When games focus on promoting through music, they can create engaging experiences for fans. For artists and music labels, the $108 billion video game industry provides collaboration and exposure.
“In recent years, the video game industry has been the fastest growing area of the entertainment business, and music is a major part of many of these games,” Todd Brabec, ASCAP executive VP of membership wrote, “For songwriters, recording artists (new or old), film and television composers, music publishers and record companies, the video game industry represents a new and valuable source of income.”
Brabec is correct—music is such a major part of video games that Electronic Arts (EA) co-founded Next Level LLC. This partnership allows EA to sign and develop musical talent while gaining access to existing music libraries. Ubisoft penned a similar deal with Audiogram last year.
Aside from royalties—which the music industry takes very seriously—video games attract the attention of A-list actors and top industry musicians who are also fans.
For example, Swedish metal band Sabaton teamed up with Wargaming to create a music video for the hit song Primo Victoria. The band even drove a real, Sabaton-themed tank in the video–a replica of which became an in-game add-on. Fans at Gamescom were treated to a Sabaton concert.
Hip-hop artist, Kid Ink, teamed up with Bandai Namco this year for the Tekken 7 soundtrack. His original song “This Time It’s Personal” is a nod to the game’s tagline “The Best Fights Are Personal.”
For WWE 2K17, 2K partnered with Grammy-award-winning hip hop artist Sean “Diddy” Combs to curate the official soundtrack. The game’s music featured 13 songs from a variety of musical genres, including hip hop, indie and alternative rock, heavy metal and electronic dance. One such track is “Bad Boy For Life” by Combs himself as a tie-in to his Bad Boy 20-Year Family Reunion Tour.
Wu-Tang Clan rapper/producer, actor and video game fanatic RZA is working with Atari to create an original album inspired by the sounds of Atari game music.
“I’m so excited to work on these iconic games to deliver what I believe will be one of my best albums,” RZA said in a statement sent to Billboard. “I am going to invite some of my friends to join me and it will be ‘Game On’ with the first beat!”
DJ Zane Lowe became the face and voice of Activision’s DJ Hero, participating the game’s development and promoting through 25 live performances.
Musicians get involved with the game industry through other ways, as well. American band Avenged Sevenfold has an ongoing partnership with peripheral manufacturer Scuf to create their own console controller.
For the release of Medal of Honor, Linkin Park’s Joe Hahn directed a music video set to the band’s song, The Catalyst.
A mutual love of gaming and music can bring together some powerful combinations. From moving soundtracks to epic trailers, music is a vital part of the video game experience and so these partnerships will continue to thrive.
