Guy 2: "Hmm... Pandora, Last.fm, Shazam."
Awesome Guy*: "Video games."
Guy 1 & 2: "Huh?"
As we all know, the music industry has and is still evolving every single day. New models come and go, like MySpace's popularity. The question always remains - how do you get your music out there?
You need to give listeners a reason to want to listen to your music and to keep listening to it, otherwise why would they want to listen? A great way to do this is to pair your music with a personal experience or emotion. One of the awesome and beautiful things about music is how it can evoke so much emotion just by one touch of a chord. Many of us associate some of our most happiest times with music. Just think about how music plays such a big role in our every day lives - weddings, parties, childhood memories. We listen to music so we can relive those feelings again and again.
I want to be a little more specific and center on music in interactive media, aka video games. Ranging from metal in Guitar Hero to beautiful orchestras in the Final Fantasy series, music in video games can open up your audience tenfold. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love movie scores and soundtracks, but interactive media is special because it's just that - interactive. It puts you in control of your own movie and your own story. It let's you experience the triumph and defeat and puts you through impossible situations. The music that pulls your emotional strings will be ingrained in your thoughts and memories forever to remind you of your accomplishments.
Take for example the video game Mass Effect, created by the famed game developers Bioware, that came out in 2007. It was an epic sci-fi space-opera that spanned the whole galaxy. By the end, you defeat an apocalyptic threat and save the galaxy from an impending doom. It goes without saying, you'll be on a euphoric high while watching the credits. INSERT AWESOME MUSIC HERE. Bioware decided to go with a small local band in Edmonton, Alberta called Faunts for the ending credits track titled "M4, Part 2." The pairing was a match made in heaven. The track perfectly fit the 80's themed sci-fi genre with soaringly epic synths and won Faunts millions of new fans. Along with the new followers, Faunts also performed in the critically acclaimed Video Games Live concert tour and since released 2 more albums. This is just one success story.
Before that, Guitar Hero and Rock Band literally created a video game genre in itself with it's guitar, drum set, and mic controllers. What better way to let fans experience your music than to let them play it themselves. Personally, I will forever remember playing "Sweet Child of Mine" with my roommate and battling to get the high score for hours. Although I don't think classic rock ever "went away," I do believe that Guitar Hero is a major reason for the resurgence of this genre within this generation.
Basically, video gamers spend 30, 50, to 100 hours playing a video game, becoming very passionate with the music. This is especially true if the music is intertwined with a video game perfectly. By matching this experience with your music, you provide a gateway of memories and emotions for listeners to experience and relive, again and again. What new music have you discovered through film or video games?
And because I really love this song and also becoming a big fan of Faunts, I gotta let you listen to "M4 Part 2." If anything, watch the epic crab battle within.
*I am Awesome Guy;)
1 comment:
I completely agree with your thoughts on an emotional attachment between video games and their soundtracks. Here's an example of my own. I played the game True Crime: Streets of LA for hours upon hours until finally reaching the epic final confrontation. Standing on an airport runway, completely surrounded by the burning wreckage of a plane I shot down, I had to fight the mysterious man behind all the "true crime" in melee combat. Enter "Minerva" by Deftones. The song was a perfect fit for all the emotions tied to this battle. I loved the combination so much that I went out and bought the self-titled album that featured "Minerva" as a single. I've loved Deftones ever since.
Awesome post, awesome insight. Thanks, bro.
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