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As the music industry searches for a new model in the age of digital distribution and internet piracy, it is getting a helping hand from an unexpected quarter: video games such as “Guitar Hero” and “Rock Band”, which let people play along to songs on simplified imitation instruments. “These games are revitalising the industry,” says Aram Sinnreich, an industry expert at New York University. “They’re helping as both a revenue and an advertising platform.”
The main impact of the games is to provide exposure. Inclusion of their music in these popular games has allowed previously obscure bands to achieve international fame, and veteran musicians to blast the ears of a new generation. According to Activision Blizzard, the video-game giant behind “Guitar Hero III”, bands whose songs are included in the game can expect online sales of their music to increase by an average of 300% as a result. “We’re definitely in demand—we’re constantly being pitched by artists and management,” says Paul DeGooyer, senior vice-president of games and music at MTV, which publishes “Rock Band”. As well as increasing sales, having a song in his game also boosts a band’s overall fame and popularity. “We’re providing a new outlet for people to experience music,” he says.
One beneficiary has been Dragonforce, a British speed-metal band that rose to fame after their song “Through the Fire and Flames” was included as the hardest track in “Guitar Hero III”. Its difficulty has inspired many players to post videos of themselves playing the song online. Chris Brown, who is in charge of the band’s marketing, says the track had sold 55,000 copies online before the game’s release in October 2007. “Now we’re up to 624,000. Guitar Hero has really opened up our music to the mainstream,” says Mr Brown.
Established artists are also using the games to promote their music. Bobby Kotick, Activision’s boss, says Aerosmith have made more money from “Guitar Hero: Aerosmith”, a version of the video-game that features the band, than from any of their albums. Mr Kotick has even suggested that rather than expecting games companies to pay to license their music, bands should pay to have their music included in games. Motley Crue released a new single via “Rock Band” in April, and in September Metallica’s new album “Death Magnetic” was made available as a download for “Guitar Hero” on the day of its release. (Fans have pointed out that the video-game version actually sounds better than the album.) Such in-game downloads are typically sold for $2 per song, twice as much as the music alone fetches on iTunes, the leading online-music store.
But will it last? Bob Lefsetz, a veteran industry figure, speculates that music games, which burst onto the scene in 2005, could burn out just as quickly. Teenagers already like classic rock anyway, he says, so the games will not greatly expand the market. “The music business is looking for any good news. These games aren’t going to save it.”
1. The main problem faced by the music industry is ______.
A) the unexpected competition from video games
B) it needs to find a new business model for long-term development
C) it is severely threatened by online piracy
D) it fails to catch up with the technological development of digital distribution
2. It can be inferred from the text that ______.
A) all the bands with their music included in video games can gain popularity
B) the major influence of video games on the music industry is increasing revenue
C) artists and managers try to find the best music bands from video games
D) inspiring interaction with game players can increase a band’s fame
3. Bobby Kotick, Activision’s boss, believes that ______.
A) he has already established a new business model for the music industry
B) music in video games should also be downloadable on the internet
C) there should be difference between the video-game and album versions of a song
D) video games should charge bands but not the other way around
4. We can draw a conclusion from the last paragraph that ______.
A) the collaboration between video games and the music industry might be a flash in the pan
B) the video game model is the last gasp of the deteriorating music industry
C) rock music is not exactly the reason why the bands succeed in video games
D) the music business is still looking for greater music
5. From the text we can see that the writer’s attitude toward the collaboration seems ______.
A) objective
B) positive
C) pessimistic
D) indifferent
.