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Will Guitar Hero Save The Industry?

By Ryan Farkas

The record industry has become an increasingly difficult jigsaw
puzzle since the advent of Napster in 1996. Music executives
have been clamoring for ‘the next big thing’ since the boy bands
ruled the pop charts into the new millennium and, to move even
further back, since Nirvana in 1991. The old tricks are no longer
working on the masses.
Today, things are much different. Music videos are no longer
considered the medium of choice. How is a band expected to
receive publicity if you can’t see who they are? Also, compact disc
sales are in rapid decline. How can you make money off a
commodity if the world can get it for free?
As of now, there remains no firm answer for this. Digital
distribution is still in its awkward adolescent phase, with
established bands such as Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails trying
out new ideas while remaining free from industry shackles. iTunes
is streamlined and does well, but $.99 per track isn’t enough for a
starving industry. So how do you bring people together, control
the flow of content and give consumers a reason to spend money
on music again? You get them on stage.
Since 2005, Guitar Hero has been responsible for
approximately $1 billion in profit for Activision and RedOctane.
The developers of this cultural phenomenon, Harmonix, have
recently jumped ship from Activision/RedOctane to be swallowed
up by MTV and Electronic Arts, and are responsible for upwards of
another half billion dollars through their offshoot, Rock Band. Bob
Lefsetz, an industry analyst states, “Guitar Hero was the
progenitor. But Rock Band was made by the team that created
Guitar Hero. You go with the talent, not the brand, right?”
The growth of the project has been staggering.
In a month and a half, Rock Band has had approx. four
million songs downloaded, making a total of over 10 million
downloads since its release in late August. With over three million

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