Steven Melin

Steven Melin is an American music composer for audio drama podcasts, films, television, trailers, and video games. His work has been featured in The Bachelorette, Dark Dice, and IGN Summer of Gaming 2024. His music can be heard across numerous projects and platforms including NBC, CBS, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, Xbox, and Steam. Melin is one of the top-selling video game music pack creators in the world, the author of the book Family-First Composer, and the founder of the Video Game Music Alliance.

Early life and education Born into a musical family in Atlanta, Georgia, Melin began playing piano at age 7 and picked up other instruments, including violin, guitar, and percussion, while participating in school orchestras and choirs.

He attended Kennesaw State University in Kennesaw, Georgia, earning a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance. During this time, he began scoring his own personal projects, as well as writing for music libraries and independent video games.

Career

Melin's primary musical influences include video game music composers David Wise, Nobuo Uematsu, and Koji Kondo. Over the course of his career, Melin has collaborated with composers including Hitoshi Sakimoto, David Wise, Grant Kirkhope, Yuzo Koshiro, Garry Schyman, and Austin Wintory.

In 2013, Melin began working with Fool & Scholar Productions, composing for Dark Dice, Liberty, The Boar Knight, and The White Vault.

His work has been featured on television shows such as The Bachelorette, Dancing with the Stars, and The Dr. Oz Show. He has also composed music for trailers. In 2022, Melin's video game music packs were featured in a Humble Bundle audio sale that sold over 14,000 times, grossing over $320,000 in sales. In the summer of 2024, he composed transition and logo music for the Guerilla Collective and Indie.io showcases, as part of the IGN Summer of Gaming. He is also the composer for Aethermancer, the spiritual successor to Monster Sanctuary.

Melin hosts a weekly livestream on YouTube called the Live Composing Show, where he composes music for commercial projects live for the audience, and occasionally reviews sample libraries and music software.

Works

Video games

+Video games, trailer musicWorkDeveloperFrogbound: The Legend of Sir HopperStomaco StudioCrimson CapesPoor LockePathfinder: Abomination VaultsBKOM StudiosTwilight MonkAquatic MoonAbalon ArenaD20 StudiosMoonlighterDigital SunInkboundScribbleforge GamesDream TalesFingers Meet ControllerSneaky SnakeSol KeyGLORYReach Game Studios

Television

Podcasts and audio dramas

Films, videos, and animation

Awards and nominations Year Award Category Work Result Citation 2016 Parsec Awards Best New Speculative Fiction Podcaster/Team Liberty: Critical Research 2018 Mark Time Awards The Ogle for Horror (Silver) The White Vault BANFF Mountain Film and Book Festival Official SelectionSpace to Explore 2019 Environmental Film Festival in the Nation's Capital Official Selection American Documentary Film Festival Audience Favorite Short Wild & Scenic Film Festival Official Selection Discover Pod Award Best Fiction Podcast The White Vault Audio Verse Awards Best Vocal Composition in a Production The White Vault: A Musical Webby Awards Best Original Music / Sound Design in Podcasting The White Vault 2020 Hear Now Audio Fiction and Arts Festival Platinum Award The White Vault Hear Now Audio Fiction and Arts Festival The Gold Listening Showcase Official Selection Dark Dice Webby Awards Best Original Music / Sound Design in Podcasting The White Vault Audio Verse Awards Best Instrumental Composition in a Production Dark Dice - "Danse Sanguis" Best Vocal Composition in a Production Dark Dice - "Devil's Gamble” Best Instrumental Composition in a Production The White Vault Best Instrumental Composition in a New Production The White Vault: Illuka - "Dredged from the Deep" 2021 Best Original Compositions for a New Production The White Vault - "Avrum" Best Music Direction for a Production The White Vault Best Original Compositions for a Production Webby Awards People's Voice Award for Scripted Fiction Podcast 2022 Audio Verse Award Best Music Direction of an Existing Production Best Composition for an Existing Production The White Vault - "Beneath the Ice" Best Composition for an Existing Production Dark Dice - "Light of Eastwood" Best Composition for a New Production Don't Mind Cruxmont Signal Awards Best Original Score (Listener's Choice)Dark Dice Best Original Score Most Innovative Audio Experience Most Innovative Audio Experience (Listener's Choice) 2023 Baltimore Next Media Web Fest Best Actual PlayDark Dice Best Score in an Actual Play Best Fantasy for Children – Audio Fiction The Boar Knight Indie Series Awards Best Audio Fiction SeriesDark Dice Best Original Score Best Original Song The Boar Knight - "The Boar Knight Theme" MN Webfest Best Original Score in a PodcastDark Dice Best Fantasy Podcast Best Family Podcast The Boar Knight Best Fantasy Podcast The Boar Knight Best Original Score in a Podcast The Boar Knight New Jersey Web Festival Best Original Song The Boar Knight - "Sinister Stirring Stories” New Zealand Web Fest Best Actual Play Podcast Dark Dice Best Fiction Podcast Don't Mind Cruxmont Rio WebFest Best Actual Play Dark Dice Best Fiction Podcast The Boar Knight Webby Awards Best Individual Episode Scripted Fiction The White Vault 2024 Cusco WebFest Best Sound of a Fiction PodcastThe Boar Knight Best Environment on a Fiction Podcast Best Sound Design in an Actual Play Dark Dice