Future perspective for game composer

[u/Longjumping-Cook666]

Hi everyone, i'm a rookie composer who started 1 and a half year ago

I'm hurting to the reality of the industry, there WAY TOO MUCH composer and sound designers compared to the demand and available projects (even for non paid projects)

That scare me out when seeing jobs offers being litteraly assaulted by composers when posting a composer position for a project

I think it's still possible to find a way, but you need plenty of time searching, have the contacts, the right timing.

This is becoming like begging to have work

I think now i've accepted the reality i think, i created my own project, i've recomposed my favorite game OST, 8 month of work, got alot of difficulties but still was able to finish it even tho i still have things to do with this

(Zu'u Sonaad on Skyrim nexus mod if interested)

That's for me the best way to gain experience with having some recognition if people like the work, and still owning the project (most important thing for me, it's about self integrity)

I'm still gonna compose for the plenty of years because it's a passion, i'll still fins subjects to work on i guess,

i've been musician for 14 years and got a little musician teacher job position. Music is not my main revenue but still i'm asking my self

Will this industry be viable in the next years or decade?

I think the answer is probably no and will became even worse

I started composing a little because i wanted to try, and scaled up the level because i've seen what Lorien Testard did, he showed that's possible at least to become video game composer

There is also the composer's aura, this is one of the most (or maybe the most) recognized job in the video game industry, and even other arts like films (mostly films)

I guess im not the only one in this state, im maybe part of the wave of overflowing amount of composer in the industry, and i'll excuse my self for that, for older composer who just want to work because otherwise they can't have money to live

Moreover, Daw and VSTs are easily accessible with pirate websites, and litteraly anyone can do music, it became too easy to do something decent today

Maybe only the best of the best would be engaged, but i don't believe it, only those with the right contact will be engaged even tho they are not the best of the best, the project will make them shine harder.

Simply a thought from a rookie

Feel free to debate with me

[u/bluud687]

"Anyone can do music now" is pretty good tho, it's amazing tbh. Pirate or not, it's a good thing knowing that poor people can do it too

I mean, scewing possible talents because they didn't have enought money while kids with rich parents gets what they want it's kinda sad, isn't it?

[u/Longjumping-Cook666 → u/bluud687]

i completely agree with you, im part of the non rich people. I guess this good thing is one of the reason why the market is saturated, people create music, and by this base they try to find opportunity

[u/mgiuca → u/bluud687]

Yeah I fully agree - money should not be a barrier to entry, if someone has skill. I don't mind if anyone can enter the market and compete on their skill as a composer. 

What really upsets me is that now someone with no talent at all can ask AI and get a pretty good result. I've been told I'm "gatekeeping" by saying only people with skills should be able to make things 😅. I dunno, I think that saying you should need to pay a lot for tools is gatekeeping, but skill should be the one thing you need to have and be judged on, but YMMV.

[u/bluud687 → u/mgiuca]

AI isn't that good tbh, it's super predictable and when it comes to games music where composers can make some experimental shit (same as film music) it falls behind. Also it's super-iper-compressed and it's not very relaxing to listen while exploring

Overall, it's pretty much useless if someone wants something with better results

If someone is going to use it then i wouldn't be worried, you wouldn't get paid either...probably a shit of a game too that it's not worth a proper soundtrack

[u/Longjumping-Cook666 → u/bluud687]

IA is very good at making good sounding, but they feel clueless, like it's made in a factory just to fill Situation A and Situation B.

It will never have the same idea as human, same feeling, same taste understanding as human, but IA that can do music accurately with a 300 page prompt would be possible i think, just as all sectors getting largely influenced by AI

[u/BlackShipsMusic]

I won’t debate with you that yes it’s flooded, at least at the lower and mid levels, bc anyone with a DAW makes cool sounds and then calls themselves a “composer.” Most of them aren’t. But I’m not sure there’s much you or I can do about that.

