EA Tries to Go Platinum With Music Label

SAN FRANCISCO -- Getting signed by a major record label is every recording artist's dream. But now some musicians are turning to a new road for success: Video games.

One of them is Dutch-born remix star Junkie XL, whose electronic dance music has been played in clubs, music festivals and a few commercials.

But it is in video games such as sports titles, Need for Speed: Pro Street and the Madden NFL series that Junkie XL or Tom Holkenborg's music shines.

Last year, after working informally with game companies for years, Holkenborg inked a contract with Artwerk, a music label from video-games maker Electronic Arts(ERTS Quote).

For Holkenborg it's a nice fit. "Video games is the new radio of electronic music," he says.

Games often help bands get discovered and heard among a demographic that is likely to strongly overlap with their target audience. About 1% to 2% of a game's production budget, which can run up anywhere from $10 million to $50 million or more, is allocated to the soundtrack.

Until now, game companies worked with recording labels or publishing firms to get licensed or original music, often opting for new and independent artists in an attempt to inject fresh, interesting and undiscovered music in their games.

When a track or two from a game gained widespread popularity and found itself used in advertising commercials, for instance, the video-games companies that had helped bring initial attention to the music got no share of the licensing profits.