I think it lies in the nature of the profession.
A game project takes several months, a year or even multiple years depending on the scale and time the devs put into it. If you're efficient, you can make music for a game in one month. Even if it's 3 months, and the game takes 1 year to make, music still needs only 1/4 of the time of the final game. So you move on to the next project while the game's still in development. Also, you mostly only need one composer per game. But sometimes several 2D / 3D artists.
This means that just statistically it would take 4 times less composers than game projects. And several times less game composers than team members on a game. I feel your pain, I'm in the same position.
I think finding work is knowing people. If I develop a game and have a name in the back of my head, I'm going to look for that guy and ask. So it's about building your reputation with smaller projects and leveling up to bigger ones or more high profile ones. Or you are lucky enough joining a project really early where the dev just starts out and is happy having you on board but the game then gets the next Minecraft or Super Meat Boy or Fez...
That doesn't happen too often.
Also, I don't like huge indexes of musicians or people. There are platforms that allow you to sell your music. Or license it for a game. Like AudioJungle The thing is: this platform is only great for the owner of that platform. You give away about 50% of your revenue to the platform, so the platform ALWAYS makes money. But there are thousands of people there. The chance that somebody picks and pays for YOUR music is super small. You end up spending a lot of time uploading music to all those platforms, but the chances are small. The client picks SOMETHING from that catalogue, the platform makes money, you probably don't. I think it's not worth the effort. Platforms play with your hope to sell music but I think in the end it's unlikely you make more than a few bucks total.
In my experience it's really about networking. Being part of a bigger community. Listen to other composer's music, comment, comment on game ideas in the dev forums, get in touch with developers, make them some free tracks that fit their game, go to conventions, PAX, IGF, GDC, meet people, build your reputation.
In the end I think in the indie sector there's not much pay around. Everybody is starting out, nobody has a business and can pay you, the only thing you can do is take a risk and hope the game gets a success and you get some royalty share.
I know people who live from making music but they usually also work for bigger clients, for businesses, creating jingles, or music for TV, commercials etc. They spent years building their reputation, doing a job here, meeting other people who saw their work, shook a hand there and met somebody who does the next commercial and is willing to pay
It's all hard work and it all takes time.
Everything else is lottery. You might be lucky and work on the game that gets the next big hit. But it's not likely
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