Music games as music platform?

Does this strike a chord with you?

Viacom announced that MTV Games plans later this year to launch a service that will let any musical artist upload and submit their songs for possible inclusion in its “Rock Band” music video game, Billboard reported. Developers with MTV’s Harmonix studio will review submissions for playability, lyrics and copyright issues before adding tracks to a new, separate Rock Band store.

So now, you or your band’s compositions could hit a new, worldwide market that wasn’t available to you before. Does it interest you? Is this a facet that should be a part of a 360-degree deal that you and your management team work out(refer to earlier post on 360-degree deals)?

So how do the video game makers plan to get your music onto a game platform?(Fuller explanation at Joystiq.com)

“We’ve figured out how to make it so anybody who owns and controls masters and publishing can put music into ["Rock Band"] at their own pace,” Paul DeGooyer, senior vice president of electronic games and music at MTV Games, told Billboard. “We’re talking about a set of serious professional tools to allow people on the front line of writing and recording songs to completely control their destiny with respect to interactive products and then giving them direct access to the download store.”

But I’ve just got a master recording, and the sheet music written out. What else is necessary?

The technical details are “when someone submits music, there’s two different options. They can submit their music to “a community of Harmonix-trained freelance game developers” who will check the song for any inappropriateness or copyright infringement and then implement the music into the game, or “hire trained developers or school their existing employees to do the work in-house.” Which means that the acts can control the note charts on their song.” (From news.vgchartz.com article)

So what’s in it for me, and the band?

Game Informer writes that musicians whose songs are approved will be able to set their own prices. The tracks will probably cost between 50 cents and three dollars, and the creators will receive a 30 percent cut.

Is anyone really buying these songs?

Rock Band currently has a catalog of roughly 600 songs between the first and second games, DLC and AC/DC track pack. But MTV wants more. A lot more. A Billboard report (via GameDaily) discussing the impact of music games on the video game industry has MTV suggesting that they would like to make 5000 songs available for the Rock Band series. By the end of year. (Via 1up.com)
Update: Now at a 1000 songs.

Does it compare with digital downloads in mainstream formats?
In North America, more than 21 million copies of the various instalments of Guitar Hero have been sold, according to NPD Group, while consumers have snatched up 4.5 million copies of the first Rock Band. Together, the two franchises have generated more than $2-billion (U.S.) in sales, said Michael Pachter, a financial analyst who tracks the video game industry for Wedbush Morgan Securities in Los Angeles. (Source: Globe and Mail, March 2009)

So how do I get my content to the developers? (For technical details consult 1UP article here. )

When Activision… first started approaching labels, he typically dealt with a company’s film and TV licensing division. These days, most labels have a dedicated staff working on video game licensing.

In other words, get your entertainment attorney or your personal manager to ask the right questions. There might be another alternative route to get your music heard.

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Related links and music video-games news “below the fold”

Beatles Rock Band to get “huge” for the holiday: an interview on Industry Gamers Website.

Rock Band Bar Night: Signup and rules.

Rock Band Network to see FULL LAUNCH in 2010

Here’s a great article on the developers of Rock Band.

And of course; some dissent that says Music Video games destroy the Musicians in us:

Do guitar games discredit real guitarists?

Jimmy Page and Jack White criticize Guitar Hero.

Jay Moffitt is a Tennessee attorney. This blog is for entertainment and educational purposes only and does not consitute legal advice or create an attorney/client relationship. Jay Moffitt is not certified as a specialist in this area by Tennessee and Tennessee does not certify specialists in this practice area. All comments will be answered promptly and courteously as long as they are germane to the discussion and do not contain specific game names or incidents.

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