In September 1991, Film Score Monthly began as The Soundtrack Club, a pamphlet sized publication maintained by Lukas Kendall, who was attending Amherst College at the time.

In June 1992, the publication was renamed Film Score Monthly and, upon Kendall's graduation in 1996, relocated its base of operations to Los Angeles.

At the same time Film Score Monthly revamped its format, introduced full-color covers, increased its length and enjoyed the peak of its circulation.

In 2005, it was announced that the magazine would cease publication of the print edition and move online-only where it could include multi-media content and address the technological advances inherent to the Web in the 21st century.

In 2005, Film Score Monthly began producing a podcast, available through the online magazine, on iTunes (as well as other podcatchers) and on websites hosting direct downloads.