January 19, 2010

By By Antony Bruno, Denver

Digital distribution service TuneCore has added the Rock Band Network to the list of digital retailers it supports as part of a new offer that also includes development assistance for bands interested in getting their music in the game.

The Rock Band Network gives artists the ability to work with freelance videogame developers to submit their own downloadable content for the popular Rock Band franchise, rather than striking a deal with MTV Games directly.

From the release:

-For a flat fee of $999, TuneCore will take on all aspects of the Rock Band Network submission process on behalf of the artist, including stem management, note-charting and final submission to the Rock Band Network store. TuneCore will mix audio into gameplay stems (individual tracks for guitar, drums, vocals, bass), author the musical notation of each instrument, transcribe song lyrics, and even add lighting, camera and animation cues synched up with the song for the ultimate Rock Band experience.

-TuneCore is outsourcing the game development work to The Authority. The $999 price is for a limited time, and will increase to $2,500 at some point. To promote the new offer, TuneCore is waiving the fee for one band a month, the first being for Jamestown Story.

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