SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 3 — Video game music is gaining more and more recognition, with some original soundtracks now being released on vinyl. This trend is leading game developers and online gaming platforms to launch their own labels, all of which is music to gamers’ ears.
Krafton is one example. The parent company of the hit game PUBG Mobile recently announced the creation of the Beat Drop music label, which aims to “shine a spotlight on amazing up-and-coming artists across the world, produce industry-defining tracks with established icons,” according to a statement quoted by Music Business Worldwide.
So far, Beat Drop has only released one track. This is a 10-minute remix of the online game theme, PUBG: Battlegrounds, by DJ Mariana BO. This single, as well as the name of the PUBG Mobile music label, suggest that it will focus mainly on artists working in electronic music. And that could be a wise choice, since several surveys report that this is the favorite genre of gamers, and especially users of the Twitch platform.
The South Korean company Krafton has not yet announced how the music produced by Beat Drop will be integrated into the video games it develops, including PUBG Mobile (or PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds). This game is a “battle royale” game, a genre which sees a hundred players compete on a map to be the last survivor. The game has been very successful since the release of its mobile version in 2018, reportedly generating revenue of US$2 billion (RM8.7 billion) in 2021, according to the specialised site Business of Apps.
Moreover, 30 million gamers play the game daily, which could represent a considerable listener base for Beat Drop’s music productions. At least, so hopes Vincent Wang, head of PUBG Mobile Publishing at Tencent Games, the Chinese digital giant that acquired the rights to the game. “We hope to inspire PUBG Mobile’s players with incredible and moving soundtracks to their in-game lives and beyond,” he said in a statement.
Competing with Fortnite
The launch of Beat Drop comes six months after the South Korean group staged a virtual concert by the K-pop superstars Blackpink. The groundbreaking performance by Lisa, Jisoo, Rosé and Jennie was watched by 15.7 million viewers worldwide, and won the “Best Metaverse Performance” award at the recent MTV Video Music Awards. It also allowed PUBG Mobile to step on the toes of Fortnite, an online battle game with 400 million users, published by the American giant Epic Games.
In fact, the famous multiplayer online shooter game has been sporadically hosting interactive and completely free concerts since 2019. Japan’s Gen Hoshino, Australia’s Tones And I, France’s Aya Nakamura, as well as American artists Marshmello, Ariana Grande and Travis Scott have all performed there via digital avatars. These high-profile performances served as a real springboard into the music business for Fortnite, and paved the way for it to acquire the independent music platform Bandcamp in March.
Epic Games’ competitors are organising their riposte by preparing their own forays into music. Rockstar Games, the studio behind the Grand Theft Auto (GTA) series, launched its own music label, CircoLoco Records, in May 2021. Bandai Namco followed suit in September last year, inspired by the success of the soundtracks of Elden Ring and Tales of Arise. And this could be a considerable boon for the music industry, which is always on the lookout for new revenue streams. — ETX Studio
