Music biz wakes up to boom in music-based games

By Antony Bruno

DENVER (Billboard) - Kerstin Murphy won't be quitting her day job. Microphone in hand, she tries her best to belt out a karaoke rendition of Hoobastank's "The Reason" while her friends at a dinner party in Denver cringe in glee at the cheesy lyrics and her unsuccessful efforts to hit the high notes.

"OK, your turn," she says defiantly, handing the mic to her fiance once the song is over.

The group is playing "SingStar Pop," a karaoke game from Sony's PlayStation division through which players can score points by hitting the right notes, at the right time, while singing along to one of 36 songs -- complete with music videos.

"SingStar Pop" is just the latest release in the ultra-popular music-centric videogame genre. And the music industry is taking notice.

"It's the beginning of this being a channel for the distribution of music, and an important one," said George White, senior vice president of strategy and product development at Warner Music Group (WMG). "It's one of the few places we've seen in the sweet spot of what consumers want to do with music today, which is interact with it."

'GUITAR' BREAKTHROUGH

Since the original "PaRappa the Rapper" in Japan, music-based games have carved out a unique niche in the videogame industry. But until lately, the genre has not enjoyed mainstream success.

"Guitar Hero" changed everything. Created by pioneering music game developer Harmonix, "Guitar Hero" was published by the unknown RedOctane with virtually no budget for marketing or music licensing, and required a custom game controller shaped like a guitar that resulted in a bulky, expensive package.