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Video Games Are Launching Rock-n-Roll Careers
jillduffy writes "Steve Schnur, a high-level music exec at Electronic Arts, talks about how video games are launching the careers of top musical artists these days. Some of his examples: 'Avril Lavigne was first introduced to European audiences through FIFA 2003. Fabolous was first introduced in America via NBA Live, and went on to sell over 2 million albums here. JET got their American iPod commercial based on exposure in Madden 2004. Avenged Sevenfold were an unsigned act when we featured them in Madden 2004...' Schnur explains how the phenomenon is made possible by the new generation of media junkies, who feel a song becomes real when they 'play it.'"
Avril Lavigne is essentially a product created by a marketing team and her music is written in just the way that it will appeal to a label afraid of risks. By being thrust out into the public by a crack team of crap pop songwriters, she was already bound for success before appearing in the game. It's not as if any nobody with actual talent can hit it big by appearing in games.
You mean to tell me that the RIAA are NOT the only ones who launch big music careers?
Somebody better tell them quick, surely this means the end of their business model?
http://www.riaaradar.com/ is a place to look for other artists that are not associated with the RIAA if you are interested.
Support NYCountryLawyer RIAA vs People
A better question would be why aren't these groups getting exposure in Europe / United States in the first place? Isn't that what organizations like RIAA are for?
I find it interesting that a video game soundtrack or an iPod commercial might be a better distribution system for pop music than radio or television. Something seems broken here.
crazy dynamite monkey
Don't forget Crush 40.
Nearly all the music I have (that was made in this decade or the previous) has come from video games. There is very little I like in the music industry, but video game music provides me with music backed by experiences, settings, characters. It creates a strong connection that evokes thoughts and images far better than detached music does for me. I hate lyrics, which really reduces the set of enjoyable music for me, but video games provides some of the widest variety in music I like.
Demented But Determined.
what does that say about me?
That's not "rock & roll". That's pop drivel, that's not even primarily a music product. It's primarily a video product. The music is manufactured as a prop in a photoshoot for some model to sell units of some crap no one will like after the marketing push is done.
Notice how none of this crap stays in anyone's playlists or even radio stations a few years after it's new? Because it doesn't speak to, or for, anything real. It speaks to some manufactured hype of the moment. Which is all it can, because the artists are commercial artists.
That's not "rock & roll". That's corporate rock. The same manufactured pop that real rock & roll, from real people, chased from the charts back when it was real.
--
make install -not war
Back when the PS2 launched, one of the best games around was SSX, and it had a soundtrack worthy of the game. I enjoyed, and acquired, much of the music I heard from playing that game.
SIG: HUP
The Gone Jackals.
Only band "from games" that I really cared about.
He had an hour of songs from video games, its quite impressive how many good songs there are in good games. For those of you in the UK check out his Wednesday show on radio iPlayer.
I dont think in the age of myspace that any real talent is getting boosted by games. The bands that break into the mainstream after a couple of albums of giging and getting fans, thats where the real bands are.
IranAir Flight 655 never forget!
For a second I thought the "Rock Band Experts start Real Band" stories had started.
I dread that day.
Considering the fact that i have three different people wanting to use my music in their games, i guess i've got a chance :D
Small indipendent games, but atleast it's a start..
this is probably the most boring sig in the world
They're like "so whatever";
And they want John Romero back... Oh wait. Never mind, they said to keep him.
"I am the king of the Romans, and am superior to rules of grammar!"
-Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor (1368-1437)
There's definatly something in this, when I'm playing a game the music becomes assosciated with something from the game; a plot point, a grand set-piece, or even just the elation of victory. From this an assosciation is built so that when the music is heard its subconsciously linked to those gaming moments and if these moments were good it can fire the desire to hear the song again.
Perhaps not the most scientific of proofs but from personal experience it holds water.
