Games are the next best thing for the music industry!
Tap tap revenge 3 has just been launched for the iPhone. Check their site, or this review.
I think this is a great example of a way find new revenue for the music industry. No doubt that they have taken a heavy hit with illegal downloads on the rise.
The idea with tap tap is that you can buy this game for (almost) free. Only one problem, it hardly has any content (songs). This is not really a problem, because you can download a song for free a week. Because waiting a whole week for a new random song is probably too much for most users, they offer various bundles of songs you can buy for the game!
This is such a great idea: to control the player (the game in this instance) instead of the distribution of music. On top of that you have the possibility to sell the same song mulltiple times (in different games) to the same user.
So f*ck the illegal downloads, let them make your songs populair. Make money by being inventive!
Just found this Wired article about Guitar Hero which is has the same model of course. Instead of embracing this concept the music industry is still complaining:
"The success of these games is good news for the music biz. They're breathing new life into old bands (Weezer, anyone?) and helping popularize new ones. They're even becoming a significant distribution outlet for new releases. So the record labels ought to be ecstatic, right? Nope. They're whining over licensing fees.
"The amount being paid to the music industry, even though [these] games are entirely dependent on the content we own and control, is far too small," Warner Music Group CEO Edgar Bronfman told analysts last summer. The money Warner receives for the use of its songs is "paltry," he said, and if the gamemakers don't pony up more cash, "we will not license to those games." In response, Rock Band publisher MTV Games is now boycotting Warner artists, according to a source close to the negotiations."
Very weird if you ask me..