By Shawn Daley

As you should have heard by this time, the Harmonix published video game Rock Band will soon be opening an online network allowing artists to submit their own music to be downloaded and played within the game itself.

The software used by the game developers will be available to the public via the Rock Band Network, allowing users to translate their music into a format which the game can read. Here’s what we know so far about how it’s done:

You’ll need the stem files from the mastered track you will be using. Each stem file will need to be transposed to a midi track. Thankfully, the tools and software Harmonix will be releasing should make this function quite simple and somewhat easy to grasp. How it will differentiate from other DAW’s is yet to be seen, but we’re willing to bet that it won’t be rocket science due to the varying age of Rock Band players. After you’ve uploaded the completed song, a group of “Harmonix-trained freelance game developers” will then review and release the track on the Rock Band Network Store.

The artist will have complete control over the distribution rights and pricing, which will range from $0.50 to $3.00, keeping up to 30% of the profits. This is an incredible service to the independent music community for a number of reasons.

Another distribution platform is great for artists, but allowing music to cross mediums is where the RBN will truly differentiate itself from the others. Even musicians who aren’t necessarily gamers will be able to reach a previously untouched market. Artists retaining only 30% of the profits from each sale seems steep, but compared to the amount of fan interaction and usage on the RBN, the price seems reasonable (for now).

The team behind Rock Band is clearly aware of the amount of artists who want their music featured in the game. Adding “The Rock Band Network” to the list of places to find your music will certainly add an edge to your promotional effort. It’s only a matter of time before the RBN developers add in a multi-functional social network of their own available on all consoles, allowing artists to promote their available songs more effectively.

Record Labels such as Broken Window Records and Sub Pop Records have jumped on board and will be offering RBN song transposition services to artists. With other games in the genre such as DJ Hero on the way, in which the instrument peripherals are replaced by a turntable, it’s just a matter of time before artists of all genres are affected. Tony Kiewel, head A&R of Sub Pop has this to say:

“It’s very exciting news to us,” Kiewel says. “It’s important to participate in every possible revenue stream available. Whatever gets your music heard helps your overall awareness and ability to sell records and downloads.”

As an avid Rock Band and Guitar Hero player, I’ve discovered countless new artists whom I’ve purchased the music of. This isn’t a passing trend. As more music is added to these video games, the opportunity for artists to increase their fanbase will grow exponentially. Rating systems, difficulty levels and genre filters will ensure that gamers are constantly discovering new music comfortably, and while not all of it will suit our specific tastes, a lot of it will so long as we know what we want. Users will have the option of previewing tracks before purchase, along with recommending tracks to contacts on their friends lists.

Music related video games certainly do expose audiences to previously unknown music, which often translates into sales figures.

According to PCWorld.com:

22 percent of music buyers and 35 percent aged 35 and under report playing a music-based video game in the last three months, according to NPD, adding that “many of these music gamers reported that the gaming experience had a positive outcome, such as creating music discovery or triggering a digital-music or CD purchase.”

In the UK, the British Official Charts Company has decided to include music sales in video games towards an artists ranking on the charts. Omar Maskatiya of the Official Chart Company says:

We have been in discussion with record labels and the various games companies that host games which allow users to download master recording versions of artist tracks. In theory they could be eligible to be combined with downloads of the same tracks that take place from the wide range of digital retailing services that currently make up our chart panel.

This is just another reason indie artists need to use music related video games to sell and promote their music. Of course, millions of artists will be submitting music for the RBN, but should artists be worried about over saturation?



I would like to think not, as the extensive screening process conducted by the Microsoft and Harmonix team should ensure a high level of quality control. This does raise a moral issue … “How great can this service be if only the best are allowed in ?”



For those serious about having your music in Rock Band, the competition will be fierce. Strive for your very best. Half-assed recordings, poor production values, and lack of creativity will ensure that you don’t make it into the RBN. Half measures are not exactly embraced in the music industry, or amongst the legions of todays discerning music fans. So make it great!

The Rock Band Network launches in August on the XBox 360, with select songs coming to PS3 and the Wii.

Technorati Tags: indie artists, online, production, promotion, rock band

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 28th, 2009 at 9:01 am and is filed under Music Culture, Music Production, Music Promotion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.