With their usage of the term "unsigned," they're trying to imply that nobody had heard of the band previously, when they were in fact on two labels that were at the time pretty well-known in the metalcore and punk scenes (Good Life and Hopeless). They happened to be in between contracts. Whoop-dee-doo.
Large media exposure is good marketing. No seriously, anything that gets your music out there to a large audience is a good thing. The more people that play videogames, the more this influence will be. Why would it be any different for games?
What would make an interesting article is if music in videogames doomed bands to fail.
http://greenobyl.com/ please.... think of the children!!
"Video Games Are Launching Rock-n-Roll Careers". Like Guitar Hero launched Stan and Kyle? I bet that's a lot of pressure!
I'm going to retroactively launch my musical career with the soundtrack to "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial" You might remember me from such underground hits as "Combat: game 23"
You mean, like, artists that are marketed primarily to people with computers can sell CDs? I was under the impression that everyone who has a computer doesn't buy music anymore but only swaps it through P2P.
Dammit, did the RIAA lie to me?
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
I think Journey can be credited with the first video game tie in with their Journey Escape game in 1982. Wiki says it was released for the 2600, however I do recall a coin up version, but as I remember it from a disused machine in a pizza place circa 1986, I imagine it could have been their later release.
Journey attempted to tie in their 1983 Frontiers album with a coin-op arcade game which featured a cassette of their music on a loup. Given Dragon's Lair was also released in 1983, there was not enough time to learn how unwise it was to use a mechanical system in an arcade box.
They get points for being innovative, but given the limits of technology at the time, someone who even knew their music would have a hard time recognizing the vintage beeps and boops. It didn't help the fact that the game it self wasn't very good, but the idea was sound.
But needless to say the band was already successful before this tie in, and the tie in was hardly what I would describe as being successful.
There is no sanctuary. There is no sanctuary. SHUT UP! There is no shut up. There is no shut up.
does this remind anyone else of audiosurf, the game where you fly over your music? I can imagine quite a community forming making music for it, even discovering new artists through it.
I'll admit. I had never even heard of freezepop until they became popularized by harmonix. Same goes for Bang Camero.
Now I find myself actually interested in their music, thanks to the magic of Harmonix's rhythm games.
"Avril Lavigne was first introduced to European audiences through FIFA 2003" Are they trying to blame ALL the evils in the world on video games now?
I've discovered quite a few artists from games that I've played. Seconding Gone Jackals for one (who didn't love Full Throttle?), I also had never heard of Mastodon before NFS Most wanted. I first really heard Trent Reznor's music in the original Quake, leading me to purchase much of his other work. Bella Morte in Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines, etc etc. There's a lot of great bands (depending on your tastes in music) that get MAINSTREAM exposure from games that they weren't getting otherwise.
People are like slinkies; useless but fun to watch when you push them down the stairs
JET got their American iPod commercial based on exposure in Madden 2004.
A product that was advertised by one megacompany got so much exposure that it was also advertised by another megacompany? Did I mention I'm impressed?
... and I won't until I hear one of the Mario Bros. themes on the radio.
But seriously - given most of the examples cited, it seems more likely that some already up-and-coming bands just happened to catch the ear of the music honchos at various gaming companies. To provide a counter-example: It's not like any J-Pop tune is sweeping the US, despite the popularity of all those DDR variants currently out there.
#DeleteChrome
I think the reason video games are a good platform for music because of the attachment of the experience. When gaming, people become engrossed in what they are doing and absorb all elements of the game, including the music. For me I easily recall the different themes from some of my favorite games. Over-world themes in particular are very stuck, but games I loved to play over and over (Banjo-Kazooie, various Zelda games, etc.) are songs I won't forget.
More to the point though, I am also attached to whatever music I put on while I was playing. Whenever I hear some songs, it instantly takes me back to playing that game. The same goes for pop songs today. If you put the song in an engrossing atmosphere, people get attached. It's no different than hearing the "NHL Tonight" theme and thinking hockey, or hearing "Zombie Nation" and thinking college hoops.
