Rock Band network expands opportunities with affiliates program
Rock Band went professional a while ago with the Rock Band Network, a system that let bands develop new songs into tracks in the game and publish them on the network, sometimes before they were available anywhere else. Now Harmonix has added the affiliates program to RBN, which connects bands to outside services for things like accounting, promotion and advertising. RBN has been an attractive professional tool from the start because it was a comparatively cheaper way for newer bands to get exposure for their music. The affiliates program is just one more way for Harmonix to cut out the middle man and make things easier for up and coming musicians.
Harmonix and MTV Games Announce the Rock Band Network Affiliates Program
Service Connects Bands with Trusted Music Distribution and Promotion Services
CAMBRIDGE, MA – JUNE 1, 2010 - Harmonix Music Systems and MTV Games, a part of Viacom’s MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), today announced the launch of the Rock Band Network Affiliates Program. The Affiliates Program brings together bands and music distribution, promotion and tools sites under the Rock Band Network umbrella.
“The Affiliates Program is the next step in our goal of bridging the music and game spaces,” said Paul DeGooyer, SVP, Electronic Games and Music, MTV. “This initiative will promote the Rock Band Network to bands that frequent our affiliates’ sites and give the creators inside the Rock Band Network the opportunity to work with an amazing group of well-respected music distribution, promotion and technology sites, including Tunecore, Nimbit, Reverb Nation, Indaba Music and Topspin.”
The RBN Affiliates Program connects Rock Band Network bands with all the do-it-yourself tools they need to be successful – music distribution, email marketing, social networking promotion, inventory fulfillment and more. It provides musicians, bands, labels or publishers, currently working with our affiliate partners, exposure to the Rock Band Network platform. Inside of the RBN Creators Club, they will find the tools to produce, promote and sell tracks in Rock Band for millions of fans to discover through experiential and interactive gameplay.
Through this program, bands can receive special opportunities from affiliates, like waived and discounted account fees, complimentary distribution and promotion of RBN songs, banner ads, widgets, cross-promotional linking and more. The program gives bands the opportunity to sign up for available services and increase their exposure to fans in both the music and game spaces.
As a one-stop-shop for the Affiliates Program, musicians can find more information about the program, as well as individual affiliates and what they can offer at http://creators.rockband.com/affiliates.
About the Rock Band Network
The Rock Band Network, launched March 4, 2010, gives Rock Band fans and music lovers a new avenue to discover music and provides musicians and labels the opportunity to produce and promote tracks for the Rock Band platform. This ground-breaking initiative gives musicians, publishers and record labels the ability to author their original recordings into gameplay files to promote and sell their music as playable Rock Band tracks through the RBN Store.
Artists who submit songs for the Rock Band Network Music Store are able to choose from multiple pricing tiers for individual tracks and receive a royalty of 30 percent of the retail selling price (excluding tax) for every track purchased through the RBN Store. There are currently more than 300 songs available for purchase in the RBNStore from artists including The Shins, The Hold Steady, The Main Drag, Bang Camaro, of Montreal, Jonathan Coulton, Skeleton Witch, 3 Inches of Blood, Lacuna Coil, Stroke 9, and Steve Vai. There are more than 300 artists in the RBN pipeline, with additional tracks already on the way from Flight of the Conchords, The Smashing Pumpkins, Twin Atlantic, All That Remains, Clutch, Prong and many more coming soon.
With more than 1,500 tracks available to date on the Rock Band platform, the Rock Band Network Music Store has immediately boosted the number of available songs, further securing MTV Games and Harmonix’s position as the leading provider of downloadable content for music-based video games.
Artists interested in submitting their songs to the Rock Band Network, please go to www.creators.rockband.com for more instructions on how to get involved.
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About MTV Networks
MTV Networks, a division of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), is one of the world’s leading creators of entertainment content, with brands that engage and connect diverse audiences across television, online, mobile, games, virtual worlds and consumer products. The company’s portfolio spans more than 150 television channels and 350 digital media properties worldwide, and includes MTV, VH1, CMT, Logo, Harmonix, Nickelodeon, Nick at Nite, Noggin, The N, AddictingGames, Neopets, COMEDY CENTRAL, Spike TV, TV Land, Atom, Gametrailers and Xfire.
About MTV Games
MTV Games is dedicated to creating, marketing and publishing high-quality, innovative interactive products that are relevant to the MTV audience and complement the core values of the MTV Networks brands.
About Harmonix Music Systems, Inc
Harmonix Music Systems, Inc., based in Cambridge, MA, and established in 1995, is the leading developer of groundbreaking music-oriented videogames. Harmonix was founded by Alex Rigopulos and Eran Egozy, who formed the company to invent new ways for non-musicians to experience the unique joy that comes from making music and have pioneered music and rhythm gaming in the US. For more information please visit www.harmonixmusic.com.
© 2010 Harmonix Music Systems, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Harmonix, Rock Band, Rock Band 2, Rock Band Network and all related titles and logos are trademarks of Harmonix Music Systems, Inc., a MTV Networks company. Rock Band, Rock Band 2 and Rock Band Network developed by Harmonix Music Systems, Inc. MTV: Music Television, MTV Games and all related titles and logos are trademarks of MTV Networks, a division of Viacom International Inc. All other marks are the property of their respective owners.
