The music industry is changing, and fast. The old model based around full album consumption simply doesn't work anymore. Single track downloads grew by 53 percent in 2007 to $2.9 billion and digital sales account for 30 percent of sales in the US and 15 percent worldwide, all while CD sales continue to dive like broken Xbox 360s, falling between 10 to 20 percent in 2007. Heck, 2008 had one of the least-watched Grammy ceremonies in television history.And yet in less than three months, Harmonix's video game Rock Band notched 2.5 million song downloads at around two bucks per -- twice as much as a regular iTunes song retails. Everyone who buys Rock Band downloads at least two songs, on average. With a little over one million copies of the game sold, that's some sexy math.
The relationship between games and music is only getting peachier: coming this June, Activision is planning to release a Guitar Hero game dedicated to Aerosmith and "celebrated artists that the band has either performed with or has been inspired by in some way." Clearly, bands are taking notice of gaming's reach and influence. Here's a look at the past, present and future of the mutually beneficial relationship between music and games.
Early Days: iD's Nine Inch Nails
One of the standout events in the merger between games and popular music came when Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails fame scored iD's seminal shooter, Quake. Worlds collided, as music fans who'd never looked twice at gaming suddenly took interest in online fragfests. Ironically, Reznor has since become a staunch opponent of the music industry's old guard, going so far as to leak his own tracks and remixes.
Old Tunes, New Audience
Where new audiences might once have been introduced to classic tunes through movies (think Martin Scorsese and his love for The Rolling Stones, or Wes Anderson's faithful use of The Kinks), now new generations get their musical education from games.
Rockstar lived up to their name and built radio stations right into the Grand Theft Auto series that cemented gamers' love for tracks like Ice Cube's 'It Was A Good Day' and introduced many to stuff like Gary Numan's 'Cars'.
Rocking in the free market
Dueling arena-rocking franchises Rock Band and Guitar Hero have only amped up that trend by going far beyond the niche track selections of older rhythm games. While labels struggle to sell CDs, Rock Band has already pushed well over 2 million songs. That sales market developed overnight; Rock Band has only been in stores for a few months. But it's consistent with the music industry's current trend towards single-track downloads, which have been increasing weekly.
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