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Music and video games share a special link

Date published: 9/4/2008

BY BEN GREGSON

With thousands of fans playing it daily, "Guitar Hero" is one of the most iconic names in the gaming world right now.

Rhythm games (as the genre is known) like "Guitar Hero" and "Rock Band" allow fans to play along with their favorite popular songs. Even those who have never picked up an instrument before can begin making music.

But what impact have these games really had on the music industry?

FROM ZERO TO HERO

Obviously, the rhythm genre of games wouldn't exist without music. Developers can change the game-play and the target audience by including songs by different artists. However, the games themselves change the music industry in a much more significant way.

Often, the bands that sign on to games are lesser-known and get great publicity from having their songs featured in a widely played video game. They don't just get listeners--they get people to actually experience their songs over and over. Even if the players don't like it, they know the name and sound.

Of the 15 "Guitar Hero" and "Rock Band" players polled by it! for this article, all said they had listened to and purchased music from at least one or two bands because of the games.

"Yeah, I've bought like three bands' full libraries and some songs off iTunes after hearing them in-game," said Brandon West, a high school sophomore from Mechanicsville, Md. "It's a great way to warm up to play, too."

Multiply that by a few hundred thousand and you get pretty good profits.

A prime example of such success is Mötley Crüe's latest single, "Saints of Los Angeles." In its first week on iTunes, the song was downloaded about 10,000 times. Yet, in the week after the band made the single available for download on "Rock Band," it scored a whopping 47,000 downloads.

Also capitalizing on the new marketing outlet, the Smashing Pumpkins announced this week that, with their upcoming single, "G.L.O.W.," they will become the first band to debut a song exclusively on "Guitar Hero."

A DIFFERENT BEAT

Date published: 9/4/2008