The Only 3 Things You Should Do as a Game Composer in 2025 for More Gigs
If this is the year that you are finally going to take your video game music business seriously, then I have three things that you should do as a game composer in 2025 to get more gigs:
1. Reach Out to Game Developers
If you do this regularly and diligently, a small percentage of those you reach out to will hire you. Now of course, this is a numbers game, but it's also a quality game. So you can't just send junk to people and expect to get hired. You can't just copy and paste a simple email and a script and just send it to everybody and hope something happens.
This has to be customized. It has to be a real pitch customized to the game developer. So how do I research and reach out to game developers? This is the Google Sheet that I use:
I've been doing this for years, and have reached out to hundreds of game developers. I put the name of the game and what the team is looking for: do they need Music, Sound Effects (SFX), or both? I also add any pertinent information like Developer, Publisher, Game Engine, Release Date, Social Media, Steam page, Press Kit, and Email Address.
Do I know for sure that these developers are even looking for someone? The process is simple - I research, reach out, & connect.
It's very important for keep this machine running and to be constantly reaching out and connecting. Want to know what types of emails work and what doesn’t work? Always make sure that your messages are as short as humanly possible. I'm talking 100 words or less. Your message should be extremely clear and simple; but you should also have one ask in there as well. If you can get these introductions down, you’re going to open a lot of doors for your game music business.
2. Sell Video Game Music (VGM) Packs
Selling your music as a product for passive income is something that I've been preaching for years now. There are four Marketplaces where you can do this:
The below chart shows my Video Game Music (VGM) Pack income for the last four years. Notice that it’s hovered around $20,000 - $40,000 annually. There's been a small dip in the last couple years, but all in all, it's pretty strong.
My four year total has been right around $120,000, which is pretty significant for a passive income source that I just do the work once and then I can get that income. There are also many other reasons that you want to have VGM packs in the marketplaces besides the income. Perhaps the most important of all: VGM Packs build Credits and lead to Game Devs reaching out to you.
I’ve had many instances of Game Devs purchasing my VGM packs, using the tracks in their trailer or game, then contacting me to let me know how much they loved it. I can then add all of these different games to my website as Additional Music credits.
If you're interested in releasing your first VGM pack, but you don't quite know all the steps to do it, I have a course called 7 Steps to Release Your First VGM Pack. This course will walk you through how to prepare your materials, as well as the marketing side – the creation of profiles, assets, and artwork, and how to optimize your SEO to make it easy for people to find you.
3. Document Your Journey
Unfortunately, this habit is often neglected by most composers because it has little to do with music. It focuses on branding and marketing. While this may be the least fun of the habits, it may be the most profitable of the three.
Documenting your journey is showing the world what you did today. You can do this on YouTube, Social Media, Live Streaming, etc. This leads to game devs reaching out to you because you are now right in front of them showing what you can do. Treat it like a demo. You’re actively showing the world how good you are, what you do, and how passionate you are about your craft. This regularly leads game developers to reach out and discuss working with you. This is also a great way to grow your audience and sell valuable products to them.
You can couple this with tools like an Email List, where you can start nurturing your audience over time. Then, when you have a product to sell, such as a VGM pack, course, or any other material you might have that can help people out, then that's the place to sell it. Email lists create a private, one-on-one conversation with developers or with other composers, and it becomes an incredible way to create a system and not just a random one-off situation.
This habit is repeatable because it's a process. It's a system. Every time you post your content, you're attracting more people into your ecosystem. There's a little bit of luck involved, but documenting your journey is about being active and present in the world of potential clients. Be the real deal by frequently showcasing your talent and game devs will want to reach out.
BONUS: Work with Other Composers
Maybe you’re having a hard time finding game devs who want to work with you. Maybe you don’t have any credits. Maybe you're not confident in your skills yet. Connecting with other composers to help solve the needs in their workflow is perhaps the easiest way to get into the industry.
