Looking for Music for a Video Game

HuskyinDenial · Joined: Jul 17, 2009 Posts: 7 Location: Memphis

Hey, everyone!

My name's Buck, music representative and engineer for RESOLUTE Games & Apps in Memphis, TN. Fall is coming up, and we're looking for some new music from known and unknown artists across the world for the sequel to our iPhone/iPod touch hit, Thumstruck.

Here's a early working example of easy mode from the first game to give you an idea of how the game works.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qqu65riAT1E

I've posted here because I'm confident that there's talent here waiting to be discovered, and I want YOUR MUSIC to be featured in our video game! We want players to have lots and lots of music from which to choose!

A lot of music games right now focus heavily on specific genres. Guitar hero has its rock, and DDR has its electronica. We're looking for an eclectic mix to appeal to all audiences. All genres are welcome, provided there is some melodic base on which to build a game track. Quality and playability are the key!

If you have any questions, you can e-mail, PM, or IM me (see my profile). If you are interested in looking into Thumstruck, you can find out more at http://www.resolutegames.com/?page_id=15 or on the iTunes AppStore. Google has a lot of good stuff, too.

HERE'S HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR MUSIC:

Submission rules:
1. Please submit a link to a website and/or an e-mail address at which to contact you.

2. You may submit only two songs. Each song submitted must have no "bad words," be under 5 minutes long (preferably 2-4 minutes), and be a high quality/studio quality recording. They should be sent as 320 kb/s Stereo MP3 format. If your song has bad words, we will accept an edited version (sorry, but it's AppStore rules).

3. We need to know the name of your song, the band, the length, and the genre for each song submitted.

4. If you don't have a website, tell us your band/artist name, preferred genre title, and give us a quick blurb about the band.

5. YOUR SUBMISSION DOES NOT GUARANTEE APPROVAL. RESOLUTE Games alone decides which songs are selected and which are not. If your music is selected, you will be notified.

5. All submissions must be received no later than August 31, 11:59 pm.

6. Remember, if your submission is approved, you song may not be immediately available to play. We plan to release a song or two every week. You will be notified when your song is playable.

7. We encourage artists to share info with their friends and fans! If you're selected, brag it up! If you know another artist looking for recognition, send them our way! Remember, submission approval is not based on the number of submissions we receive, but on QUALITY and PLAYABILITY of those songs submitted.

8. There will be no monetary compensation for the use of your music. But there will be a direct iTunes link to available downloads, if provided. That means, if your music is in a store, players will be able to find and buy it through the game. Also, we’re going to feature all songs on our website, our marketing materials, and our social media outlets (like Facebook). The license will be non-exclusive with no exchange of intellectual priorities.

E-mail all submissions to info@memphis.resolutegames.com

HERE'S AN EXAMPLE OF A SUBMISSION E-MAIL:
--------------
Subject: A song from Two Huskies in a Punch Bowl!
Attachment: Algorithmic Heuristics.mp3
Song: Algorithmic Heuristics
Genre: Electronic Rock
Length: 5:06
Band: Two Huskies in a Punch Bowl
Genre: Electronica/Rock/Experimental
Website: http://www.huskyindenial.com
Blurb:
"Tying the big knot
Two Huskies in a Punch Bowl
Foxes make good socks."

From Memphis, TN, Two Huskies in a Punch Bowl is out to bend the boundaries of music with an eclectic blend of rock, jazz, and electronica. Thumpin' bass, slick riffs, and phat beats, it's Two Huskies in a Punch Bowl.

Contact Info:
My name is Buck Riley, and you can e-mail me at info@memphis.resolutegames.com or call me at 901-555-3833.
-------------

Now, my minions, GET TO IT!

BobTheDog

Inventor · Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2009 4:09 am Post subject:

This quote is from your web page:

HuskyinDenial · Joined: Jul 17, 2009 Posts: 7 Location: Memphis

To be frank, I don't get paid, either.

RF · Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2009 7:49 am Post subject:

HuskyinDenial · Joined: Jul 17, 2009 Posts: 7 Location: Memphis

Let me put it this way :3

This offer is for musicians with unrecognized talent and ambition to have the chance to get their music out there. This is a chance to be discovered and, at the very least, have something to add to your resumé. It's something to be proud of. Remember, your song will remain your song. You're just giving RESOLUTE Games permission to use it.
If you're of a high enough status in the music world that you expect to get paid for everything you do, send your music, have your agent talk to us, and if we like what you've got, we'll see what we can do.

You're certainly not obligated to cash in on this offer, so if it's not right for you, pass it up.

Please, feel free to ask any other questions about this offer, and I will answer as best as I can.

Inventor · Posted: Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:54 am Post subject:

Well I don't think it's a mater of status, but rather a question of intended use. If you're going to make a profit from someone's music, don't you think you should compensate them for it? Certainly you could set up some payment structure based on the popularity of the music, or your perception of the quality of the music. It's just that if you're planning to use a person's work for profit, it is only common decency to send some of that profit their way.

just my two cents,

Les

HuskyinDenial · Joined: Jul 17, 2009 Posts: 7 Location: Memphis

That certainly seems fair enough, but I don't see $.99 splitting 100 ways being very profitable for anyone.

What can we do for you?
We plan to link every submission to a band website and to a download site where the player can buy any song he likes. In addition, we're planning to have a place for a small band bio.
What does that mean?
The song you send should sell itself and your band/project. We offer a place to play and listen, and if the player likes it, he can buy it. If he likes it enough, he might buy your album, if there's one for sale.

If your song is not already available for sale... well, we're working on a way to have our own store. However, RESOLUTE Games itself will not be compensating you directly. We let people play, they like your song, they buy it third-party via our app.

Does that make sense? :3[/b]

Inventor · Posted: Mon Jul 20, 2009 7:54 pm Post subject:

Yes, that makes a lot more sense, I like it! If you can set up your own store to host the purchases, I would think that would give the game player a better user interface as well - much better than having the gamer deal with a different store interface for every artist. Seems like a better approach for your end user IMHO.

Not that my music would be popular enough to warrant sales, but some have said good things about it. In your store, could you set different prices for different music? For example, what if my less popular music were to sell for 10 cents per song instead of 99 cents per song? That might be a better price point for work that might otherwise get looked over.

I have some songs and some automatic music generators that create what could be considered good gaming music...

HuskyinDenial · Joined: Jul 17, 2009 Posts: 7 Location: Memphis

I don't know about setting different prices for different songs. People's tastes are different, after all, and what's good to me might be significantly different from what's good to the next man. Not only that, but if we deem some music in the game to be subpar, it shouldn't be in the game at all. :3
I also don't think we, as distributors of good music, should decide what's "popular" and what's not. You might not be Richard D. James, but as far as our store's concerned, you're worth as many pennies as he is.

Anyway, feel free to send your music our way, and if we like it, then we'll let you know!

Inventor · Posted: Tue Jul 21, 2009 6:05 am Post subject:

HuskyinDenial, I see your point about the song prices, your explanation shows that you are really on top of what you are doing. I'm sure your game will do well as it seems to have classic simple game play done creatively, just like the arcade games of the '80s (of which I am a fan).

I submitted two songs for your consideration. They have a nice meandering gamer feel, kind of in the mood of Nintendo background music in that they are more mellow than dramatic. I created them in the music programming language ChucK as automatic and manually driven generators, so it is easy for me to produce more songs like them, or even go in a different direction using the same techniques. It's maybe not professional quality stuff, but folks here on the forum seem to like it and I hope you do as well.

Enjoy,

Les