Where indie game devs find composers
If you're an indie dev looking for a composer, or a composer looking for indie devs, it's mostly the same handful of places: game-focused sites like ComposerScout, freelance marketplaces (Twine, SoundBetter, Upwork, Fiverr), Reddit (r/gameDevClassifieds and r/INAT), game jams and Discord servers. Which one is right depends on your budget and how much you want the platform to handle for you.
I founded ComposerScout, so take what I say about it with that in mind. I've tried to be fair to everyone here, because honestly each of these is the better pick for somebody.
- Want game specialists and no fees? Post a role on ComposerScout, or browse composers there and message them.
- Want the platform to handle contracts and payment? Upwork, Fiverr or Twine. Expect service fees.
- Need a pro for songs, vocals or mixing? SoundBetter.
- Paying, and want lots of replies fast? A [PAID] post on r/gameDevClassifieds.
- Rev share or hobby project? r/INAT, game jams and Discord collab channels.
| Where | Better pick when | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| ComposerScout | You want people who make music, sound, voices or art for games, and you don't want anyone taking a cut. | It's new, so there are fewer profiles than on the big marketplaces. |
| Twine | You'd like a short list of matched freelancers instead of sorting through a pile of replies. | A general creative marketplace, not game-specific. Fees apply if you pay through Twine. |
| SoundBetter | You need music production pros: vocals, mixing, mastering, a trailer song. | Built around music production more than game loops. Check their site for fees. |
| Upwork and Fiverr | You want contracts, payment protection and disputes handled for you. | Huge general marketplaces with service fees. Few people there specialize in games. |
| r/gameDevClassifieds | You're paying and want a lot of replies, for free. | You'll sort through a flood of DMs, and quality varies a lot. |
| r/INAT | It's a rev share or hobby project. | Lots of projects there never finish, on both sides. |
| Game jams | You want to try working together on something small first. | Jam teams are short-term by design. |
| Discord servers | You want to meet people in game dev and game audio communities. | Every server has its own rules about hiring and promo posts. |
ComposerScout
This one's mine. Devs post a role for free with what they need and the pay type (paid, rev share or hobby), and matching creators get it by email. Composers, sound designers, voice actors and artists have free profiles with their samples, credits and rates, and you can play their music over your own gameplay clip before you message anyone. I don't take a cut of anyone's gigs, and you're free to talk, contract and pay off the platform however you like.
Better pick when you want game specialists and no middleman. Not the best pick if you want a big marketplace to hold the money and handle disputes, or if you need the widest possible pool today, since it's newer and smaller than the big sites.
For composers: make a free profile, tag your samples by scene and mood, and check studios hiring.
Twine
A creative freelance marketplace that covers music and audio, including composition, sound design and voiceover. Posting a project is free, and Twine matches freelancers to it so you pick from a shortlist instead of a pile of applications. Their site says you can pay freelancers directly or use their payment vault, which carries a commission. Check their pricing page for current fees.
Better pick when you'd rather be handed matches than sort through replies. It's not game-specific, so ask for game work in the portfolio. For composers: a free portfolio there gets you in front of brands and studios outside games too.
SoundBetter
A curated marketplace for music production talent: producers, mixing and mastering engineers, singers, session players and composers, with a game audio category in its directory. I couldn't find their fees stated publicly, so check their site.
Better pick when you need a polished song, vocals for a trailer, or someone to mix and master a soundtrack you already have. Not the best pick for lots of game loops, stingers and adaptive music, since most people there come from the music production side.
Upwork and Fiverr
The two big general freelance marketplaces. On Upwork you post a job and freelancers send proposals, or you invite people. On Fiverr you buy a fixed-price gig from a seller's listing. Both handle payment and give you some protection if things go wrong, and both charge service fees that change from time to time, so check their sites for current numbers.
Better pick when you want payment, contracts and disputes handled for you, or you need something fast and fixed-price. Watch out: you're searching alongside jingle writers and beat makers, so look for real game credits and loops in the portfolio. For composers: these can bring steady work, but expect a lot of competition on price.
r/gameDevClassifieds and r/INAT
r/gameDevClassifieds is a job board for paid work: devs post with a [PAID] tag and creators post [FOR HIRE]. Rev share posts get sent to r/INAT (I Need A Team), which is where hobby and rev share teams form. Posting is free on both. Read each sub's rules before you post, because they do remove posts that break them.
Better pick when you want lots of eyes on your post for free. Put the budget and a link to your game in the post, and on paid posts ask for game work in the first message, because you'll get a lot of replies. For composers: check the [PAID] posts often, reply fast with two tracks that fit their game, and post your own [FOR HIRE] thread.
Game jams
Most jams on itch.io have a community tab where people post "looking for a composer" and "composer looking for a team". It's the lowest-stakes way to try working with someone: a weekend or a week, a finished game, and you both find out if you click. A lot of indie dev and composer pairs start this way.
Better pick when you have no budget yet, or you want to test a working relationship before a bigger project. For composers: jams are the fastest way to get credits. There's more in my guide on finding game music work.
Discord servers
Plenty of indie hiring happens quietly in game dev and game audio Discord servers, and many have a hiring, collab or showcase channel. Read each server's rules first, since most don't allow self-promo outside those channels. Show up, help out, share your work, and people remember you.
Better pick when you want people who already know your engine or genre, or you're playing the long game. It's slower than posting a job, but the relationships tend to last.
Wherever you look: devs, ask for game work and hear it with your gameplay. Composers, send a couple of tracks that fit their game, not your whole catalog. Both of you, put pay, deliverables, revisions and rights in writing. Here's how game music is usually priced.
Frequently asked questions
Where do indie game devs find composers?
Most indie devs find composers in a handful of places: game-focused sites like ComposerScout, general freelance marketplaces like Twine, SoundBetter, Upwork and Fiverr, Reddit (r/gameDevClassifieds for paid work, r/INAT for rev share and hobby teams), game jam team boards, and game dev Discord servers. Which one fits depends on your budget and how much you want the platform to handle.
Where can composers find indie devs who need music?
Go where devs post what they need: open roles on ComposerScout, [PAID] posts on r/gameDevClassifieds, team posts on r/INAT, the community tab of game jams on itch.io, and hiring or collab channels in game dev Discord servers. Freelance marketplaces like Upwork, Fiverr, Twine and SoundBetter also get game music requests, mixed in with everything else.
Is ComposerScout free?
Yes. Devs post roles for free, composers, sound designers, voice actors and artists make profiles for free, and I don't take a cut of anyone's gigs. You can talk and pay off the platform however you both like.
Should I use Fiverr or Upwork to hire a game composer?
They're a good pick if you want the platform to handle contracts, payment and disputes, and you're fine paying its service fees. Fees change, so check their sites. The tradeoff is that you're searching a huge general marketplace, so filter hard for people with real game credits and loops in their portfolio.
What's the difference between r/INAT and r/gameDevClassifieds?
r/gameDevClassifieds is a job board for paid work, where devs post [PAID] roles and creators post [FOR HIRE]. r/INAT (I Need A Team) is where rev share and hobby projects go. If you can pay, post on r/gameDevClassifieds. If you can't, r/INAT is the honest place to ask.
How do I find a composer with no budget?
Game jams are the best bet, since lots of composers join them to build credits. r/INAT and Discord collab channels work too. Be upfront that it's unpaid or rev share, keep the scope small, and give clear credit in the game and on your store page.
Making a game? Post who you need
Post a role for free and composers, sound designers, voice actors and artists who fit get it by email. Message them directly, no cut taken.
Post a role