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Composers Score With Video-Game Gigs

Film-like scores have taken strides with technology—and pay as much as $2K/minute

By Matt Cantor, Newser Staff

Posted Dec 8, 2008 10:34 AM CST

(Newser) – The musical scores for video games have kept pace with the evolution of the games themselves, the Los Angeles Times reports, with composers bringing in as much as $2,000 per minute to create sweeping, film-like compositions. With sales projected to hit $50 billion this year, game developers can budget $500,000 or more for the soundtrack—which can prove musically challenging.

“With a film, you’re given a scene, and you have to follow the tempo and flow that the director has created,” says one composer who’s worked in both film and gaming. “With games, I’m told to write a 2-minute piece of music in a certain style to make players feel a certain way. I’m not given any pictures to work from, so I have to make that up in my head. It’s an interesting challenge to write without any pictures, but fun.”

[Images (3)]

[Videos (1)]

Wavy effects and strange atmospheres permeate Xbox 360's "BioShock." "Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare," "The Orange Box" and "BioShock" garnered four prizes apiece Thursday night at the 11th annual Interactive... (AP Photo/HO/2K Games)

Composer Danny Elfman, who won a Grammy Award for the theme music to the 1989 "Batman" movie, scored the role-playing adventure game series "Fable." (Microsoft)

With video games expected to reach $50 billion in sales this year, developers are stepping up the soundtrack: Budgets for the musical score can exceed $500,000. (AP Photo)

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An orchestra plays Super Mario Bros. music. (eriksandbakken)

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Composers Score With Video-Game Gigs