MTV Games and Harmonix today announced that beginning in August musicians of all flavors will have the opportunity to have their tunes land in the Rock Band Music Store, garnering them an unprecedented level of exposure.
Officially dubbed the Rock Band Network, this music game initiative will allow anyone playing in a garage band, or even Into Eternity, a well known metal act, to finally have their music in the game (should they want it) and muster up some cashola while at it.
But how does it work?
When the program enters open beta in late August, a “sophisticated toolset” complete with “detailed documentation” on the new virtual studio will be available to all in order to begin what already feels like a lengthy process of recording, authoring, and publishing your track. But once you’ve recorded your song in the “studio” your next task is to get the darn thing published.
Enter Creators.RockBand.Com, a hub of all things user-generated content, where your song can be playtested and criticized by members to help you submit the best song possible.
Ready for (somewhat of) a catch? A four month ($49.99) or annual ($99) membership to the XNA Creators Club Online is required to get anything published in the Music Store.
Once all the i’s are dotted and the t’s are crossed, and your song is in the store, you want some money… right?! Great, because, according to Kotaku.com, you’ll be able to charge anywhere between 50 cents and $3 for your work, and can keep 30% of the take.
Harmonix has also noted that PlayStation 3 and Wii fans are getting almost no love (and tons of $ from Microsoft), and, in another “timed exclusive” deal, songs created (which Wii and PS3 fans can’t even do) and uploaded to the store will be exclusive to Xbox 360 for 30 days.
Ready for some caveats? Here we go.
Obviously you cannot record your version of anything any band has already created; you’d be infringing on their rights. Tsk tsk.
Songs will be moderated by Rock Band devs and will not be uploaded to the store until approved.
Clearly, however, the benefits outweigh the negatives. You’ll be utilizing the same exact tools Harmonix developers use, and if there was ever a perfect digital venue to get famous in the real freakin’ world, Rock Band is it.
You probably have questions, and we (hopefully) have answers. Hit up the comments to begin the discussion.
This sounds very neat. I’m all for it!