Video Games and Musicians: So Happy Together
The Miami Herald ran an article featuring the benefits of video games for musicians and artists wanting to get their foot in the door. Think about it: you’ve got a captive audience, they hear your music every time they turn on the game, it gets stuck in their heads in that annoying way that music tends to do, and eventually, if you’re lucky, they go out and buy your album, or buy a few songs off iTunes. If you’re unlucky, they rip it off the Internets, but at least you’re getting around.
The article mentions the band Fall Out Boy, which sold 70,000 copies of their album after appearing in Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland. That’s 70,000 copies sold simply by appearing in a video game. The music wasn’t played anywhere else. That’s pretty impressive.
When Electronic Arts Inc. bought Selasee’s single Run for its FIFA 2006 soccer game, the Ghanian reggae singer had yet to sell a song. Sales of his first album have taken off since the game’s October launch; iTunes and Napster now stock it. Now based in the United States, Selasee regularly plays large venues.
”We’re getting album orders from Australia, Turkey, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Germany, and of course the U.S. and Canada,” said Louis Rodrigue, the singer’s PR manager. “His career is rocketing because of the FIFA game.”
Video games may account for only a tiny share of the music industry’s $21 billion global revenue, but record companies are watching closely.
”It’s a very small but very interesting growth area,” said Adrian Strain, spokesman for IFPI, the industry’s global trade body.
No doubt in my mind that there will be growth in this area, and it doesn’t surprise me that artists like 50 Cent are getting into the video game biz. Hell, even Brangelina are trying to get their message of love and charity through video game development. People think video games and see dollar signs (or euros, or pounds, or yens …).
For musicians video games pose a brilliant career opportunity that many have probably overlooked.
I figure it won’t be too long before video game soundtracks stand proudly beside film soundtracks, and are regarded as equal in artistic value. It’s really just a matter of time.
[via Miami Herald]
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1 opinion for Video Games and Musicians: So Happy Together
the play girlz gaming blog: because guys aren’t the only players » Play! A Video Games Symphony
Feb 3, 2006 at 4:59 am
[…] The other day, I went on about video games and music, and today I discovered Play! A Video Games Symphony. Featuring world-class choirs and orchestras, these musical masterminds bring to life songs from your favorite video games, accompanied by related images playing on large screens. […]
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