I'm not surprised that people like the songs, and then seek the artist. Any exposure to the music in these environments is good for the artist.
Funtime Candy Wow! - my plan for eventually conquering Japan.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RthZgszykLs
OSGGFG - Open Source Gamers Guide to Free Games
It's also hard to believe that the well-known Ambassadors of Funk got their break from some ancient video game starring some nonentity called "Mario".
Yep, video games are the key to a long-lasting career!
RIAA claims that although music piracy aids terrorists, "game piracy is a good, benign thing".
Copyright infringement is "piracy" in the same way DRM is "consumer rape"
One of the young chaps who hang around our office looking "cool" tried to interest me in his music, which is stuff like Sabrepulse and :( colon open bracket. The Sabrepulse stuff is all up for free download from his site. If you can listen to "Storm Raid Battle" or "|xxx is dead" and not have your jaw hanging open in amazement, well, you ain't no friend of mine. Absolutely fantastic stuff. The "Nintendokore" album's good as well.
Creativity kills the music industry which runs on the status quo, that top 40 set of songs that we've been listening to for years that lately has been used to associate with product placement.
I like the idea of HACKING Guitar Hero by uploading your own songs.
I mean, if I'm going to shell out at least $200 for a joystick shaped like a guitar and some game with 70 songs when I can get a modestly priced electric guitar for less than than or a really nice acoustic guitar (like a Dobro) and learn how to play some songs from a website or a music instructor (I know a good teacher who charges $14 per session and you get to jam with other people learning how to play), then I think I should damn well be able to play songs not part of the game.
Best of all, I actually know how to play the guitar, get chicks, and won't have something like this happen when the game is over.
The Rapture is NOT an exit strategy.
SMILE.dk got big in Japan after having one of their songs in the very first DDR back in 98. They broke up a few short years later, but, big hit none the less.
Non impediti ratione cogitationus.
Gee, thanks video games...
"He who can destroy a thing, controls a thing." --Paul Atreides, Dune
So now we have to listen to those suckers in video games too, as if it weren't enough to hear anytime someone forgot to turn of the radio?
What happened to those highly-skilled Japanese composers that used to make music for the nintendo games? Those are the guys I want to listen too, it's simply much better music. The Mega Man soundtrack still rings nicely in my ears while Avril Lavigne can basically go shove that skateboard.
Before Electronic Arts gave up on unique compositions almost entirely with their "EA Trax" feature, they licensed the soundtrack to the 32-bit version of Road Rash on 3DO, Sega CD, and PlayStation. The in-race music was still generic, repetitive trash, but the Jukebox that played during the menus had a bunch of great tunes. Road Rash introduced me to the likes of Soundgarden and Hammerbox, which then opened the doors to a number of other great bands to which I still listen.
The irony, though, is that shortly after I discover a band through video game channels, they disappear. Soundgarden made one more album and vanished (though Chris Cornell still lives on in all his Casino Royale crooning glory). Hammerbox (also from Road Rash) is gone. Full on the Mouth (Road Rash 3D) is gone. Curve (FreQuency) lost their lead singer and is on life support. There are others, but I could redraw my iTunes library window faster by hand than Vista has been recently.
You may be making a few careers boom, but even more talented musicians are falling by the wayside. Inclusion in a game is great exposure for a budding band, but if the music, the image, or the attitude doesn't fit, the people that play the game are going to mute the music and put on their iPod, or they'll just hit the [R2] button and jump to the next track.
All that being said, I've discovered more great music from video games than I have from the radio, MTV, and record store clerks combined.
So, what video game do my brother and I need to be in to get 'launched'?
Check out our first song on YouTube from my sig.
I do not respond to cowards. Especially anonymous ones.
...I never would've started listening to Alizee.
