Videogames Are the New Record Stores

Since Stereocache’s birth in the not so distant past I have seen a dramatic spike in the coverage of Rock Band and Guitar Hero news on music blogs and periodicals that I respect. It is becoming clear that these two games have come to be viewed as a part of the music machine out there while I would still consider them to sit squarely within the confines of a tech or gaming realm. I suppose this is really just symptomatic of a larger trend that has emerged over the last few years, what with the relationship of record label and sports game soundtracks etc etc. (a few weeks back I heard the guy from Activision? responsible for putting those together interviewed on Indie 103 here in L.A.) I have tried to avoid commenting on these games because I really didn’t see how this news was relevant for a music site to be announcing. It all seemed like a pretty transparent grab at views because of the huge popularity of these franchises. That is, until I heard this little tidbit.

“During the week in June when Mötley Crüe released “Saints of Los Angeles,” the first single from its new album, the song sold 14,000 copies on iTunes and 48,000 on Rock Band through Microsoft’s Xbox Live network.”