Growth in Composer and Music Director Jobs 2002-2012
As thousands of new game developers began to create tens of thousands of new video games for millions of new casual and mobile game players, they needed thousands of new composers to create music for them.
Seattle, WA (PRWEB) September 16, 2013
SoundCon, LLC reports that its analysis of US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data shows that trends in the video game industry led directly to unusually strong growth in US employment for Composers and Music Directors. The report concludes the dramatic increase in mobile, casual and social gaming was the primary cause of the surge in employment for the job category.
SoundCon started its analysis with a recent article in USA Today that reported the job category "Music Directors and Composers" had 10 year job growth rate of 178%, making it the third fastest growing occupation of all those tracked by the BLS, just behind “Petroleum Engineers.” Although the USA Today article suggested strong demand for music for movies and commercials was responsible, a more thorough analysis of the government data shows that it was games, not traditional media driving composer job growth.
The study used the same BLS data as the USA Today article, but analyzed it in more detail, using a year-by-year analysis. It showed that the number of jobs for music composers remained relatively flat until 2008, then showed a dramatic uptick, tripling over the next four years. The report concludes that the opening of the Apple App Store and the launch of Facebook as a gaming platform, which helped usher in the era of mobile, social and casual gaming, created a tremendous increase in the number of games developed, resulting in the increased employment for composers and music directors.
“There are over 150,000 games on the app store alone, ranging from immensely popular games like Angry Birds or Plants vs Zombies to small, independently developed games like Super Hexagon or Ear Monsters,” said Brian Schmidt, SoundCon’s Executive Director and author of the study. “Virtually every one of those games needs music, requiring the work of a video game composer.”
The report concludes:
“… the timing of the rise of mobile, casual and social gaming and the increase in Composers and Music Director employment presents a strong case for causation... As thousands of new game developers began to create tens of thousands of new video games for millions of new casual and mobile game players, they needed thousands of new composers to create music for them.”
The report also states that although competition for jobs composing video game music will continue to be fierce, the BLS nonetheless forecasts that more than 32,000 new Music Director or Composer job openings will need to be filled over the next decade, due to growth and replacement.
SoundCon LLC is dedicated to the art, technology and business of video game music and sound design. With award-winning speakers and panelists from throughout the game and traditional audio industries, GameSoundCon is the leading international conference on game music and sound. GameSoundCon creator and speaker Brian Schmidt received the Game Audio Network Guild’s 2008 Lifetime Achievement Award, and is a 25 year veteran in the game audio industry, having created award-winning music and sound effects for over 130 interactive games. GameSoundCon 2013 will be held November 3-4 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.
