Rock Band: Dowloadable Song Tracks

A new way that people are purchasing music is through video games, such as Rock Band and Guitar Hero. These music-insprired games have become incredibly popular in the last few years. A recent innovation is the ability to download new song tracks to be played in the game. This is known as downloadable content, or DLC. The most recent game, Rock Band 2, includes 80 songs from popular recording artists on the game disc. Harmonix, the game's creators, estimates that they will have over 500 downloadable songs available by the end of 2008. Consumers can purchase these songs for $1.99 each by going online with their PS3's and XBOX360's. As the music industry and record labels struggle to find their audience, it appears that the videogame industry has given them a helping hand. The royalties paid to the record labels for the use of songs in the game is a new source of revenue. Due to the immense popularity of games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero, new audiences are being introduced to the world of rock music. By hearing and playing songs in the game, it is reasonable to assume that fans might purchase a CD or MP3's of a band they first heard of in the game.

A few factoids about Rock Band 2

• Rock Band 2 is the first and only video game to feature the music of AC/DC
  
• Axl Rose chose RB2 as the first medium for fans to hear tracks from Guns n Roses long-awaited album Chinese Democracy
  
• The next game from Harmonix, creators of Rock Band, is going to feature the music of The Beatles
  

The fact that The Beatles are working with Harmonix on the next Rock Band game is HUGE. The Beatles are extremely restrictive about the rights to their music. In fact, there is currently no legal way to purchase music online from The Beatles. If you want their music, you're stuck with CD's, tapes, or records. In 2009, The Beatles will release their music digitally for the first time ever, starting with Rock Band. Perhaps this will pave the way for them to eventually reconcile with Apple Computer and sell their songs on iTunes. Sure, Rock Band is only a game, but it’s an extremely popular game that undoubtedly inhabits the living rooms of many households. It’s this reason that makes The Beatles’ decision to partner with Harmonix monumental. They will be distributing their music on a new, popular platform to generations of young people who may have never heard them. Sir Paul McCartney said, “The project is a fun idea which broadens the appeal of The Beatles and their music. I like people having the opportunity to get to know the music from the inside out.”