Music isn’t suffering, rather the traditional music industry is suffering. There’s more music available more widely than ever before in history. Here is another great article from the Associated Press highlighting video games Guitar Hero and Rock Band as a platforms for record labels, publishers and Artists to add life to songs they’ve already recorded or songs they’re trying to launch.
Getting your music in a video game was formerly all about the publicity, but because of the amount of sales these games are bringing in these days, the labels want to get paid. It’s no longer just a vehicle for promotion. Here are some key quotes regarding royalty payments for music inclusion in those games.
The backstage deals vary. Typically, music publishers and musicians are paid advance royalties if their work is included on the original game disc. More copies of the game sold equal more royalties back to the music-makers. The same goes for revenue generated by those augmented new downloads, which are released every month.
“These games can’t exist without the music,” said Alex Hackford, Sony Computer Entertainment America’s artist and repertoire manager. “Musicians deserve these royalties. We pay what I view to be a very reasonable advance royalty. Then, the product goes out and sells and perpetuates the music and mystique of these Artists and their catalogs.”
Additionally, there’s a new play-along music game out exclusively for PlayStation 3 called “SingStar” that broadcasts Artists’ music videos as players attempt to sing along and achieve a perfect pitch. “SingStar” also takes a cue from YouTube with “SingStar Online,” which invites players to upload their performances as well as watch and rate others online.
The Associated Press: Play-along video game genre amps up music industry
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