What is it, exactly? MTV Gaming Executive, Paul Degooyer, provides a bit of an explanation:
The Rock Band Network allows musicians and their labels to directly pipe new music to gamers through Rock Band - where gamers can disover new artists and expand their taste in music.
More or less, it’s a fancy promotion system that lets gamers get access to new music through Rock Band. In addition, there will community features such as “Artist of the Month” implemented to showcase different musicians. Artists can set prices for their songs; though, they still have to fit within the current pricing structure already available - from 80 to 160 MS points.
Harmonix CEO, Alex Rigopulos, has high hopes for the Rock Band Network:
Additionally, gamers who perform Peer Reviews will be allowed to play Rock Band Network songs for free to ensure playability and adherence to the XNA Creators Club standards. Playtesters will be doing exactly that, delivering feedback on tracks that are still a work in progress.
You can find more information on how to become a Playtester on the official Rock Band website. For those interested in submitting a song, you can find information on the Rock Band creator website and scrolling down to the “adding a song to the pipeline" option.
Finally, if you’re at all interested in seeing what songs are available now through the Rock Band Network (without needing to turn on your Xbox/PS3), rest assured, here is the complete song list, presented Song/Artist:
The list is quite impressive with a mix of known and unknown artists and it does include geek favorite, Jonathan Coulton (who is awesome in concert, by the way).
Angel Lust / Fake Shark-Real Zombie!
Another California Song / Zack Wilson
Arigato / Gandhi
Australia / The Shins
Backyard Buildyard / Steve and Lindley Band
Battles and Brotherhood / 3 Inches of Blood
Buried Cold / Rose of Jericho
Burn it Down / Five Finger Death Punch
California / The Kimberly Trip
Can I Stay / Stephanie Hatfield and Hot Mess
Cease and Desist / The Main Drag
Children of December / The Slip
Creepy Doll / Jonathan Coulton
Crushed Beyond Dust / Skeletonwitch
Day of Mourning / Despised Icon
Disengage / Suicide Silence
Don’t Let Me Down (Slowly) / The Main Drag
Dove Nets / The Main Drag
Drunken Lullabies (Live) / Flogging Molly
End Quote / Full-Source
Even Rats / The Slip
Fade Away / Of Last Resort
Far Away from Heaven / Free Spirit
Fight Back / Ron Wasserman
For the Love of God (Live) / Steve Vai
Fortune / Kristin Hersh
Get the Hell Out of Here / Steve Vai
Give / The Cold Goodnight
Goth Girls / MC Frontalot
Grumpytown / Speck
He Sleeps in a Grove / Amberian Dawn
Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse / of Montreal
Homosuperior / The Main Drag
Horses in Heaven / Fake Shark-Real Zombie!
How We’d Look On Paper / The Main Drag
Hyperbole / Glass Hammer
Icarus’ Song / Furly
If Not Now When / Color Theory
If Trucks Drank Beer / Error 404 feat. CJ Watson
Ikea / Jonathan Coulton
In Memories / Giant Target
Inside Out / Nick Gallant
It’s Good / The Humans
It’s Not You, It’s Everyone / Full-Source
Juke Joint Jezebel / KMFDM
Kick Some Ass ‘09 / Stroke 9
Lady in a Blue Dress / Senses Fail
Lemon Juice / Scratching The Itch
Lilith in Libra / You Shriek
Limousine / Stars of Boulevard
Liquid Smog (StompBox Remix) / WaveGroup Feat. Becca Neun
Little Black Backpack ‘09 / Stroke 9
Liverpool Judies / The Fisticuffs
Love During Wartime / The Main Drag
Mechanical Love / In This Moment
Megatron / The Main Drag
Mississippi Kite / Kristin Hersh
Moonboy / The Dirty Love Band
Nancy Drew / Pink Flag
No Direction / Longwave
No Heroes / You Shriek
Not My Fault / Ultra Saturday
Ox / Zack Wilson
Paper Valentines / James William Roy
Parhelia / Heaven Ablaze
Persistence of Vision / Matter in the Medium
Race The Hourglass / Audio Fiction
Red Sky At Morn / Full-Source
Requiem for a Dying Song / Flogging Molly
Rip’er / Lead the Dead
River of Tuoni / Amberian Dawn
Running for the Razors / Fake Shark-Real Zombie!
Rx / Wounded Soul
Sequestered in Memphis / The Hold Steady
Sestri Levante / Fake Shark-Real Zombie!
Sick / Bif Naked
Signs / Giant Target
Sissyfuss / Surprise Me Mr. Davis
Sleep On / Glass Hammer
Stand for Something / Skindred
Still There / Bojibian
Superhero! / Ultra Saturday
Survive / Lacuna Coil
Tadpole Search and Rescue / Chaunce DeLeon and The Fountain of Choof
Talk About / Dear and the Headlights
Talk Them Down / The Main Drag
Teeth, Face, Outerspace / The Main Drag
The Attitude Song / Steve Vai
The Buddy Disease / Scratching The Itch
The Complexity of Light / Children of Nova
The Future Soon / Jonathan Coulton
The Heist / DnA’s Evolution
Tongue Twister Typo / Blackmarket
Top Back / Alias Unknown
Tricky Girl / The Main Drag
Trippolette / Andrew Buch
Turn Yourself Around / Nick Gallant
VP of Booty Reports / Speck
Watch It All Go Down / Foreword
We Are the Best / C&O
Whatever Is Wrong With You / Marillion
What’s Your Favorite Dinosaur? / The Main Drag
You Got That / The Everybody
You’re My Everything / Scratching The Itch
There’s no doubt this content will grow and grow in the coming months and I’m very excited to see what else Harmonix has up their sleeve for Rock Band.
What do you think of the Rock Band Network? Any songs catch your eye?
