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Enjeux I Industrie musicale I E TAT S - U N I S I B2-C1
BIGGER THAN MTV
Music in video games is big business
The music industry has been in crisis for many years. The Internet has had a big impact, completely transforming the market,
with sales for actual discs in free fall since 2002. Ofers for access to legal streaming and uploading have not made up for the
decline in sales. And now, one solution for musicians and producers has emerged in a completely diferent industry...video games!
V
ideo games have not only helped
the music industry survive, butthrive on entirely new levels,” Steve Schnur
tells me. As the worldwide executive and
president of music at game publisher EA, his
team – many of whom have been profes-
sional musicians and singer/songwriters –
work with some of the biggest music acts in
the world, licensing music for video game
series like Fifa, Madden NFL, Need for Speed
and NHL.
- Since the 90s, when licensed music became
prevalent in games, series such as Tony Hawk’s
THE GUA R DI A N MAT OMBLER
Pro Skater, Grand Theft Auto and Wipeout have
become just as well-known for their soundtracks
as they are for their gameplay. For millions of
people, video games have been a way to dis-
cover new favourite bands or dive into other
musical genres. And because people discover
this music while playing a game they love, they
develop a strong emotional attachment to it. NEW MARKETING TOOL
- Video games are now an essential part of
marketing plans for musicians and managers.
The Fifa soundtracks, for instance, are viewed
as one of the foremost annual showcases for
international artists today. “We often begin
working on a soundtrack almost a year in ad-
vance, trying to identify new music we believe
will deine the sound of the coming season,”
Schnur says. - “We knew that video games could become
what MTV and commercial radio had once
been in the 80s and 90s. Any given song in Fifa
19 – whether it’s a new track by an established
act or the debut of an unknown artist – will be
heard around the world nearly 1bn times. - to thrive, thrived or throve, thrived or thriven to
lourish, prosper / worldwide global, international /
executive director, senior employee / publisher producer
/ songwriter person who writes lyrics or music for a song,
or both / act artist, musician, singer. - prevalent common / such as like (for example) /
soundtrack accompanying music / way manner, means
of / band (musical) group / to dive into here, to discover /
while at the same time as.- to be part of to be an integral aspect of / plan here,
strategy / for instance for example / to view here, to
consider /
foremost most important, principal / showcase
platform, medium / almost nearly.- any given no matter which / whether it’s [...] i f i t ’ s [.. .]
/ track here, song / established here, well-known,
reputable, famous / debut irst title / around throughout
/ nearly almost / bn = billion (one thousand million) /
The Fifa soundtracks are viewed as
one of the foremost annual
showcases for international artists
today. (Martin Meissner/AP/SIPA)