Emerging artists who wish to be considered should go to www.rockband.com/t-mobile today through April 11, 2010 to upload their song in MP3 format, band photo and bio for judging.  MTV Games execs personally choose the winners, who get their song professionally authored into Rock Band gameplay, sold in the Rock Band Network Store, and be named one of Rock Band Network’s “T-Mobile Artists-of-the-Month.”

Selected artists will be featured for one month throughout the store and the official game website.

(Yay, I can sing Lady Gaga and everything on this new disc as well. It’s a win-win.)

The two musicians, who met at MIT, founded Harmonix in 1995 to bring the ability to make music to everyone, even those with no musical training. After designing several music games, the duo made it to the big time with the 2005 release of Guitar Hero, followed in 2007 by the equally popular Rock Band. Rigopulos and Egozy’s games inspired impressive growth in the category of music games and earned the two a place on Time Magazine’s 2008 list of the 100 most influential people in the world.

“Character Approved is a celebration of the real Characters making an impact on our culture today,” said Chris McCumber, USA executive vice president, marketing, digital and brand strategy. “Our honorees are all at the top of their game, and we’re thrilled to shine a light on their unique accomplishments.”

USA is also recognizing these nine individuals for their cultural impact, legacy and persona:

• Green Day, Grammy Award-winning rock band (Music)
• Kathryn Bigelow, Academy Award-nominated film director, “The Hurt Locker” (Film/TV)
• Nora Ephron, best-selling novelist, Academy Award-nominated screenwriter and playwright (Writing)
• Narciso Rodriguez, multiple award-winning American fashion designer (Fashion)
• Angela Brooks, groundbreaking sustainable architect, principal of Pugh + Scarpa Architects (Architecture)
• Kehinde Wiley, revolutionary urban arts painter (Art)
• Yves Behar, innovative industrial designer of the Jawbone Bluetooth headset and the $100 XO laptop (Design)
• Dan Barber, renowned restaurateur, Blue Hill and Stone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture (Food)
• Jessica Jackley, social entrepreneur and microfinancier, co-founder Kiva.org (Giving)

The honorees will be featured in vignettes that will debut Thursday, February 25 on USA Network. The vignettes act as mini-biographies and will be aired over the course of six weeks on the network and online at characterapproved.usanetwork.com.

The Rock Band Network, designed to let music artists submit their own tracks to the Rock Band platform, is now open to the public (but is still in beta).

The Network allows artists to author and submit their own Rock Band tracks for play by the community, which then gives feedback and allows a track to be changed before final submission.

The Rock Band Network platform allows someone to submit music to Rock Band at any stage of their career — someone need not be an established artist to use it to its fullest potential (and to make money!). Any song submitted gets 30% back in royalties.

But, before any royalties come into play, songs have to be submitted to playtesters and peer reviewers (who get to play the song before anyone can buy it – quite an awesome reward, if you ask me). There, the artists get any feedback necessary before their song is submitted to the Rock Band Network Store. And then, they make a billionty dollars! (Or maybe 30% of a billionty. However much that is.)

Are you interested in submitting? http://creators.rockband.com/docs/Website (Scroll down to “adding a song to the pipeline.”)

Want to be a Peer Reviewer (really, who wouldn’t)? http://creators.rockband.com/docs/Playtest_Process

I don’t think it’s inconceivable that someone could become famous through the Rock Band Network, if they’re able to distribute their music like this. Watch the video below to see Jonathan Coulton (a guy who, let’s face it, is just plain Internet Famous) try his hand at playing his own music on the Network.

PAX ’09 Rock Band Network Panel #3 from Harmonix on Vimeo.

This morning I woke up to three Rock Band emails. Well actually six. For some reason I get a double dose of every email. To make things easier for reading, I’m going to combine all of them into one post.

First up is something that could affect your Black Friday shopping. At various Old Navy stores they will be hosting game kiosks where families can try out Lego Rock Band. Not any kiosk, six of these stores will have Rock Band equipped entertainment stages. Where they can really pretend to be a rock star. There are prizes to be won including $200 shopping spree and Rock Band songs.

“Rock Band offers families a wonderful activity to enjoy together and we’re excited to bring that experience to life in Old Navy stores this Holiday season,” said Christina Glorioso, Vice President of Marketing Sponsorships for MTV Games. “This will make shopping for the Holidays fun for everyone and give moms a great activity to keep kids (and dads) entertained.”

On Thanksgiving Thursday, consumers that buy Rock Band 2 software for the Xbox 360, Wii, or Playstation 3 will get a free Rock Band guitar. On Black Friday, the first consumers to purchase $20 or more of Old Navy merchandise will get a special free Rock Band gift for their Xbox 360, Playstation3 or Wii.

Wednesdays in December, Old Navy is the place to be where consumers that purchase $25 or more at Old Navy will get a free Rock Band track download code. Old Navy stores will also be carrying Rock Band branded t-shirts.

