Listen To the Music

I won't pretend to be a guru when it comes to popular music, or the music industry in general. I try and stay well versed enough that I could hold a conversation with a 15 year old without being deemed "uncool" or "old". But despite my half efforts to stay cool, the non internet embodied voices in my first life head have already started up with comments like "how can they listen to this drivel". To be old in youth. Or maybe Im actually old. How depressing.

But one thing I do know about the music industry is that it isnt what it once was in years past. What that does NOT mean is that I think the biz is dying. Oh contrare mon ami. In fact, I think the music industry is doing quite well... when its willing to find ways to think outside the box. After all, churning out an endless supply of CDs (or vinyls, or cassette tapes - we'll leave mp3s out of this for obvious reasons) isnt exactly a forward thinking business model. Changing times call for changing answers to the question of how to get music to people and make a little coin doing it. Examples? How about American Idol. Cell phone ring tones. And of course video games. Gah???

Thats right folks. Video games provide an awesome opportunity for artists to expose themselves in an increasingly saturated media market. I first heard the Fall Out Boys thanks to the Burnout car racing franchise. Madden '03 introduced me to "Body Crumbles" (Dry Cell) and "Walk Away" (Epidemic) - two songs that to this day are a part of my workout playlist. Tony Hawk 2 lead me to the band Powerman 5000. And these are just a few examples - all this from games where music provides ambiance. Dont even get me started on games that are actually about music. Guitar Hero has perpetually embedded Kansas' "Carry on My WayWard Son" and Stevie Ray Vaugh's "Pride and Joy" in my head, and given the way that franchise is selling, I don't suspect I'm the only one who has been woo-edd by the musical siren's call. Did Stub just say Kansas? Yes... I did.

Game soundtracks using real music isnt a new concept - its been happening since the 90s. But what started as a fringe idea is gaining more and more traction with a much wider range of musicians. Guitar Hero 3, for example brought in Slash, Bret Michaels, Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine/ Audioslave) and the Sex Pistols to do sound recording and or motion capture for the game. In another recent example Korn, who played our very own BJC back in October, is recording an entirely new track for the upcoming game Haze.

In some cases, in game music gives small time bands an opportunity to be heard on an enormous stage. In some cases, it gives larger, more established groups the chance to be heard by an entirely new demographic. But the result in both cases is the same - exposure (as in 1 billion plays). And exposure (que up the Puff Daddy) is "all about the Benjamins baby".

Now exposure, regardless of your industry, is a big deal. But I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that most of you are not record executives, aspiring musicians (except Gary) or obsessive gamers. Thusly this post might seem novel but not entirely relevant. So whats the hook? No surprises here...

Experiential content wins. I've mentioned two kinds of games in this post: games where music supports the content and games where music is the content. Both succeed in making an impression on the user because they allow the user to experience, rather than passively listen to, the music. If Kansas comes on the radio, at best I hear it and forget about it in 10 minutes (or ignore it all together). At worst I change the station. But if you plunk me down in front of an Xbox in a situation where I am a part of the song (interactivity), I'm given incentives to play it well (which happens through repetition) AND I can play it with my friends then all of a sudden I'm playing Kansas air guitar in the shower. A song is just a song, but a song in an interactive, social, fun filled game becomes a memory. This notion is one that Allan had shared with me in response to a blog post way back in the day. It was true then. Its true now. And the music industry has started to figure it all out. But its most certainly not the only place this lesson applies. Giant metaphor? Hmmm...

As always, just some food for thought. Carry on my wayward sons.