While promoting a new documentary, It Might Get Loud, both Jimmy Page and Jack White expressed opinions on not being pleased with the current state of music video games. Discussing games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band brought on a few surprising comments from the veteran rockers. Are video games, rhythm games specifically ruining or helping music?
"It's depressing to have a label come and tell you that [Guitar Hero] is how kids are learning about music and experiencing music," said White, the front man for The White Stripes. White goes on to say that he doesn't limit "which format people should get their music in..." However, he does think that it's "sad" that so many people are exposed to music solely because the band is featured in a game.
Jack White has signed on to be featured in Guitar Hero 5.
Legendary rocker Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin shares a similar disliking of this new breed of games. His argument against the games is that you don't learn anything from them. It's the same argument we've heard before with rhythm games, why not just go out and learn to play an actual instrument. "You think of the drum part that John Bonahm did on Led Zeppelin's first track on the first album, Good Times Bad Times. How many drummers in the world can play that part, let alone on Christmas morning?", said Page.
However, many musicians don't share this opinion, bands like Montely Crue debuted singles on Rock Band. Aerosmith is currently promoting their own Guitar Hero game as they tour. To kick off Rock Band 2 The Who performed a concert for people attending E3 2008. The Beatles, who haven't let their music by downloaded on any music sites is getting their very own Rock Band game. But I guess the question is do these bands support video games as a means of music distribution or are they simply accepting the fact that this an easy and effective way to get their music to large audience?
There is no doubt that these games have opened the eyes and ears to hundreds of thousands of teens who would other wise never hear all the classic rock tracks. Maybe it's just the circle of people I run in but people don't discuss when their bands favorite album is coming out rather we talk about what the DLC pack for Rock Band that week will have. Surely, this is good for the music industry. A brand new set of listeners, potential buyers, are playing and listening to their songs, songs that I might add, don't get much radio time.
On the other hand how many kids aren't going to pick up an actual acoustic and learn to play in favor or playing Band Mode instead. It's impossible to tell but I'd be willing to put money on there being less garage bands out there today. I'm sure there are people who were motivated to pick a real instruments after playing Guitar Hero, I just don't know of any.
Then there is the argument that these games are opening doors for a new of music, user generated. Guitar Hero already lets you create your own songs but what if this new medium of creating music could easily become a genre itself. Granted, there are plenty of programs out there that let you create your own but one as user friendly as what Guitar Hero has yet to done. Couldn't we eventually see something like DJ Hero that allows you to be completely creative and not just follow along clicking buttons?
In the end playing Guitar Hero might not be very "Rock N Roll" but it's certainly not hurting the industry. It is helping it, and by helping it I don't mean contributing to the production of quality music, or shaping skills of potential rock-stars, however it is helping to bring in record sales, iTunes downloads, and whatever other way musicians can make money. And in the end as much as it's about the music, it's really about the money.
What do you think, are these games pushing the music industry into dangerous waters? Or are these games simply expanding the audience of listeners and getting more music out than ever before?