"GCG: What games have you played recently? SS: You mean besides introducing my kids to Deep Purple, Molly Hatchet, and The Ramones on Rockband? Mostly I've been playing beta versions of upcoming EA titles. Not only do I want to ensure that each soundtrack and song choice works within the context of the gameplay itself, but I genuinely believe that EA creates and distributes the very best games in the industry." i'm sorry, what? how much are you being paid to say that? cannibalization of art for profit! testify! more more more!
I'm not defending GH3's superiority, just saying... there are bonus songs. I know you mentioned Aspyr, who did the PC/Mac port -- were there no bonus songs on the those versions?
EGAD! He's suggesting to other people to write their own songs and play real guitars! It's piracy! It's Blasphemy! It's Madness! It's DARKSIEDED! It's not CHRISTIAAAN!
The Lost World - Jurassic Park
Medal of Honor
Secret Weapons Over Normandy
Call of Duty
Michael Giacchino
Some of this is crap. I had both of Avenged Sevenfold's pre-2004 albums, purchased in Tower Records. They were on a smallish metalcore label, sure, but they were on a label, and were starting to get buzz with the mix of traditional metal and emocore/metalcore influences (which has turned out to be a timely trend, as alternative in general turns more and more to metal for inspiration). They may have been between labels in 2004, or just not on a major label, but they weren't unknown and they had plenty of momentum.
JET were also up-and-coming well before Madden, and again, were at the beginning of a rise in 60s/70s retro-rock that pretty much guaranteed they'd be successful.
Seems to me this is like the annoying kid on the soccer team who touches the ball on its way to the goal then claims the assist. I'm not saying the exposure didn't help--it almost certainly did--but I don't buy that the games were pivotal.
There are some bands I've discovered through games. M.O.P. and Freezepop come right to mind. But these are bands that are truly obscure.
Err, no mention of Jon Coulton? I can't think of a better example.
Surely, having their music licensed for Grand Theft Auto: Vice City was a great jump start to those artists' careers.
I can see where this is coming from. Around 3/4 of my music ollection comes from TV shows, films, etc.
Most human behaviour can be explained in terms of identity.
The game companies get great music without the hugely inflated licensing fees charged by the Big Labels. The artists get intensive exposure to the very demographics they hope to reach without selling their souls. The gaming fans get to hear great music without supporting the Labels or simply suffering through corporate pop retreads.
It's interesting, because while this is happening through the medium of videogames, it's also happening through the medium of advertising. I worked on an in-house indy artist sourcing system at one of the big Ad firms on Madison Avenue, and they were trying to solve this same problem from their own angle--how to supply music in Ads more affordably and also promote independent artists.
Between iTunes, videogames, and advertising it seems like they'll each seize on the carcass of the music industry and tear it to pieces.
Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.
- FIFA 2003 was released at the end of October/start of November 2002.
- Avril Lavigne's first single was number 1 in Spain and number 3 in the UK... in April 2002.
So, the game made people go back in time 6 months to buy records? Now, thats impressive.
I noticed because I remembered being annoyed by the music at the time; NBA/Madden games don't do much business over here so I can't comment on those.
I'm making a note here
"HUGE SUCCESS!"
No offense, but I've stopped responding to AC's.
... the Genki Rockets wouldn't exist. Wait, they don't exist...
Worst BBC News Stories
Franz Ferdinand was already huge when FIFA 2005 came out, and the Scissor Sisters were pretty well established. I think a lot more of the claims made by the EA spokesmodel are unlikely to withstand scrutiny.
Video Games Killed the Video Star.....
>>> "Avril Lavigne was first introduced to European audiences through FIFA 2003"
... Complicated was on "Top of The Pops" (the erstwhile UK chart show of record!) on 4 October 2002 (so was already popular), following the showings from the MTV Music Awards in August 2002 (MTV I warrant is far more popular across Europe than Fifa2003) which in turn followed the June release of Complicated.
