Konami music coming to iTunes & other online digital distributors

http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?op...=5638&Itemid=2

Originally Posted by Next Gen

Konami and Sony BMG Music Entertainment have inked a deal that will bring Konami’s library of music to major online music retailers such as iTunes and Rhapsody.

It will be the first time that original songs from Konami games will be available through digital distribution.

Music will be featured from game franchises including Contra, Castlevania, Silent Hill, Dance Dance Revolution, Elebits and Gradius.

The library of songs goes back 25 years.

Konami said in a statement that the music would also be available to through major mobile carriers and Konami’s official website.

In 2005, Electronic Arts signed a similar deal with Nettwerk Music Group that brought music from recognizable EA franchises to major online music retailers.

Always nice to see this kind of stuff happen. I use Rhapsody, and it's nice to see a lot of the EA soundtracks on there (including all the Sims ones that most people don't have). Hopefully more companies will begin doing this.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Now, I wonder if they're just going to put up old albums for download like Akumajou Dracula Best, or if these are actually going to be new compilations. Probably the former, but I don't think Contra ever made its way onto a CD by itself unlike everything else.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

That's some pretty awesome news. I'm glad that video game companies are doing this. It started with Square Enix, EA and even the Mother 3 soundtrack is on iTunes. That is pretty damn sweet and I support that 100%. Still would prefer hard copies however.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by CHz

Now, I wonder if they're just going to put up old albums for download like Akumajou Dracula Best, or if these are actually going to be new compilations. Probably the former, but I don't think Contra ever made its way onto a CD by itself unlike everything else.

Yeah, the coolest part about this would be them potentially releasing music from games that haven't had official soundtrack releases.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

This is fantastic news.

I've been a Mac fan for about 7 years but have had nothing to do with the iTMS due to their relative lack of non-mainstream stuff (and absolute lack of VGM), and the DRM infections on their files.

If these tracks are indeed released, and most importantly without DRM, it may finally be what pushes me over the edge to iTMS adoption.

Not only that, it would lend a HUGE amount of credibility to VGM and do wonders to reduce the niche status it currently holds. You don't get much more "hip" than iTMS nowadays, at least where music is concerned.

Great news indeed.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Good news; iTunes' game music has been growing by leaps and bounds lately. I can remember when they didn't have a thing; now they've got major Squeenix tunes, some US releases, and even more in the future.

If we were film music fans, we'd probably all be whining about how digital distribution is worse than being unreleased. But years of ripping and total neglect of the genre have hardened us

EDIT: Holy cow, Mother 3 is actually on US iTunes! 2 versions, no less! That's both incredibly cool and incredibly stupid.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

It's great, although at first impression I had low expectations, thinking this might be a Jpn only thing. I just hope that after they try this they don't decide that the effort is less than the reward and they decide to stop doing this. Hopefully our niche of VGM lovers nationwide is enough to make a decent amount for their revenues and make them decide it is indeed worth their time to cater to us.

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by Summonmaster

It's great, although at first impression I had low expectations, thinking this might be a Jpn only thing.

Yeah, this is something that I just thought of. I wonder how much of this new stuff Konami is actually going to be released in the U.S. iTMS?

Originally Posted by orion_mk3

EDIT: Holy cow, Mother 3 is actually on US iTunes! 2 versions, no less! That's both incredibly cool and incredibly stupid.

MOTHER3+ and MOTHER3i, right? They're both different arrange albums. Gotta catch 'em all!

The iTunes release of MOTHER3+ has a bonus track not on the physical CD.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Originally Posted by CelticWhisper

If these tracks are indeed released, and most importantly without DRM, it may finally be what pushes me over the edge to iTMS adoption.

When did itunes music store start releasing music that wasn't DRMed?

Of course, Amazon.com is getting ready to unveil their own digital music store soon, which will feature DRM-free mp3 files. So maybe Konami and other game developers will be releasing their songs to Amazon's music service, so you can get your fix without worry about DRMed .aac or .wmv flies.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

If it were up to Steve Jobs, iTMS wouldn't have DRM. He's a vocal opponent of the format -- but major labels refuse to sell their music through iTunes if there isn't some form of DRM.

I don't know how Amazon is going to get away from it, but if they figure out a way to do it and still manage to have support from every studio, I can't imagine iTMS will be far behind in getting rid of their DRM.

Most amazing jew boots

But up a couple of DDR Albums and then we're talking. :|

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Now they need Shadow of the Colossus, the Xeno series, all the recent SMT/Persona soundtracks, and everything Eric Brosius has ever done.

What could also be awesome is if, when you buy a new game, it includes promotion codes for free iTunes/Amazon/eMusic downloads of the game's soundtrack. Hell, even 50% off would be sweet. I dislike the concept of "unreleased bonus tracks" mostly as a side effect of my love for a complete, comprehensive, official OST but maybe arranged versions of tracks or something to that effect would be cool too.

You know, similar to what they did with God of War, but without requiring shitty Sony proprietary software (that also happens to be Windows-only).

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Ubisoft today announced plans for digitally released game soundtracks:
http://www.music4games.net/News_Display.aspx?id=603

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by CelticWhisper

This is fantastic news.

I've been a Mac fan for about 7 years but have had nothing to do with the iTMS due to their relative lack of non-mainstream stuff (and absolute lack of VGM), and the DRM infections on their files.

If these tracks are indeed released, and most importantly without DRM, it may finally be what pushes me over the edge to iTMS adoption.

Not only that, it would lend a HUGE amount of credibility to VGM and do wonders to reduce the niche status it currently holds. You don't get much more "hip" than iTMS nowadays, at least where music is concerned.

Great news indeed.

You could always burn them to a disc and rip the disc allowing for DRM free MP3s.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?