Rock Acts Ringing Up Sales Via Video Games

Games like "Rock Band" and "Guitar Hero III" have proved their ability to breathe new life into classic rock sales. But can they do the same for new music?

Last month, Motley Crue decided to find out. The band placed its new single, the title track from "Saints of Los Angeles," for sale as a downloadable track on "Rock Band" well in advance of the album's release date, which has been pushed back to June 24. The only other place to obtain the track was iTunes.

According to data provided by the band's management, Tenth Street Entertainment, the track was downloaded more than 47,000 times via the Xbox 360 version of the game alone in the first week after it became available. ("Rock Band" publisher MTV Networks was unable to independently verify these figures, and total downloads that include the PlayStation 3 version of the game were not available.)

By comparison, the same track received slightly more than 10,000 downloads via digital services like iTunes and Amazon, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

That's a pretty big discrepancy considering that music bought via "Rock Band" can't be transferred to a portable music player or even a computer for later enjoyment. It can be played only via the game.

Read more at Yahoo! News.

Comments

[waveningkan]

wow.not surprised tho.

[godberry]

i think metallica said they were going to release their new single through rock band. that would be nutty.

[Jesse-Nikral76]

yeah but...motley crue?

[Pumpkins4Life]

it's genius marketing, they find a way to sell you new stuff and a way to re-sell you old stuff.

[cloudy_skies]

Yeah, because Motley Crue is certainly "new music".

[thefoldarsoldar]

^
Saints of Los Angeles = New song (and name of album) from Motley Crue.

checked.

[littleleo88]

godberry wrote:

i think metallica said they were going to release their new single through rock band. that would be nutty.

+1 for all that is nutty.

[Flying Couch]

I'd do it if I were them.

[satyphan]

meh... couldn't care less.

[brentondig]

Forget Guitar Hero. My first introduction to metal-ish music was from VROCK on Vice City. Before that, it was already classic rock.

[duncang]

It certainly is. It's gotten massive exposure for guys like Fall Of Troy.

[GuitarGod_92]

although I like Rock Band/Guitar Hero(s) and Motley Crue, i think that releasing through a video game is for (how should i put it...) noobs.

[kennyvspenny]

song kills!

[frigginjerk]

could't really care less, but at least this time the Guitar Hero headline has SOMETHING to do with the music business.

[YourMessiah666]

frigginjerk wrote:

could't really care less, but at least this time the Guitar Hero headline has SOMETHING to do with the music business.

it's about bloody time. and still, very little.

[AVIDFANOFSOUNDS]

Why do the people buying Guitar hero buy a proper guitar instead it makes sense

[Soma3009]

Guitar Hero is even going as far as to advertise their products on Slurpee cups.
I like Rockband. It's fun to play with friends.
But I think that Guitar Hero bringing out the douche in many American teens.

[Soul-Monger]

littleleo88 wrote:

godberry wrote:

i think metallica said they were going to release their new single through rock band. that would be nutty.

+1 for all that is nutty.

+1. Nutty and stupid.

[Gsh]

I bought the song just to support the idea of releasing new songs on Rock Band. Unfortunately The Saints of Los Angeles is a laughably lame tune. The entire album from The Cars is being released tomorrow and that should be a blast. To people who say, "why don't you just buy a real guitar". I play the drums and guitar and Rock Band still has its place. It's just another way to interact with music. The RB drums are especially good.

[twistedriffster]

i'm quite surprised.

[ellucifere]

Soul-Monger wrote:

littleleo88 wrote:

godberry wrote:

i think metallica said they were going to release their new single through rock band. that would be nutty.

+1 for all that is nutty.


+1. Nutty and stupid.

+1. Pretty stupid on Metallica's part

[Mootallica]

I like things that are "nutty" lol

[Shredder Guitar]

yeah, i'm a fan of the sheer nuttiness of the whole situation.

All nuttiness aside, i think this is an ok idea.. they have a point with the "not being available for later enjoyment" bit though.

checked

[LP4EVR]

godberry wrote:

i think metallica said they were going to release their new single through rock band. that would be nutty.

that is true rock band owns the rights to their first single when they're ready

[Back in Red]

ellucifere wrote:

Soul-Monger wrote:

littleleo88 wrote:

godberry wrote:

i think metallica said they were going to release their new single through rock band. that would be nutty.

+1 for all that is nutty.


+1. Nutty and stupid.



+1. Pretty stupid on Metallica's part

+2 because I'll have a reason to get rock band.

[S.D.M.F.]

it's a very good idea alright, thousands of gamers that might not even heard of the bands on these kind of games might like the track and buy the album it's from.

I know i've done that before!

[Ali-b912]

godberry wrote:

i think metallica said they were going to release their new single through rock band. that would be nutty.

im pretty sure the whole album is being put for download, and the first single will be on rockband before it gets released in music stores. very nutty indeed.

[Rokeman]

Back in Red wrote:

ellucifere wrote:

Soul-Monger wrote:

littleleo88 wrote:

godberry wrote:

i think metallica said they were going to release their new single through rock band. that would be nutty.

+1 for all that is nutty.


+1. Nutty and stupid.



+1. Pretty stupid on Metallica's part


+2 because I'll have a reason to get rock band.

+2, one for me, one for Lars' nuttiness.

[axe_man]

why the hell are songs on guitar hero harder to play on guitar hero than in real life

[Donkey Fly]

axe_man wrote:

why the hell are songs on guitar hero harder to play on guitar hero than in real life

They aren't.
It takes years to learn guitar. The learning curve for guitar hero is about 2-4 weeks.
or..
Perhaps you just suck at guitar.

[Hellebore]

axe_man wrote:

why the hell are songs on guitar hero harder to play on guitar hero than in real life

they arnt at all. my friend is beating the game on expert right now. however, he cant even play the simpelest things on real guitar no matter how many times i show him. guitar = challenging and rewarding, guitar hero = easy as hell and something to do when your bored or just cant learn real guitar.

[Metal_Rich]

godberry wrote:

i think metallica said they were going to release their new single through rock band. that would be nutty.

XD No-ones going to let that live down, it's hilarious and nutty!