Rock Band Network Announced

Rock Band

MTV Games and Harmonix have upped the ante for user created content with the announced creation of the new ‘Rock Band Network.’ Participants will be able to compose and author original songs and have them converted to playable Rock Band tracks available in the Rock Band Network Store. This will no doubt be hailed by the game’s promoters as the natural next step in an anticipated marriage between the morphing music industry and interactive gaming. Read on for more details!

Below is the full press release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MTV Games and Harmonix Empower Artists and Labels to Get Their Music in
the Game with the Rock Band Network

The Rock Band Network Gives Artists and Record Labels Tools to Author,
Promote and Sell Music for Download via the Rock Band Platform

CAMBRIDGE, MA and NEW YORK, NY – July 17, 2009 – Harmonix Music
Systems and MTV Games, a part of Viacom’s MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA,
VIA.B), today announced the Rock Band Network, a ground-breaking initiative
that gives musicians and record labels the ability to author their own
original recordings into gameplay files and sell their music as playable
Rock Band tracks through the newly-created Rock Band Network Music Store.
The introduction of the Rock Band Network marks a fundamental shift in the
exposure music games can give emerging and established artists through
innovative technologies that will open new revenue streams and promotional
avenues.

“Our goal with Rock Band has always been to go beyond making music games
and create a true music platform,” said Alex Rigopulos, CEO and co-founder
of Harmonix. “With the Rock Band Network, we’ve evolved the platform to its
next logical step, giving players access to an incredible amount of new
music by putting the professional tools we use in the hands of the artists
themselves.”

“The Rock Band Network enables songwriters and musicians – at any stage
of their careers – to create their own paths through the interactive
music realm,” said Paul DeGooyer, Senior Vice President, Electronic Games
and Music, MTV Networks Music Group. “Our download store has been an
extraordinary success, and it’s exciting for us to provide access to our
platform through this uniquely elegant solution.”

The Rock Band Network will launch as an open beta in late August 2009 in
the U.S. and provide a sophisticated toolset, with detailed documentation
on how bands can begin the process of authoring songs into Rock Band
gameplay files. Authors will be able to submit tracks for playtesting and
peer review via a specialized Web site, [http://creators.rockband.com/]
Creators.RockBand.com. Potential publishers will need a membership to
Microsoft’s XNA Creators Club Online in order to test and publish game
content. The service will only be available to those who purchase a premium
membership to Microsoft’s XNA Creators Club Online, which can be
purchased for four months at $49.99 or for a year at $99.99.

“The proven strength and stability of Microsoft’s game development
tools, technologies and services allowed Harmonix to focus on making an
easy-to-use experience for authors without needing to reinvent the
wheel,” said Dave Mitchell, product unit manager, XNA publishing
platform. “Rock Band Network is a model example of integration with XNA
Creators Club Online.”

Once tracks are approved, they will be transferred to the Rock Band
Network Store, an in-game music marketplace where millions of Rock Band
fans will be able to demo samples of the songs for free before they
purchase. Songs will debut exclusively on Xbox 360 for 30 days. Artists
featured in the store will be able to choose from multiple pricing tiers
for individual tracks and will be compensated via a simple payment system
that provides automated accounting and regular royalty payments.

Tracks for the Rock Band Network will be made available later in the fall
on the Xbox 360^® video game entertainment system from Microsoft. Stand
out tracks will follow on the PLAYSTATION^®3 computer entertainment system
and Wii^™ console. Joining the more than 750 tracks available to date,
the Rock Band Network Store will greatly increase the amount of music
available through the Rock Band music platform and further confirm MTV
Games and Harmonix’s position as the leading provider of downloadable
content for music-based video games.