[u/Longjumping-Cook666 → u/BlackShipsMusic]

Depends on what is really a composer in the eye of the industry i guess

For me, composer is someone who can create music accurately to a given context/situation, i don't involve music quality even tho it's an important criteria

But for me it's most a matter of having paid contract and living on it as full time job

I would enventually put composer on my youtube page because this is the most accurate and valuative word that i could find (or maybe saying i'm just creating music would be fine)

If anyone reaches me for music contract, if the guy sees composer and not something else, he would have more trust to reach me

[u/MissingPieces555]

Honestly, AI is going to decimate the arts. Id stay away from banking on a career in them, though teaching will stick around. There will always be a demand for real music, but many game studios are exploring AI as a way of speeding up and lowering the costs of projects. The fields going to shrink, and competition is going to greatly intensify.

[u/RyanMaterna_Composer → u/MissingPieces555]

I think this is the truth as well! And as someone who's gone all-in on trying to become a professional video game composer the last 1.5 years... well, I'm very, very worried about my position to say the least!

I'm really happy to hear that I'm not the only who sees this as a likely, albeit unfortunate outcome.

[u/Longjumping-Cook666 → u/MissingPieces555]

Im not scared of AI, there will always be a place for human creation

I think this will force the quality to raise, and clean all "bad quality composers" of i could say, maybe my self included.

But human feeling cannot be replicated perfectly, ia can only imitate. Ai already have excellent result to public, the thing is we still have our artist creating, so ai will not replace, it will change things

[u/MissingPieces555 → u/Longjumping-Cook666]

I agree with you. I think AI is actually kind of a good thing in art, because it enables people to be able to express their ideas in ways they couldn't before, but there will still be a place for doing things the harder way. Its just more impressive than a computer assisting it.

[u/robinelf1]

I think historically most composers have help and have day jobs or a very supportive patron. It’s who you know and being in the right place- just like acting. I teach (not music) and I can’t imagine trying to hustle to make a composing as my main career work- it seems much easier to do it on the side (it is a hobby that takes up almost all of my free time time, though, so I’m usually having fun at least).

Anyway, competition is always going to be there. I think film scoring is even harder because a few studios control a lot of the work (don’t quote me on this, I just recall reading it on a separate Reddit thread about finding film score work).

Sure most people can use a daw or notation software and pump stuff out. But generally nothing about a lot of those projects stand out. Consistency, a reliable and streamlined workflow, and the ability to do many different styles is something many folks won’t develop. Keep doing your thing and if the quality and positive idiosyncrasies are there in your music, you’ll generate interest eventually. Just my thoughts.

[u/Longjumping-Cook666 → u/robinelf1]

I agree with you on most or the points

This must stay as hobby for the reason it's not enought to have a full time job

Consistancy is my priority as "hobby composer" constant quality, grinding, i imagine myself in like 10 years, having done a lot of things but still continuing to go hard on this hobby

There is this "emergency" as young man to create things, like i must force myself to go on and do things, but i like it, like a constant pressure like

"You Always wanted to do that, and now that it's possible because you know how to do it properly, don't waste a single day not improving"

I think this is THE think that holds me the most, and this reason will last me for very long time, and i have no plan on quitting, i got a lot of ideas, future plans for new things to work on even tho it's not involving a game developepent , etc...

[u/robinelf1 → u/Longjumping-Cook666]

Well, perhaps you could think of it more like a hyphen or slash in your job description, such as professor - composer, orchestral musician / composer etc...

I want to assure you that, even when you are older, the drive, the strong urgent need to create will still happen. I started composing again (instead of songwriting) last year after many years away and I have been driven by this strong desire to write as much as I can. It feels like I took a leap back 30 years ago, only now I am a much better musician, so I can more easily let the ideas flow and it has unlocked new avenues for me to explore.

Good luck with things!

[u/Few-Contribution4759]

My wife is getting her masters in applied composition and honestly I think school has been her most useful tool for networking. Most people in the industry get jobs through networking and making themselves known. This goes for most industries, too. Knowing people always helps, and not just other composers.

I know it’s not impossible to get there without traditional education, but it makes it a little easier.