This could be assisting with:
Arranging
Orchestration
Sheet Music
Recording
Production
Mixing
Administrative Tasks (research, budgeting, operations, etc.)
This is how I got my start. I worked with composers early in my career and those experiences taught me so much real-world knowledge and made cool connections that I’ve enjoyed since!
Your Turn!
If you're not already doing these habits, pick one and focus on it for the next three months. Once you've established one as a habit, add another one. Once you're doing all three, focus on how to improve each one.
These habits will create the rhythms and systems that will constantly generate more gigs for you throughout the year. By repeatedly reaching out to game devs, selling VGM packs, and documenting your journey, you’ll regularly land gigs as a game composer.
EXAMPLE: How I Do All 3
“Ok, Steven. That’s easy for you to say. You already have a bunch of credits and connections in the industry.” - You
Well, you’re right. I do. But I didn’t start where I am today. I had to grind just like you’re going to have to. Here’s how I continue to get gigs though:
1. REACH OUT TO GAME DEVS
My assistant weekly compiles a list of highly-qualified game devs for me to reach out to
On every Monday, I reach out to each game dev with a custom, genuine message to connect
In some cases, this leads to a follow up call where we can negotiate business and start working together
2. SELL VGM PACKS
Every week I host the Live Composing Show where I write new music in front of a live audience on YouTube
Much of the time, these tracks are not used in commercial projects, so I throw them into a folder on a shared drive with my assistant
Once per quarter, my assistant takes all these tracks and organizes them into new VGM packs and uploads them to the marketplaces while updating my bundles to reflect the new tracks
Meanwhile, my packs are always selling as passive income, adding credits to my list, and attracting more game devs to reach out
3. DOCUMENT YOUR JOURNEY
Every week after my Live Composing Show live stream (which is already a form of documenting my journey), I share the finished results on social media
I also share short screen recording videos of my works in process on social media every week
This helps to keep me at the top of mind for my current and potential clients who follow me on socials
One More Example: Game Jams
Participating in regular Game Jams is an amazing way to do ALL 3 habits at once.
1. REACH OUT TO GAME DEVS: Organic Networking with Game Devs
A Game Jam is a group of people making a game in a very short period of time – and you can join them online. Typically, Game Jams only last a couple days or a few weeks, but it gives you a real hands-on opportunity to work with other game developers, and to get a real credit for working together. It is the most authentic form of networking I can possibly come up with, and it's all happening live in a really quick amount of time.
2. SELL VGM PACKS: Sell any tracks you make during the Game Jam in a VGM pack
So after the Game Jam is done, you most likely didn't sign a contract that the music has to be exclusive. You probably weren't paid for the game jam, so nobody owns it but you, so you might as well take those tracks you wrote, put them in a game music pack, and then sell them on these websites. Now you’ve hit two birds with one stone again
3. DOCUMENT YOUR JOURNEY: Share your experience online
Who's to say you can't share your experience with the Game Jam online? Now, there might be some rules. You have to read the rules of every Game Jam – they’re all different. If the Jam is in-person, they may not want you filming the process, or it might be a distraction to your creative process. So maybe you don’t have content during the Jam, but you do have the before and after. Maybe you can show some of your session or the final tracks and just talk about the experience of participating in the Jam.
Back to You
If you want to become a full time game composer in 2025, stop doing everything else and focus on these three habits. It doesn't mean you can't go back to the other things you're doing. Maybe you like working on mixing or improving your production – these are very important skillsets, right? But if you need work and you really want to turn this into a career, then you've got to focus on these habits. And naturally, what's going to happen is if you force yourself to connect with game developers, you're probably going to write more music anyway. These habits are a way for you to focus and really get your business growing this year.
Which of these three habits are you already doing? Which ones do you need to improve? If you are not already a part of the Video Game Music Alliance® Discord, come join us and let’s chat about it. Make sure you introduce yourself and let us know where you’re at in your career – we’d love to help you along that journey.
See you there.
- Steven Melin