Video Games Boost Music Sales

Sales analysis from the data tracker SoundScan indicate that it might be possible for songs or even full length albums to get boosted sales due to promotion in some popular videogames, like Guitar Hero 3.

The sales charts from SoundScan, before and after Guitar Hero 3 was released, show that both old as well as new songs got huge boosts in sales the week after the game was released. Drastic sale improvements were seen by The Strokes' track "Reptilia", who sold 127 percent more in the first week and 96 percent more in the second one. Slipknot's track "Before I Forget" also sold better, with a 75 percent improvement in the first week and a 140 percent growth in the next one. Overall, all the tracks got better sales after Guitar Hero 3 was released.

One interesting thing regarding these boosted sales is that being in the main game or a bonus song doesn't seem to make any difference in the sales growth. Also, not just the particular songs that appear in the game sell better, but albums (even old albums) get boosted, too. For example, an album released in 1994 by Weezer got a 47 percent increase. But this whole thing is still fresh, so nobody actually knows if the sales are nothing but simple coincidences. With such sale increases, we could call them very strange coincidences, if that's what happens.

When the first Guitar Hero game in the series was released, the developers had a tough time trying to get some decent tracks in their game. But, as time passed by and as recent results show, it might be just a matter of time until record labels worldwide start to take advantage of the big promotion a video game can offer - both for established acts, as well as newcomers. All of them being heard by millions of people all over the world!

Having all these in mind, it's practically impossible to understand why bands like The Romantics would sue Activision for playing their song in Guitar Hero 3. But some things are not even worth trying to explain.