That may be true, but in the UK at least I'd have thought it was not through Complicated but through her second top 10 UK single (charting at number 8, 5 Jan 2003) "sk8er boi" from December 2002 that she was widely aired.
Who even knew she sang on Fifa 2003? Fifa 2003 was apparently released in UK in Oct 2002, some reports say November - which means it would have targetted the christmas market
So I'm guessing that this is far more correlation than cause.
Whatever.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/2629761.stm/
Prior to seeing this, I was just thinking about how Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, just released his latest music (under Creative Commons), and is doing it in such a way in that he is exploring different avenues of making money. Then I was suddenly taken back to playing Quake years ago, of which I believe he did the soundtrack and in fact, there were NIN boxes laying about everywhere.
The ego on this guy. Not that any of those artists had talent or skill in their field that got their careers going. No, it was all-powerful EA that launched their careers. Bow to their marketing skill.
Why did I order this CD from the other side of the U.S.? --Well, because the band had somehow gotten a contract with Lucasarts, and supplied the theme and background music for Full Throttle.
Bad-ass biker music with consumer-grade top-40 appeal and studio time on the Lucasarts budget. (Side note; It was 1994, and the game was awesome. I wish Lucasarts still made cool stuff like that.)
Anyway. . . The band was called, "The Gone Jackals", and so far as I know, they never went anywhere, and it wouldn't surprise me if the CD they mailed to me was one of less than a hundred mail order sales they ever made.
And that was before Napster.
Some of the musicians I've met who make a living at their art without big label contracts are those who are constantly on the road performing at clubs. It's a tough life in many ways, but it's also very rewarding in other ways, plus you can make a living at it if you don't mind constant travel. The death of the big labels doesn't mean that the troubadour and bard are lost. I don't think they ever were.
-FL
"Def Jam Vendetta single-handedly created a new global market for hip-hop."
Uhh what? I'm not aware of
1) Any increase in hip hop exposure because of the EA games at all
2) A new market brought on by the game
I don't believe the credibility of that statement at all.
[20:36] wwwdot/.dotorg
I guess, there's not enuf exposure, I have never heard of any of these people/bands/groups/aliens. Oh there on MTV? thats why, I guess they appeal to adult.
-------- Of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most. --Ozzy
I have a ton of music that was discovered through gaming and in most cases, the music that was on these games were signed acts that, at some point, were promised the world through MTV/radio playlists... yet never made it. Tony Hawk was one of the first games where I really paid attention to the music in the game. A song called "Here & Now" by The Ernies (who seemed to vanish after that) sent me on a hunt for their CD. It started there and keeps going. I'd say around 40 CDs of music I own is due to gaming soundtracks and exposed me to music I really would've never heard before. Sadly, most of the artists I've listened to from gaming have rarely gone on to anything beyond that but exposure is the key. I'd like to know how much of these selections were an label A&R dink and how much was the developer/publisher side... I wouldn't want to give the labels props for anything positive, you know. :)
Pop has always been around and always will be. And it's always been shit and it always will be.
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
Who gives a shit who writes the song? Does persona, manufactured or genuine, matter? The only thing that matters is if you like the music they deliver.
I have not heard of any of those songs or bands.
In fact does that list go: Song - Artist or Artist - Song?
Like why the appreciation of EA stock in the past few years shows the same general trend as recording industry sales over the same timeframe. I guess great minds think alike.
I assume the only reason you haven't been modded Funny for this is that not enough Slashmods have heard and can remember the lyrics.
However, rest assured your comment brought a wry smile to my face, and points would be yours if I had them.
Meanwhile, wtf is a flounder pounder? He who sleeps with the fishes? Troy McClure?
I'm very reassured that nobody does. Those are mega irony quotes.
Britney Spear's music isn't rock&roll. Nowadays everything is "(...)&roll", sell, sell, sell.. exploit, and them sell some more. And after that, show some flesh (or panties) to exploit it some more! http://myspace.com/djalex_figueira/