Forget the hi-fi and TV...
2005-01-26 10:12
France - Kids today don't listen to music on the hi-fi or TV. They're all into gaming and it's by playing the latest hot video games that they discover new music and artists.
That was the clear message to the top movers and shakers of the world's music industry gathered here for the influential annual Midem music trade fair that closes its doors on Thursday.
"Kids discover music now on video games much more than on TV," Steve Schnur of Electronic Arts, the world's largest video-game publisher, told a Midem conference.
But from the large number of participants who packed in to listen and learn from the gaming guru, it is clear the music industry is ready to take on the challenge of breaking into new markets that up until now it regarded as fringe.
Extra incentives come in the form of some compelling facts and figures that demonstrate that games sell music. According to recent surveys, over 40% of gamers bought a CD from an artist featured in a game; 40% learned of a new band from a game, and 27%t went out and bought the CD.
"Its hip and cool to have your music in video games," David Glass head of independent record label Artemis told the conference. He pointed out that games offer "unbelievable exposure for artists as they are listened to over and over again".
Word-of-mouth recommendations
Games can also catapult little known bands to stardom. This happened recently with Green Day whose American Idol shot to fame through the hugely successful Madden NFL 2005 sports game video, which now has a cult following in the United States. Green Day even got on to chart lists before American Idol came out on disc because of word-of-mouth recommendations by young gamers.
Video game music has come a long way since the early days of the little "munchy" Pac-man games, whose only vocal accompaniment was bleeping and sound beats.
Soundtracks now feature a wide range of music, from hip-hop to rock, techno and electronic. The music also varies greatly "depending on the games", Didier Lord of France's Ubisoft explained.
Most of the music is provided by relatively unknown musicians as whilst games bring in mega bucks for the publishers, the artists are paid relatively little, an industry source said.
There have been some notable exceptions, however. Rock icon Peter Gabriel composed the music for adventure game Myst 4 and The Doors have just licensed some of their music for the first time ever for a game, the latest version of the award winning Tony Hawk series.
Music has become one of the key elements in making a game successful. "The music choice is critical," emphasised Lord, as it "has to put across the right emotion to the public."