{"id":718,"date":"2011-04-18T20:54:26","date_gmt":"2011-04-18T20:54:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/skylight.gr\/administrator_wordpress\/index.php\/2011\/04\/18\/how-to-get-your-music-into-video-games\/"},"modified":"2011-04-18T20:54:26","modified_gmt":"2011-04-18T20:54:26","slug":"how-to-get-your-music-into-video-games","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/2011\/04\/18\/how-to-get-your-music-into-video-games\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Get Your Music Into Video Games"},"content":{"rendered":"


The National Association of Recording Industry Professionals (NARIP<\/span><\/span><\/a>) held a professional\u2019s panel in downtown San Francisco last Wednesday where top minds in the video game industry discussed ways that independent musicians could increase their chances of getting their music placed into video games.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The worldwide video game industry is poised to exceed $70 billion by 2015, thanks to the combined growth of console, portable, PC, and online video games, according to market researcher DFC Intelligence<\/span><\/span><\/a>.\u00a0As the industry grows, the opportunity for musicians to have their music licensed becomes increasingly more competitive.<\/p>\n

Follow these tips to increase your chances of landing a placement:<\/p>\n

Do Your Homework <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Sony Computer Entertainment of America (SCEA) Music Director Chuck Doud <\/strong>recommends learning everything you can about the video game industry before knocking on the doors of supervisors.<\/p>\n

\u201cFind out what they need and what they\u2019re looking for,\u201d Doud said. \u201cSeek out the developers who are doing the types of games that would be a good fit for your music. Think of the developers<\/em> first, and don\u2019t take the \u2018hire me\u2019 approach \u2013 you won\u2019t get anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

SCEA Music Supervisor Matt Levine <\/strong>concurs: \u201cOnce we have a sense for how the game will shape out artistically, we\u2019ll then set a list of potential candidates. We all talk to each other and we\u2019ll ask around. We don\u2019t hold any favoritism towards the indies nor the majors. The bottom line is this: if you\u2019re good, and you have the sound we\u2019re looking for, your chances of a placement increase.\u201d<\/p>\n

Note: Gamasutra.com<\/span><\/span><\/a> and GameIndustry.biz<\/span><\/span><\/a> are excellent resources for staying up to date on the business end of video games!\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Start Small<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Former Director of Music Relations for Electronic Arts\/EA Sports, and current CEO of Eckhardt Consulting Randy Eckhardt:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t bother trying to meet with top-level people right away,\u201d he suggests. \u201cSeek out smaller developers first, as it certainly helps to show that you\u2019ve had placement before. The current expansion into online social games that are using not\u00a0as<\/em> rich and deep content has expanded opportunities to score smaller games.\u201d<\/p>\n

2011 is predicted to be the year when mobile social games see a significant increase. Interestingly enough, the 2nd<\/sup> most highly valued company in the video game industry today is not just social, but also only four years old\u00a0(Zynga – makers of FarmVille).\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe emergence of casual games is huge,\u201d added Chuck Doud. \u201cThere are more developers popping up and therefore many more contacts for independents to approach.\u201d<\/p>\n

Make Their Job Easier<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Music supervisors and licensors are flooded with hundreds of submissions on a daily basis, and there are only so many hours in a day. To increase your chances of being heard, make it easy for them to access and listen to your music.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d much rather stream tracks,” said\u00a0Matt Levine. “I\u2019d rather not download anything.\u00a0I\u2019m also more likely to listen to your music if your website is clean and very clear.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t be sending out demos,\u201d Chuck Doud suggests. \u201cSend us your highest quality work that’s ready to be licensed. Also, make sure you distinguish who owns what before submitting a track. All paperwork should be in place and your tracks should be ready to be licensed tomorrow if they had to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

Remember to Be of Service<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The role of your music is to enhance the gamer’s experience while they interact with the art on screen; it\u2019s not supposed to take center stage. The more your intention lay in assisting the overall artistic vision of the project, and not so much on just landing a placement, the more likely music supervisors will want to work with you.<\/p>\n

Getting your music in video games should be just one part<\/span> of your strategy as a musician. While it can certainly lead to generous returns for larger-scale projects, it should ultimately be part of the\u00a0marketing<\/em> plan and not the primary desired source of income. With that, the more front-end research you do, the more rapport you build up, and the easier you make it on the people behind the scenes, the more likely you\u2019ll earn a placement.<\/p>\n

For more information on the National Association of Recording Industry Professionals, head to NARIP.com<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Source: Hyperbot<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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