#016 · 21 September 2026
8 opportunities this week, including $900–$1,200 for three game tracks whose AI references are optional, and $1,500 for a neo-noir feature
Also: leitmotifs for a visual novel from a developer already on Steam, and $450 to record Chopin for a ballet short.
A game developer used Suno to work out what they liked, then budgeted $900–$1,200 for three tracks and offered to keep the AI demos to themselves if you would rather not hear them. The finished music has to be human-created, and the brief asks the composer to settle what the game should sound like. A neo-noir feature in post-production pays $1,500 flat. A visual novel developer with a commercial title already on Steam wants leitmotifs for two characters that combine as their relationship does. Below those: $450 to record Chopin's Berceuse for a ballet short, two School of Visual Arts thesis films at $300 and $250, a London short at £250, and chase themes for a Roblox horror game. CastingCall.club carried 147 roles this week and three named a rate — $50, $250 and $300 — and only the two larger ones were worth running. Of the 306 listings I read this week, eight are here.
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Indie
Tapsteady (r/gameDevClassifieds) · $900–$1,200 · Location not stated · Puzzle game · No deadline stated
A solo developer with over a decade in games wants three tracks for an isometric puzzle game with a live Steam page: a title theme of two to two and a half minutes, a loopable gameplay theme of two and a half to three minutes, and a quieter menu variation drawn from one of them. The AI disclosure is the unusual part, and it is handled about as well as it can be. Suno was used for private exploration, the references are offered rather than imposed, and the final music must be human-created. $900–$1,200 covers those three tracks before any commitment to the full soundtrack, and if your usual rate sits somewhat above that, the brief asks you to get in touch anyway. It also asks the composer to bring their own ideas and settle what the game should sound like, which is more creative room than most briefs at this money give you.
Mike Lars White, Writer-Director · $1,500 flat · Remote · Feature film · Closes October 16
$1,500 flat for an indie neo-noir comedy-thriller feature now in post-production. Its two central characters come from three previous short films, which the listing says were featured in Vulture, NoBudge, Rooftop Films, Fantastic Fest and the Maryland Film Festival, and the writer-director is background-checked with 28 jobs posted. On that record this would sit in Professional, but the fee against a whole feature is what holds it in Indie. The work runs remotely toward November or December festival submission deadlines.
Closed
Odyssey Productions · $450 flat · Los Angeles · Short film (15 min) · Closes October 19
This is a performing seat rather than a composing one: the central ask is to learn and record Chopin's Berceuse for a ballet short, shaping cue points, tempo, phrasing and emotional beats to picture with the filmmaker. Contributing original arrangements for one or more ballet sequences is offered as optional. $450 on delivery, with a recording session of about two hours planned for November and the film already cut against a demo score the filmmaker will share once you apply. It is self-funded out of a day job, though, and the listing says it suits a student building a portfolio.
Closed
Jacob Tully · $300 flat · Location not stated · Animated short (4–5 min) · Closes October 6
$300 for four to five minutes of score on a School of Visual Arts BFA thesis film — a 2D-animated satire of influencer culture and Trump's 1980s real-estate persona, drawn visually from Disney animation and old Broadway. The brief wants a traditional pop sound in the register of classic Broadway, Sinatra and the Great American Songbook, and offers a Spotify reference playlist on request. It also says the instruments will need to be synthesised and therefore won't sound quite right. Know that before you price it.
Closed
Katt Pontevedra · $250 flat · Location not stated · Animated short · Closes October 1
$250 for the score to a second School of Visual Arts thesis film, this one about a Filipino immigrant mother trying to quiet her child for fear of drawing attention that could lead to deportation. The music is asked to stay quiet and subtle, lift through the intense passages, and transition into a soft lullaby at the end. The director would welcome a Filipino or diaspora composer but does not require it, and the film is expected to be finished by April 2027.
Closed
A Few Brave Men productions · £250 · London · Short film · Closes October 17
£250 for the soundtrack to a micro-budget London short, fiction shot in a documentary style, following a woman supporting a crack addiction through sex work and theft. Mandy's pay field on this listing reads Unpaid; the brief itself states you will be compensated £250 for your time, and that is the figure to work from. The listing also offers an IMDb credit and a festival run, though an IMDb credit is standard on a finished film rather than something extra you are being paid in.
Closed
MrFaabry (r/INAT) · Paid, rate not stated, plus up to 5% revenue share · Location not stated · Visual novel · No deadline stated
Ten to twelve tracks of roughly one and a half to three minutes for a supernatural tragic romance visual novel, built on leitmotifs: the two leads get recognisable musical identities that gradually interact, combine and transform as their relationship develops. The developer has already released a commercial gothic visual novel on Steam, which is the track record this tier usually lacks, though they are explicit about being a solo developer rather than a funded studio. The offer is a paid amount per track or milestone with up to 5% revenue share on top, but no figure is named, so settle it early. Early production against a tentative late-2027 release, so this is a slow build rather than a deadline.
Reasonable_Car_5510 (r/gameDevClassifieds) · Paid, rate not stated · Location not stated · Video game (horror) · No deadline stated
An asymmetrical horror and survival game on Roblox in the Dead by Daylight mould, wanting chase themes plus lobby and menu music. The developer has basic menus and movement working and says plainly that writing music is beyond them, which is a more honest framing than most briefs at this end of the market manage. Payment is asserted but no figure is given and terms are handled by DM, so settle the number before you write anything.
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