Harmonix also announced that they have more than 1000 songs from over 390 bands to choose from in their music store.

“When we launched Rock Band two years ago, we made a promise to create a music gaming experience that delivered on a weekly basis more songs and artists than ever imagined,” said Alex Rigopulos, co-founder and CEO of Harmonix Music Systems. “We’re extremely proud to pass this remarkable milestone of over 1,000 songs in Rock Band and will continue to innovate and bring more of the best music to Rock Band players all over the world.”

Part of those songs is the brand new three pack from Nirvana and Night Ranger.

Here are the songs:
Available on Xbox 360 and Wii (Dec. 1) and PlayStation 3 system (Dec. 3):
· Nirvana – “Come As You Are (Live from MTV Unplugged)” +
· Nirvana – “Lithium (Live at Reading)”
· Nirvana – “Smells Like Teen Spirit”
· Night Ranger – “(You Can Still) Rock in America” +
· Night Ranger – “Don’t Tell Me You Love Me” +
· Night Ranger – “You’re Gonna Hear It From Me” +

Harmonix rocks out for Ümloud! an annual fundraiser for Child’s Play Charity which is set this year at the DNA Lounge in San Francisco, CA on December 9th.

The event will feature a full-blown Rock Band 2 main stage where gamers can face off against each other.

“Ümloud! is a great way to get the community involved in a fun charity event and give towards a great cause,” says Ümloud! co-founder Chris Kohler. “We have awesome sponsors and industry leaders involved in this event and we want you to come out and rock the night away for us in effort to raise money for children’s hospitals through Child’s Play.”

Doors open at the DNA Lounge at 7pm and the party goes until 2am. There is a suggested donation of $10 upon entry and then all attendees are eligible to win amazing prizes, and limited edition gaming swag.

For information on how to sign your band up or details on attending go to www.umloud.org

Title: The Beatles: Rock Band
Publisher: MTV Games
Developer: Harmonix
Platform(s): PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii
Release Date: September 9, 2009

BUY!!

The Beatles is one of the few bands that have never been included in digital media. Many of us couldn’t believe the announcement when Harmonix stated that they will be creating a musical game with Apple Corp. The Beatles: Rock Band was born and many of us played it and every press event we could. Microsoft Game events, E3, PAX we waited in line and played when we could. It was just recently when Harmonix sent us a copy of the game, that I got to see what The Beatles: Rock Band experience really would be like.

The opening cinematic gives you a good idea of what the art style will be in the game. The art style used is brilliant. Harmonix wanted to create a hyper-real rendition of each band member. The backgrounds are colorful and bright. One might want to watch the backgrounds because they are so visually interesting, but as interesting as they are, they don’t get in the way of gameplay. One of the most interesting aspects of the artwork is when they use picture clips of the stadiums, fans, and the Beatles. It gives you a glimpse as to what it really was like as you travel through their story.

Harmonix sent over a wireless microphone for the Xbox 360. For the purposes of the review I used old hardware. Only our hardware has taken a beating, so we went out and bought GH World Tour equipment and an extra Guitar. All of that hardware worked perfectly with The Beatles: Rock Band. While it would be nice to have the exclusive instruments like, John Lennon’s Rickenbacker 325 guitar, Sir Paul McCartney’s trademark Höfner bass, and George Harrison’s Gretsch Duo Jet guitar, a gamer on a budget uses what they can. I also discovered that the Lips Microphones work perfectly with The Beatles: Rock Band which is nice for having extra mics to do harmonies with allowing more people to get into the game. Another nice feature is that up to three mics can be used with just one controller.

I choose to jump right in and start with the Story Mode. Story Mode takes you though the 45 songs from an early gig at the Cavern Club to the rooftop concert at the Apple Records building. At first the goal was to unlock songs for quickplay, but that need is gone as all the songs were unlocked in Quickplay and organized by difficulty. For the review, I sang and played Guitar and Bass. I didn’t play drums because, well I suck at them anyway and it wouldn’t be fair to judge the game on something I can’t do. In Story mode you unlock theater extras, photos and the movie clips before each section. After most sections you also unlock a challenge which gives you access to more photos. There are quite a few achievements for number of photos collected.

First thing I noticed with gameplay was how clear the hud was for the particular area you are playing. For example, if I am playing guitar, bass or drums, the notes and area that the notes come down are very clear. The background is very colorful at times but it doesn’t interfere with the gameplay.

Fundamentally, the gameplay is the same but there are some added features to add some challenges. Singing harmonies is something that can be difficult to get used to and it really only works if you have enough people for the extra mics until you get microphone stands. Which is something we’re seriously considering because singing The Beatles songs are just as much fun as playing them.

