Funny, my studio looks JUST like that!
What was once an afterthought, something only the niche mod community enjoyed, has now become a powerful force within the biz. What am I talking about? No, not sex mini-games. Game content created by players, of course!
Not only has the ability to create your own content become a selling point for certain games, the possible boost to longevity and exposure for young artists can’t be denied either.
On Friday, MTV Games and Harmonix announced Rock Band Network, which allows bands to prepare and put out their own songs up for sale as DLC for the game. Now I will say what I’m sure a lot of you are thinking: “This is ****ing awesome!”
Later this year, any gamer with the technical knowledge, musical talent and an XNA Creators Club membership, will be able to try their hand at selling their own 100% original Rock Band songs to the general public, and get a cut of the profits.
Gamers will need the Reaper Digital Audio Workstation program, which will run you about $225. The program allows those with an ear for tunes to take the final versions of their songs and add note charts for each instrument (and a lot of other stuff).
Once that’s done you’ll be able to upload songs to the Rock Band Network site, through the Xbox 360’s XNA Creators Club. The Club has a four month membership for $49.99 or a full year membership for $99.99.
So this is not some free, easy thing every Rock Band fan is going to get into, that much is clear (I need that cash for my new MW2 night vision goggles!), but if you’re a young, up and coming musician, this could be another cool avenue to get yourself some exposure and maybe even a little cash (hopefully enough to recoup your start up costs). How much money anyone is really going to make is up for debate, but it does take some of the sting out of musical puritans mocking Rock Band.
Having talked to a few musician buddies (what up SilentScream?), who once ignored Rock Band because they’d “rather play a real guitar,” it seems like this new feature is going to not only sell more copies of Rock Band, but take it to a whole new level. Their immediate reaction was one of over-the-top excitement. The idea of selling their music to their fellow gamers and the world was cool, but the idea that people would get to “play” their songs and spread their name around pushed them over the top. Funny, they have not mentioned “real guitar” since. Go figure.
Tracks will be subject to peer review before release by other Club members. If that small community thinks your up to snuff, your songs will go up on the Rock Band song store. Word on pricing, is that songs could be sold for anything between $.50 an $3, with the gamers receiving 30%. Be sure to check out all the details here.
The songs will be exclusive to the 360 for a month, but MTV Games did mention they’ll probably make their way to the PS3 and Wii editions too. No word on how they plan to help artists on the promotion side of things yet.
If you thought Rock Band was big before, wait until this all becomes a reality. I have no doubt that all sorts of issues will arise from this, but I just can’t see this as anything other than what it is: “****ing awesome!”
Source: Rock Band Network & Gamespot
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This feature really isn’t about gamers uploading their music. It’s about making it easier for bands to get their music in the game. I imagine a group of Rock Band players tweeting Jimmy Eat World and telling them that they just HAVE TO get “Get it Faster” and “Sunday” on Rock Band. Well, now JEW can do something about that!
This is absolutely mind boggling. Truly one of the most revolutionary ideas in gaming this decade. Yes, I’m that excited about it!
I got the impression this was just for artists, not the general public when I “read” the post on the RB Forums.
Yay?
Some of the people who coded tracks for Gh2 customs back in the day are getting jobs for these bands wanting them to make charts for them. So good for them.