EA Tries to Go Platinum With Music Label

Schnur see this kind of relationship between artists and brands as Music 2.0. "In the future, artists will start signing directly to brands," he says. "Right now it seems like a unique idea but in 10 years it will look very typical."

Then a deal would involve a band signing on with a mobile carrier, or a technology company or even a tortilla maker because as Schnur says it, "those brands have real estate."

It's something that K Ishibashi, singer of the Jupiter One group, understands. "Video games have millions of users and that's where many hear our music for the first time," he says. "And they help bring fans out that will pack the houses when we are touring."

In its first year, Artwerk has had to jostle with record companies as they vie for greater revenue from the artists.

"Record companies want to participate in everything," says Schnur. "It's frustrating not just for us but also for the artists."

In industry parlance, it's called the 360-deal wherein a record label instead of just taking a percentage of record sales, takes a percentage of all profits an artist makes including that from licensing.

It's not a move that artists such as Ishibashi are happy with. "You want the most diverse group of agents competing for your interests," he says.

And that's what EA is counting on to make Artwerk an attractive proposition to musicians.