Added features to gameplay is the ability in the game settings to set Super Speed on which increase the speed that the notes come down. Turning on Realistic mode gives one the authentic experience of playing with screaming girls in the background. I was surprised at how loud this was particularly if you are in a solo! The final mode is for people that really have chops because in Performance mode you can turn off all the hud and you just play. Probably best for singing unless you’ve already memorized the guitar/bass/drum notes.

I tested multiplayer locally for my review. Unfortunately we couldn’t test any of the online experience until after the game comes out for everyone. So look for me on Xbox 360 (GamingAngel) on 9/9/09. In local multiplayer we had a range of people from hardcore Beatles fans, to people that have only heard a few songs. We had an interesting turn out. People seemed to love playing and didn’t want to touch singing. While most everyone had fun playing along, we couldn’t convert the one person that had never played Rock Band and didn’t know much of the Beatles.

Song selection is really great with a mix of well known classics and songs that people may not have heard of. Personally I felt that 45 songs is too short of a setlist. The story mode experience ended too soon for me and it was a weird feeling when you didn’t unlock more songs. I know future DLC will add to that experience, and I’ll pick up every one.

The sound of the Beatles Rock Band is amazing. Any Beatles fan is going to want to pick this up to jam to their favorite songs. If you aren’t a Beatles fan, I still recommend Beatles Rock Band because you may be amazed at how many songs you really do know. I didn’t think I knew a ton of their songs but playing through the game I realized I had heard more of their catalog then I thought. Also, I am now a true believer in that everyone should be exposed to The Beatles music. The lyrics, styling, music it’s just incredible. The added experience of seeing pictures and traveling through their story helped me experience The Beatles in a way I had never before. They were truely the best rock and roll has had to offer.

The Beatles: Rock Band is one music game that everyone should pick up. It’s challenging as a game and also amazing to listen to as a Beatles or music fan. Harmonix worked with many other companies such as Apple Corp, EMI, MTV Games to create this unbelievable game which could have been a hot mess with that many people involved, but Harmonix created a great product that is going to create Beatles fans for years to come. What a great way to celebrate awesome music.

Rock Band Beatles

MTV Games and Harmonix have just sent over an amazing commercial spot for The Beatles Rock Band. The commercial takes place at the infamous Abbey Road. The Beatles Rock Band will be in retail stores on 09/09/09. Enjoy the commercial!

“Our goal with Rock Band has always been to go beyond making music games and create a true music platform,” said Alex Rigopulos, CEO and co-founder of Harmonix. “With the Rock Band Network, we’ve evolved the platform to its next logical step, giving players access to an incredible amount of new music by putting the professional tools we use in the hands of the artists themselves.”

The Rock Band Network will have an open beta that will start in late August of this year, and will have detailed documentation on how bands can begin the process of authoring songs into Rock Band gameplay files. Publishers will need to have a membership to Microsoft’s XNA Creators Club Online, which can be purchased for four months at $49.99 or for a year at $99.99.

“The Rock Band Network enables songwriters and musicians – at any stage of their careers – to create their own paths through the interactive music realm,” said Paul DeGooyer, SVP, Electronic Games and Music, MTV Networks Music Group. “Our download store has been an extraordinary success, and it’s exciting for us to provide access to our platform through this uniquely elegant solution.”

Tracks, once created, can be uploaded onto Creators.RockBand.com for testing and critiques. Once approved, the tracks will go live in the Rock Band music store. Songs will debut exclusively on Xbox 360 for 30 days. Artists featured in the store will be able to choose from multiple pricing tiers for individual tracks and will be compensated via a payment system that provides automated accounting and regular royalty payments.

“The proven strength and stability of Microsoft’s game development tools, technologies and services allowed Harmonix to focus on making an easy-to-use experience for authors without needing to reinvent the wheel,” said Dave Mitchell. “Rock Band Network is a model example of integration with XNA Creators Club Online.”

This new concept looks like it will benefit both independent artists as well as record labels. I think that this will help to add some great variety to the music store by opening up the market to more artists and players would love to see have songs available.

RockBand Gift card... win it here!

Pepsi and Harmonix have launched a summer Drink up, Rock Out promotion where gamers can submit their own Rock Band videos for a chance to win an MTV Video Music Award Moonman. The award will be for “Best Performance in a Pepsi Rock Band Music Video”. The Moonman will make a nice addition to any gamers collection, but there are other things to win as well.

Pepsi is giving away 5,000 Rock Band downloadable tracks every day until September 13th, 2009. They’ve also given us two $20 Rock Band gift cards to give out.

Here is how you can be entered to win:
1) Retweet about the contest using the following gets you one entry into contest:
“Win Pepsi Rock Band dollars over at @GamingAngels .com! Where women love to rock out! http://tinyurl.com/lhb8ea”
2) Comment here about your favorite Rock Band song and what song you wish Harmonix would add to Rock Band.
3) Last but not least, you will get two entries by posting a short video of you singing/playing/rocking out while playing RockBand.

Remember to enter the Drink Up, Rock Out contest over at Pepsi for your chance at the Moonman!