How to hire a composer for your game (without wasting your money)
At some point in your indie game development journey, you hit a wall. The assets are looking consistent, the mechanics look smooth, and the lighting is finally decent. The vibe is good, but it’s missing something. You could definitely use some music.
So what are your options? Do you use a royalty-free library? Try to compose something yourself? Use AI? Or hire an indie game composer who actually knows what they're doing? This guide breaks down the whole process. From where to find the composer in the first place, what to look for, how pricing works, how to communicate your needs efficiently, and what to put in your contract so you can make a smart decision for your project without burning your budget on something you won’t end up liking.
WHY GAME MUSIC MATTERS MORE THAN YOU THINK
Before getting into the how, it's worth understanding why this decision matters. Sight and sound are the only two senses someone will experience your game with, meaning that music is part of one half of a game’s identity. A distinctive game soundtrack makes your game memorable and gives it a unique personality that distinguishes it from other games. I know you can think of quite a few games where the soundtrack is almost as famous as the game itself.
SHOULD YOU USE AI MUSIC INSTEAD?
This is the first question most indie developers are asking in 2026, and it deserves an honest answer. I already wrote an article on this topic but here’s the summary. AI music tools may be faster and cheaper in the short term but the legal landscape around AI-generated music is genuinely unsettled right now. For example, the Suno and Udio lawsuits and the Bandcamp ban as well as the US Copyright Office stating that AI-generated compositions cannot be registered for copyright, meaning you have no enforceable ownership over the music in your game. To put it simply, if your game is commercial and you care about long-term legality, AI music will be a big problem as of now. Besides the legality, you have to worry about the morality of AI music. The majority of people, especially fellow creators, hate AI and will more than likely boycott your game like the did in the “Neverness to Everness“ scandal we discussed in the earlier AI music article. At the end of the day, human composers give you a clean contract and real creativity and originality. It just makes more sense.
WHERE TO FIND AN INDIE GAME COMPOSER FOR HIRE
These are the platforms your fellow developers actually use:
SoundBetter — the most professional freelance audio marketplace specifically for music and audio. Composers list their rates, styles, and portfolios, and you can message them directly. This is the first place to look for a professional hire.
Upwork and Fiverr — the largest general freelance marketplaces. You'll find a wide range of composers here at every price point. Upwork is useful if you want to post a job and receive proposals rather than searching yourself.
Game Audio Network Guild (GANG) — the industry-specific job board for game audio professionals. If you want someone who lives and breathes game audio specifically, this is where they congregate.
Discord servers and itch.io — surprisingly good for finding passionate composers who are actively looking for indie projects. Search for "looking for composer" threads in game dev Discord communities and the itch.io community forums.
YouTube — composers post their work constantly and the probably have a link in their bio to reach out directly. This is also how you find composers who specifically understand the type of genre you're looking for.
Reddit — r/gamedev and r/gameaudio both have regular hiring threads and composers actively looking for projects.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN THEIR PORTFOLIO
In my opinion, there are two good options to find your composer.
If you’re not sure what kind of music you want, look for someone who demonstrates versatility across genres. They are more than likely someone who just understands music outright. You can throw anything at them and they’ll deliver. These kinds of composers are a good option if you’re not sure about specifics because they can give you some ideas to start with or if you just want to leave it up to the composer, you can be confident that they’ll come up with something amazingly original that also fits the vibe perfectly.
The second option is the composer with a unique style. If their portfolio is full of music with a distinguishable sound and it fits the vibe you’re looking for, go with them. This is especially good if they’re a popular musician with a following because their audience might learn about your game through the composer’s music. It’s almost like a collab between the game and the composer.
THE TECHNICAL QUESTIONS TO ASK BEFORE YOU HIRE
This is the section most hiring guides skip, and it's where developers run into the most problems in production.
If you are looking for game audio implementation as well as the piece of music itself, you need to make that clear upfront. Ask which game engines they've worked with (Unity, Unreal Engine, etc) as well as audio middleware such as FMOD or Wwise. Also make it clear if you’re looking for adaptive music and if you are specify which shifts need to happen (exploration, combat, stealth) because these all need to be accounted for before beginning the composition process.
Ask about delivery formats, too. You need either 16-bit or 24-bit sample rate, and 44.1kHz or 48kHz depending on your engine's requirements. Ask upfront and give them your specs — a composer who asks the right questions about your tech stack before starting work is a good sign.
