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GTA IV's music tie-in turns game developers into music promotersvurbal @ May 05, 2008 05:56 | 14 comments It's no great surprise that video game retailers are very happy with the release of GTA IV, the latest installment of Rockstar Games' wildly successful Grand Theft Auto series. What is a little surprising is the buzz being created in the music industry by the addition of a new feature that connects players to Amazon.com's online music store, where songs featured in the game can be purchased.
"It's a very big deal for us," says Cynthia Sexton, senior vice president of marketing and licensing for EMI Music North America. "We're continually looking for new ways to sell our music. There are millions of people buying 'Grand Theft Auto,' and we hope they will enjoy the music and in turn buy those tracks."
Unlike most game developers, who typically leave the selection and licensing of tracks for inclusion in games to the publisher, Rockstar makes a point of developing and licensing game soundtracks themselves. This can result in high visibility for songs that might not receive any attention from the mainstream market otherwise. In fact, according to Rockstar music supervisor Ivan Pavlovich Amazon had less than 40% of the songs from GTA IV available for sale before when they originally inked the deal to sell it.
While video game related promotions could certainly prove to be a useful marketing tool for both labels and artists, most game developers and publishers don't have the focus on music that Rockstar does, and certainly labels haven't shown any sign they've mastered the art of establishing new markets themselves. So the real question seems to be whether this is the beginning of a new trend, or just one more thing that sets Rockstar Games apart from their competition. |
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Comment by: hulud86 (May 05, 2008 06:19) I don't know if people will want to buy the music in GTA IV after hearing them over and over again.
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Comment by: nobrainer (May 05, 2008 08:42) The soundtrack is ok but it's what we expect no different to previous instalments, san andreas and gta3 were far better, frankly gta london was a better soundtrack than all.
Originally posted by hyper: avoid the price fixing, anti-consumer scumbags ppl, boycott ALL their products!
The BPI Are: SONY, UNIVERSAL, WARNER GROUP, EMI.
The RIAA Soundexchange Are: SONY, UNIVERSAL, WARNER GROUP, EMI. The IFPI Are: The same anti consumer lot as listed above! The MPAA Are: SONY, UNIVERSAL, WARNER GROUP, DISNEY, PARAMOUNT, FOX. |
Comment by: ZippyDSM (May 05, 2008 12:34) nobrainer
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Comment by: 7thsinger (May 05, 2008 14:39) I doubt too many people are going to run out to grab the soundtrack. The repetition in the game is most likely going to be enough, IMO. |
Comment by: Solo_Tek (May 05, 2008 16:32) Wait-
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Comment by: canuckerz (May 05, 2008 19:03) Originally posted by hulud86: Besides that I've only heard one song on GTA4 that I liked so far and it was sung by this russian chick. Every other song on there so far has either been pure crap or bland as water. GTA:SA had MUCH better tracks and likely more of them too. |
Comment by: goodswipe (May 05, 2008 19:13) When Tony Hawk 3 came out, I played it so much that I went and bought an album from one of the bands that was on there.
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Comment by: nobrainer (May 05, 2008 19:32) Originally posted by goodswipe: I just want an album full of GTA interludes! |
Comment by: viny1313 (May 05, 2008 19:42) Compared to the San Andeas sound track, this music is pure shit...
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Comment by: nobrainer (May 05, 2008 19:54) Originally posted by viny1313: completely agree the soundtrack in previous titles has been spot on, this time, its like the record companies have placed, their choice in the game WTF rockstar?
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Comment by: goodswipe (May 05, 2008 20:00) Originally posted by nobrainer: What's on there?
Originally posted by viny1313: This does have some old school rap on there. Minus Too Short and N.W.A. |
Comment by: viny1313 (May 05, 2008 23:44) I'm not saying that it's ALL bad, but the ratio of good to bad songs on IV is much worse then the good:bad ratio for SA...
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Comment by: TBandit (May 06, 2008 00:03) Xbox owners shouldn't need this they just need to turn on the music from the guide button. Waste of money if you go out and buy music |
Comment by: viny1313 (May 06, 2008 00:14) Doesn't that black out everythin' else? |