Is Guitar Hero a trend setter for the future of music and gaming?
Thursday, July 24th, 2008Most successful bands and musicians aim to sell out concert halls, make huge profits on record sales, and have a hit song stay on the Top 40 list. But now, with the success of the popular video game Guitar Hero, is something new on the checklist for rock bands?
The band Aerosmith has become a headliner and cover band for Guitar Hero’s newest video game called “Guitar Hero: Aerosmith.” It was released by Activision Inc.
According to a Wall Street Journal article, this is the first Guitar Hero game where playing along with the music is centered on one individual act. Activision also plans on featuring the bands Metallica and Van Halen in future versions. Activision is not the only company that is taking further strides in this direction. Viacom’s MTV Networks Rock Band video game is also talking to bands about licensing their music to be played on video games.
These happenings stay with the latest theme of the music industry: less money from CD sales and more from video, gaming, live music, and merchandise. This is why bands such as Aerosmith are signing contracts to have their music on video games. In addition to the exposure and the chance to build a new, younger audience, there is simply more money to be made.
With music being sold on iTunes and downloaded from Internet sites, album sales bring in less and less revenue for bands and record companies. By cutting deals with video games such as Rock Band and Guitar Hero, Aerosmith has reinvented themselves as a 21st century band. Those who become familiar with hits like “Walk This Way” or “Sweet Emotion” by pressing the buttons on a fake guitar just might be the same fans who buy concert tickets and download MP3s from iTunes. Indeed, it can even reinvigorate album sales. Irving Azoff, Aerosmith’s manager, told the Wall Street Journal that sales of the album “Same Old Song and Dance”, the title track of which is included in Guitar Hero 3, rose by 130% in the week after the game’s launch.
The gaming industry is increasingly successful at expanding beyond its boundaries and reaching new interests. Coming up with new forms of entertainment, such as it did with Guitar Hero in 2005, has just added to the unpredictability of the industry. Everyone involved whether they are a creator, deal-maker, or consumer can’t help but notice the endless opportunities and possibilities. Innovative games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band, coupled with new interfaces like Nintendo Wii, are expanding gaming beyond the traditional young, male demographic.
So far, Guitar Hero has raked in $820 million in sales, according to NPD Group Inc. It was the top-selling video game franchise in the United States last year. About 10.8 million copies of Guitar Hero were sold last year while 1.1 million copies of Rock Band were sold.
With a large amount of copies being sold and so much revenue from sales being generated, it is no wonder that artists like Aerosmith are signing on to have their songs on video games. As this trend continues and more artists make deals with video game companies, it would be interesting to see what changes it might bring to the music and gaming industries alike.
By Chris White
