14 DAY TRIAL // Rock Band Network has the potential to revolutionize both the music business and the videogame music genre and Harmonix probably hopes that it will. The new concept, which the company is working on at the moment and to which it will shift its focus once it ships The Beatles Rock Band on September 9, aims to offer all those interested in music the possibility of creating their own songs that can then be uploaded to the Rock Band Music Store and then bought or downloaded for free by gamers who own Rock Band 2 all over the world.
The backbone of the Rock Band Network, as detailed by 1UP, is a software package called Reaper, which can be obtained separately for the PC or for the Mac. This program is used to actually load MIDI songs and then separate them into individual instrument tracks. The music is then processed via Rock Band specific plug ins that can be obtained from the website of Rock Band.
This basically transforms all the tracks into the colored grid that players are familiar with from playing music games. Dynamically, those using Rock Band Network will be seeing how players will experience the game and can make all the changes they like while also adding effects.
The obtained MIDI package is then shipped over to something called Magma, which makes the conversion to the consoles and adds things like drum animations, lip synchronization and other small details. Then, the track goes to a Creators Club where an unspecified number of members check it to weed out errors and major copyright infringements. After that, Harmonix people take a look at the track and then the song appears in store, available to all.
The prices for potential creators might seem a bit steep. Reaper can only be used for a license, which costs a minimum of 60 dollars. An Xbox 360 is also needed, connected to the Internet, alongside a membership to the Microsoft XNA Creators Club, which will set people back 99 dollars for one year. Those putting together the tracks will be receiving 30% of the money they get on sale and each track will cost from 1 to 3 dollars. Rock Band Network will arrive in November with a beta stage taking place a month earlier.