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Bands Selling Singles Via Video Games

by Terrence O'Brien on May 27, 2008 at 04:26 PM

Bands Selling Singles Via Video Games
Sales of digital music have yet to make up for staggeringly low CD sales, so artists have been getting creative about distribution. First it was ring tones, and now artists are getting behind a pair of niche marketing vehicles, 'Guitar Hero' and 'Rock Band.'

The games aimed at wannabe rock stars have helped rejuvenate the careers of classic rock acts. Mötley Crüe certainly had this in mind when last month they released their new single, 'Saints of Los Angeles,' to players of 'Rock Band' before other outlets. According to the band's management, the track was downloaded 47,000 times via the Xbox version of the game alone, significantly more than the 10,000 downloads from traditional digital media outlets like iTunes.

Def Leppard also released a single exclusively through a video game when it packaged 'Nine Lives' with two catalog tracks as a downloadable bundle for 'Guitar Hero.' But 'Rock Band' isn't only lucrative for older, established acts. It's proven capable of breaking new bands like Black Tide, whose single 'Shockwave' saw its sales figures spike after being a featured download for 'Rock Band.' [Source: Reuters]

Tags: breaking news, BreakingNews, guitar hero, GuitarHero, rock band, RockBand

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