Rock Band Network Provides Platform for Lesser-Known Musicians

If there is anyone left in the gaming community who doesn't agree that Rock Band at least looks like an outlet of face-melting fun, the next addition to the game should might help convince them.

The video game development company and creators of the lauded Guitar Hero, Harmonix, is creating the Rock Band Network, an online database that will serve musicians bearing both real and plastic instruments alike. The addition will allow artists to upload their own songs as Rock Band files to the Rock Band Network Music Store, where they will be available for download and play on the actual game. Pretty neat.

The network launches in November and will be available to bands of any label. The switching process is relatively painless, as long as the artist who converts the song to a playable file owns the song or publishing rights to the track. The submitter receives 30 percent of the song revenue with the remainder going to Viacom/MTV/Harmonix.

A composer with just a smidge of multi-track recording experience can complete the switch in two days, provided they are members of the creator community, which runs $99 per year, or $50 for four months. After this, the track only needs the community's approval before it is deemed truly "rockable."

Upon its initial release, submissions to the Rock Band Music Store will be exclusive to XBox owners, but a PlayStation edition is in the works. Unfortunately for Nintendo, developers haven't found a way to insert this content into the Wii.  

The store is projected to have more than 100 subgenres to browse through, and allows gamers to preview songs before downloading. While track prices will vary according to the submitter, they are expected to cost between $1 and $3.

The Rock Band Network will be officially announced in September.