Recently, the first song to originate in a game was given a Grammy and the gaming industry is getting another nod from the awards show. Four awards from the academy will now explicitly mention video games as a category rather than having it fall into the more ambiguous Other Visual Media category.
“I think this could be viewed as a first step in the direction of video games getting their own category,” said Bill Freimuth, Vice President, Awards, The Recording Academy. “Many people from the game community have been asking us to create a special category for games over the years, but the main reason we haven t is because we have received very few entries from game publishers.”
“This acknowledges that film, TV and games can stand side by side and be independently recognized,” said Steve Schnur, Worldwide Executive, Music, Electronic Arts. “Hopefully, this will create an even playing field when people vote next year. I expect there to be a tidal wave of submissions from the game industry.”
“The recognition of video games within the Grammy Awards is not just significantly important for the interactive entertainment medium, but it shows that the Academy recognizes games are important for the future growth of their audience,” added Schnur.
“The Academy and the entire music industry recognize the value of video game music and what an interesting and unique art form it is,” added Freimuth. “It s been proven more and more each year with top name artists, top composers and leading orchestras working in this medium.”
Source: IndustryGamers {link no longer active}
