On Monday, May 18, 2009; I had the chance to attend the SanFran MusicTech Summit at Hotel Kabuki in San Francisco’s dilapidated Japantown. During the summit, which ran from 9 am to around 6 pm, I sat in on a few panels where musicians, record label types, and various businesses all sat down to discuss where the music industry is heading and how the changes would affect everyone.
On Monday, May 18, 2009; GotGame.com will be attending the SanFran MusicTech Summit at the Hotel Kabuki in San Francisco’s Japantown. During this one day summit, all sorts of different panels will be held covering related topics like, Music in Audio-Visual Works, Social Networking & Music, and Brands & Bands: The Evolution of Music Marketing.
While at the summit, GotGame will be talking with industry types and finding out their opinions of the video game industry in relation to the music industry.
Gamer Culture, Music, Virtual Worlds
Ever since Guitar Hero first graced the scene in 2005, nerds everywhere have been trying their hand at actual music. If you’ve ever picked up a guitar or bass, chances are that you know that one of the best (and most fun) ways to practice is to get a group of like-minded musicians around, establish a beat and chord progression, and just jam until your ears bleed. Being a member of this generation of fledgling musicians, my mind often wanders to who I’d want to jam with, if given the opportunity. It’s really easy to list off rock legends like Eric Clapton, John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix, or Jaco Pastorius, but since we’re all gamers here, let’s try to focus on our gaming obsession for jam inspiration. For instance, who would we jam with if we lived in the Mushroom Kingdom?
Gamer Culture, Guitar Hero, Headlines, Music, Rock Band
As I’m sure you’ve heard, The Beatles are coming to Rock Band. The Fab Four announced Thursday they will be making their digital debut via a partnership with MTV and Harmonix, which looks to see the band featured in its own exclusive Rock Band title, slated for a holiday 2009 release. Of course, this is a major announcement for a plethora of reasons. The most important reason is hidden underneath the surface of this monstrous musical development.
Game Design, Music, Playstation 3, Xbox 360
When the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 were released boasting hard drive capabilities, the prospect of custom soundtracks was definitely a plus. Microsoft ushered in the use of custom soundtracks with the Xbox and continued the trend with the 360. The PlayStation 3, however decided to introduce the custom soundtrack via their 2.40 firmware. But as time moves on, the question remains: are custom soundtracks still wanted?
Game Design, Guitar Hero, Music, Rock Band
So maybe you don’t quite remember 8-tracks, but chances are you’ve at least owned some cassette tapes in your lifetime. If you haven’t, then you were definitely born after 1990, and CDs are probably as old school as your music collection gets. The mini-disc never really caught on, but digital music sure found its niche after the MP3 and a little shareware program called Napster. Since then, music distribution has seen some interesting shifts. From USB albums to iTunes, music fans are always looking for new ways to hear their favorite bands. So what’s the next logical step? Rock Band and Guitar Hero, of course.
Business, Game Design, Gamer Culture, Halo, Music
No, this isn’t another internet “top 5″ list. That would imply music is quantitative, and it’s not. But still, how do you choose the best in-game music, when really it can’t all be compared? It’s an apples-to-oranges situation. You may think, “Well, it’s music, and it’s in a game. So, yes, stupid, it can be compared.” But if you do that, you miss the entire point of music not being quantifiable. To be the best in-game music it has to be moving, memorable, and meaningful…and not all good game music has those qualities.
If you’re a fan of music, and a fan of video games, you are almost definitely a fan of either Rock Band or Guitar Hero. We’ve all “rocked out” on our plastic Stratocasters, and smashed the drums like Animal; but like every other facet of music, everyone has their own opinion on which songs they’d like to wail to. Both Harmonix and Activision have done a great job of presenting a variety of tracks that span multiple decades and genres; but I can’t help but feel they could use a little guidance in choosing future tracks to be released as downloadable content. I’ll present a list of songs that I believe would be perfect for both games, but this isn’t just a list of songs I like: these are songs that have a rightful place in both of these games.