Ask about looping. Seamless looping game music is one of the most basic skills in game music composition. Every track that plays during gameplay needs to loop without an obvious cut. This requires planning from the start because it can't be forced onto a finished track.
HOW GAME COMPOSER RATES WORK
Some things to think about beforehand is whether you need music during the gameplay, during cutscenes, or just for a main menu screen or loading screen. Making the scope of work beforehand is important to stay on the same page. Pricing for game music varies more than almost any other creative discipline, but here are the main models:
Per minute of finished music — the most common model for indie projects. Rates range from around $50–$100 per minute for newer composers to $500+ per minute for experienced professionals. A typical small indie game might need 10–20 minutes of finished music, so budget accordingly.
Per track — works well when you need a defined number of individual cues. You'll agree on a number of tracks upfront and a price per track regardless of length. This works well for a theme song or something similar.
Flat project rate — common for smaller, well-defined projects. Everything is agreed upfront — number of tracks, revisions, delivery format, and total cost.
Revenue share — occasionally offered by composers willing to take a risk on a promising project in exchange for a percentage of sales. This can work well for both sides on the right project, but get the terms in writing clearly. This only happens with bigger studios.
When you reach out to a composer, be upfront about your budget. Most indie-focused composers are flexible and would rather figure out what's possible within your budget than lose the project entirely. And please, be upfront about the scope of work and time frame.
STEMS DELIVERY — DO YOU NEED IT?
Stems are separate audio files for each layer of your music — strings, brass, percussion, full mix — delivered alongside the final mixed track. For indie games with adaptive music systems, stems are how you implement smooth transitions between emotional states. The combat layer fades in over the exploration layer without a jarring cut.
If your game has any kind of dynamic audio — music that responds to gameplay — ask your composer about stems delivery upfront. It costs more and requires more planning, but it's the professional standard to allow for full control over the music in the implementation stage.
THE RIGHTS CONVERSATION — DO THIS BEFORE YOU SIGN ANYTHING
Music rights for indie games are where things get complicated if you don't address them upfront. The key questions to resolve in your contract are: Who owns the music after delivery? In most work-for-hire arrangements, you own the final delivered music outright. But this needs to be explicit in the contract — don't assume.
Are the rights exclusive? Exclusive rights mean the composer can't license the same music to anyone else. Non-exclusive rights are cheaper but mean the same track could theoretically end up in another game. For a main theme or character music, exclusive rights are worth the premium.
Can you release the soundtrack? Many successful indie games release their soundtrack on Spotify, Bandcamp, or as a paid DLC. If that's something you want, make sure your contract explicitly allows it — and clarify whether the composer gets a royalty on soundtrack sales.
Can you use the music in trailers and promotional material? Usually yes, but get it in writing.
These questions are much easier to answer before work starts than after delivery.
HOW TO BRIEF A COMPOSER WELL
The quality of what you get back is directly tied to the quality of what you give going in. A good brief covers:
What your game is and who it's for — genre, platform, target audience, tone.
Reference tracks — not for the composer to copy, but to communicate the emotional territory you're aiming for. This is really important to help composer understand your vision! Three to five references that capture different aspects of your ideal sound is ideal.
Technical specs — game engine, audio middleware if any, format requirements, loop requirements.
Number of tracks and approximate length — be as specific as you can. "Some background music" is not a brief. "Six looping exploration tracks, two combat cues, one main theme, and a menu track is a reasonable example of a brief.
Timeline and milestones — when you need drafts, when you need finals, and when the game ships. Also be clear about if you would like updates throughout the process to review progress as it develops or to stick to pre-determined check-in sessions.
Budget — be upfront. It saves everyone time.
The more clearly you communicate your vision, the more closely the final music will match it. And the more a composer understands your world, the more they'll bring their own creativity to it in ways you didn't expect — which is ultimately what you're hiring them for. Also, just a tip. Communicating in emotions is the most effective way to demonstrate your vision to a composer. Emotions are the most important thing in music!
That’s all I got. I hope this was helpful for you. Good luck!
If you’d like to work with an indie game music composer for your project — whether you need a full orchestral soundtrack, a set of looping game cues, stealth music, ambient soundscapes, or a single defining theme, maybe we can work together! Send me a message through my contact form or email me today at sergio@wrangleraudio.com. i look forward to hearing from you!
