Game rockers buy more music

Video games that allow players to imagine they are rock super-heroes may have triggered a significant boost in music sales, a Jacobs Media study reported by Marketing Charts has revealed.

Jacobs Media surveyed some 27,000 listeners to rock music stations in the US. Of those that have played music-based video games such as Guitar Hero and Rock Band, one third said they had purchased songs featured on those games.

Over 30% of the respondents to the survey who reported playing video games said they had played Rock Band or Guitar Hero, with those aged 18-34 the most likely to have played.

Alternative rock fans were most likely to purchased a song they had encountered while gaming, with 35% having done so. Classic rockers were a bit more old school, with only 24% buying songs after playing them in a game.

Computer games such as Guitar Hero allow players to play songs using a pretend electronic guitar linked to the game – kind of like air guitar taken to the next level.

“Not that long ago, consumers discovered new and different music…on the radio, from music television channels, or from friends and others. Today, there are many avenues for music – new and classic – including videogames that celebrate music,” Jacobs Media president Fred Jacobs says.

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