By Shawn Daley



This week, we had more 8 Bit covers, a look at how music games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero are affecting the music industry, and a look inside the Guitar Hero 5 In-Game Music Studio.

Bohemian Rhapsody 8 Bit Cover

A Look Inside Guitar Hero 5’s In-Game Music Studio

Via Kotaku



In lieu of the Rock Band Network’s new user generated content network, Guitar Hero 5 now includes an updated version of the Music Studio feature from Guitar Hero World Tour.



With faster loading menus (finally) and the ability to upload 50 songs (up from 3 since GHWT), the GH Music Studio should be an interesting addition to the franchise. Will it be able to compete with the Rock Band Network’s user generated content? I don’t think so, as the GH Studio wont allow the uploading of stems, and it’s not known as to whether or not users will be able to sell their music just yet.

Before, the music-making mode was limited in what it could do, what kind of music it could produce and the interface was less than intuitive. Now, the UI has been overhauled and the options expanded so that would-be musicians can record longer songs in different genres – or completely zone out as they jam to their own private laser show. But best of all, you can now record songs as long as 10 minutes (depending on how much fancy editing you’re doing within the song) and upload 50 to the Guitar Hero site instead of just three.

Video Gaming Revitalizing The Struggling Music Industry?

Via Sign On Sandiego
With the upcoming release of The Beatles: Rock Band, Paul McCartney has a few words about the gaming industry in relation to music games:

“People still love music, and I have a feeling they always will. It’s just the medium they get the music through that’s changing,” said former Beatle Paul McCartney, 67, who believes music video games can help counterbalance the dramatic decline of CD sales.



“I’ve seen music come a long way — from records and cassette tapes to CDs and downloads — and it’s as cool as it ever was,” McCartney said from England. “I don’t mind how the music gets to them, as long as it’s good quality.”

Some professional musicians have expressed distaste towards music video games, claiming that children should be picking up real guitars as opposed to the plastic peripherals used in the games. It’s nice to see that one of the most influential musicians in the world stands behind music games ad not only a form of entertainment, but an outlet for music distribution and potential education.

Snow (Hey Oh) 8 Bit Cover

Technorati Tags: 8 bit, Guitar Hero, rock band, video games

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This entry was posted on Friday, September 4th, 2009 at 10:02 am and is filed under Music Culture. 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.