Guitar Hero, Rock Band the Savior of the Music Industry?

A recent report from The Washington Post said musicians are seeing an influx of popularity thanks to rhythm games such as Guitar Hero and Rock Band.

The report said that songs featured in both Guitar Hero and Rock Band titles showed anywhere from a 15% to 843% increase of sales in online download sales.

Also noted, was 22% of music buyers under the age of 35 said they had played one of the rhythm games within the last 3 months appearing to further link the correlation.

Therefore, it seems like exposure in the Guitar Hero and Rock Band franchises generates a larger and untapped fan base. That new fan base ultimately leads to increased sales.

If music artists are paying attention, we may be seeing more artists trying to make their way into an exclusive Guitar Hero or Rock Band title.

I feel that this is also a response to lackluster popular music in the current mainstream.

If you notice, many of the songs featured in these rhythm games are from artists popular 20 to 30 years ago with the occasional new song from a band one would not normally hear on the radio.

This is a reaction to the exposure to new music that younger audiences would not normally be familiar with. They are finding that they like it, so they are purchasing the songs they have mastered in the game.

Regardless, could this be answer to the dying recording industry? Could a video game really be its savior?