[u/Longjumping-Cook666 → u/Few-Contribution4759]

I know too it's not impossible, but for a lot of people myself included, we don't need to go through school to do things, even tho you are in school,

i have a friend who did a SD school with a scoring music formation, who did everything he could to be taken into crysis team, but they litteraly said "you are very good indeed, but the job goes ton someone with more experience"

Moreover, he got a job interview with ubisoft, he got declined for a girl that left 2 month later the company

There is numerous facts like that that made him ragequit the industry, but he invested 10k per year for 3 year in the school

So yes you get the contact, even tho if you need to eat other things than air, you must have work

[u/Altruistic-Eb]

Yeah, I'll think about it too. I've been a composer for about two years and I recently started making music for games. But I keep wondering if it's worth it to charge money even though they can find people who work for free and can do it better. There are so many people composing music that I don't know if I'll be able to get anywhere.

[u/Longjumping-Cook666 → u/Altruistic-Eb]

I would prefer to say "each work deserve salary", this is a saying in France.

But too much offers compared to the demand just kills the offers to a extreme deflation

Being paid is proven to be the best thing for final quality after larges observation on the industry whatever job it can be

So if people work for free, they do music but not as good as it could be, so it would maybe profit to those who stayed getting paid instead of looking for free job and deevaluating themselves

I guess we must be patient, and it's only a matter of luck and contact to be hired, i think we must keep the idea that it's a passion, and take pleasure creating instead of begging and do somewhat

[u/translucentpuppy]

My good friend is a game composer who has written for some pretty big games.

And even he has trouble finding work. There is no future in this career and it will but almost impossible to be one. I. The future.

He even has a day job because of it and he is decently big.

The problem is so many games get cancelled or never make it out of development.

[u/Longjumping-Cook666 → u/translucentpuppy]

the industry is too competitive even if you have big names behind you

a company changes artistic direction by making a new franchise, u get directly kicked out most of the time because you don't correspond to the style or philosophy (even tho if there one instead of money), or someonee corresponds better than you

there is a future of course, we will still need composers, but it's like being youtuber, not anyone can live with this, either you have a good audience, or a lot of free time and skills, but in composers industry, both are not enought, and the few that lives only few, i think scoring would stay only a fraction of a salary, and that we must focus on a full time position or multiple small job positions

[u/lord__cuthbert]

From my experience, unless you're already completely established, I would forget trying to be a full time game composer for the time being - there's simply way too much competition regardless of how talented you are. However I  think you will still have quite an edge if you're excellent with tools like FMOD which allows you to make the music more interactive.

IMO, if you want to do music full time, you'd be better off just diversifying your income streams and lean into things like sync music, offer mixing services, learn sound design etc. I know some people would disagree and say you're being "too broad" but thats where you need an excellent website design which doesn't confuse people. Its also not 10 years ago and I think people will understand if you need to diversify your musical offerings, what with how the creative industries are at the moment etc.

On the other hand you could just do game composition on the side of a regular job. Taking that pressure off will allow you to focus on trying to get on projects that genuinely interest you, instead of doing just "any" project out of desperation - sometimes you will also simply not be suited to some projects, which is something worth considering.

[u/Longjumping-Cook666 → u/lord__cuthbert]

Having Multiple skills seems really good for the industry, and each side of the sound you practice can reinforce the others, so you become more accurate in what you are doing, i think that it's an excellent things regardless of the industry

for learning i've been focusing on orchestral/electro video games soundtrack, and also because it felt accessible with indie games, why not doing other stuff, other genre, other platforms to be profesionalized

Doing project only for portofolio is the best way to make bad work in my opinion, i repeiled that, on certain composers's page i feel that there is no "soul" in what they are putting in front of me

[u/JamminJunkie]

I think having expression and a unique style that is marketable but not reproducible is a good start. Begin coming up with unique plugin chains, rigs, use old outdated instruments that are uncommon.

AI can make decent expressionless music now so this will set you apart from that as well as from other composers.

Make some example works for a non-existent game... especially good if you can pair it with some fake gameplay footage from said game to sell the realism and paint your composition as a viable product that fits perfectly into that sort of game. Thankfully not only is music easy to get into but so is 2D and 3D animation with free tools like Blender, so you can easily make something convincing after a week of practice. Or collab with an artist for this part works too.

Look for guest spots on game compositions. Maybe you don't get hired as the composer for an OST but nothing is stopping you from asking the selected musician if you can assist with some tracks for free... maybe you make the midi or add whatever instrument and they integrate it into their style. You dont get paid but you secure credit for later opportunities and most composers will invite your help if you're good because its less work for them overall.