Rock Band Network Incoming

MTV and Harmonix are set to launch the Rock Band Network, a new track-sharing application.Billboard has reported that MTV and Harmonix have been busy working on the Rock Band Network, a way for unsigned bands, record labels and creative Rock Band gamers to share their music with the world. MTV has been busy testing the system in a closed Beta environment and they expect a public Beta to start in August. An additional Rock Band store will be set up and will be available to 360 gamers first with Wii and PS3 stores to follow sometime in the future.Due to the manpower required to code submitted tracks into Rock Band, Harmonix will utilise specially-trained freelance game developers who will port the tracks for Rock Band and record labels will also be able to hire trained devs or train a development team in-house to port them to the game. Tracks will then be checked by other developers to make sure they are playable, suitable for release and don’t infringe any copyright.So how much will tracks cost? According to the article, songs will range from $0.50 USD to $3 USD per song and song creators will receive 30% of sales.Speaking to Billboard, MTV Games’ senior VP of electronic games and music, Paul DeGooye added:”We’ve figured out how to make it so anybody who owns and controls masters and publishing can put music into [“Rock Band”] at their own pace. We’re talking about a set of serious professional tools to allow people on the front line of writing and recording songs to completely control their destiny with respect to interactive products and then giving them direct access to the download store.”The Rock Band Network is a bold move by Harmonix, but if they get the formula right, the backing of the development community and labels, it is going to be a force to be reckoned with and an interesting way to distribute tracks from up and coming bands. A preview site is now online with more information