friends and family as well as sticking to these schedules will make all the difference in your life. 

So being a video game composer has quite the advantages, but also large drawbacks. You have the opportunity to receive fairly big fees or salaries and even royalties if you get the copyright sorted out. Not to mention the fame and reputation you could build as your music gets inserted into pop culture far better than if it was released by itself without a dopamine-rewarding video game attached to it. But you would have to go and actively promote yourself to video game developers to hire you, know exactly how to negotiate a contract that pays you enough for the budget plus profit, know precisely how to organise your day to day life and to plan your work with deadlines, have the skillset and knowledge to translate the atmosphere of scenes and visual aesthetics into music while trying to use an unstable form of income to give you enough money to get by. Overall, being a game composer can be challenging but if you have the correct skillsets for it, then you can receive some great financial benefit from it. Maybe even find it enjoyable. 

Works Cited:

Allen, J. (2025), “10 Ways to Beat Writer’s Block According to Science”

Anne J. Blood & Robert J. Zatorre (2001), “Intensely pleasurable responses to music correlate with activity in brain regions implicated in reward and emotion”

ELVTR Magazine (n.d.), “Breaking into The Video Game Industry: A Beginner’s Guide”

Jones, I. B (2023), “Loops in Video Games”

Loopcloud (2024), “A Guide For Young Music Producers Breaking into The Game Industry”

PCAM (n.d.) “A GUIDE FOR COMPOSERS IN THE VIDEO GAMES INDUSTRY”Schmidt, B. (2019), “Can Video Game Composers Get Royalties?”, GameSoundCon