Study: Female composers for video games paid less

Image: Street Fighter V

One of the main topics of debate at GameSoundCon, the annual conference for game music composers, which kicked off last night in Los Angeles, was why female composers and sound designers are paid less.

The debate came in the wake of the latest findings from its annual study, released last month. The GameSoundCon data tracks income, bonuses and royalties, working conditions, contact terms and production information for the video game music and sound industry.

It found that more women composers are working in the sector than ever before. But they are getting paid less, up to 73% than their male counterparts. Of the study of 587 composers (of which 55 were women), only 81% revealed their income.

A further independent analysis found that the reason for the lower income is that the average woman worker had spent less time working on game audioThe number of female composers making money from games is now 10.4%, up from 7% in 2015 and 3.5% in 2014.

There are two salary peaks for full-time composers: $60,000 a year, and that which doubles when they move into management or director roles. 60% of those working on music and sound on games are freelancers. On average, freelancers need 10.9 years of experience before they’re offered “big budget” games.

According to the report, “Even after accounting for the lower average number of years of experience in the game audio industry, women make less than men.

“The difference in total income is equivalent to approximately 2.1 years of experience. That is, the ‘cost’ of being female in game audio is approximately the equivalent of having 2.1 fewer years of experience in the game audio industry.”

In other words, a woman with eight years of experience composing music for video games was compensated on the same level as a man with six years of experience. A significant result is that women never catch up to their male counterparts.

As a result of the survey, GameSoundCon will have more women speakers to increase their profile and highlight their impact on the sector. It will also call for a roundtable to address the issue.