FAQ
What is octave(ABOVE)?
We are a brand-new company pioneering a unique musical mission: to expose people to great new music and broaden your audience base by turning your band’s songs into downloadable, playable Rock Band tracks.
How is that possible?
Harmonix – the makers of Rock Band – recently announced that, beginning in early 2010, any musician or band will be able to sell their tracks through the Xbox Live store as part of what they’ve termed the Rock Band Network.
octave(ABOVE) takes your songs, does all the work that is needed to convert them to playable Rock Band tracks, and gets them up for sale within the game. We also carefully script custom animations so that your virtual performers are believably performing your song, as well as direct the in-game light show and camera work to complement your track as effectively as possible. Let us do all the work, and in no time at all, your songs will be available to the same legion of music fans that have downloaded over 60 million tracks through Rock Band over the past two years.
Couldn’t I do that myself?
Converting songs to Rock Band tracks can easily take 40 hours, or more, of very detailed work – and that’s if you already have the right training, knowledge, software, equipment, and developer memberships. octave(ABOVE) lets you skip the tedious, confusing tech stuff and keep doing what you do best: making music.
Still not convinced? Designing and submitting a playable song is a long, arduous process. The song first must be suitably mixed to work within the game. Special software is used to chart each note in the song to correspond to an in-game note (or “gem”, as they are called). This must be done for the guitar, bass, drums, and vocal tracks. Each track must also be adapted to four different game difficulty levels (Easy, Medium, Hard and Expert). On top of that, there are many special cues that can be inserted in the song for directing the in-game lighting and stage effects, which make the final product as polished and enjoyable to play as official Rock Band songs. There are similar cues to realistically animate the in-game characters so they appear to actually be playing your song. Finally, the finished song must be compiled along with applicable album artwork/track and artist information. The final step involves submitting your song and successfully undergoing a stringent peer review process.
With the help of octave(ABOVE), your song will look and play exactly like the officially authored tracks that come with Rock Band. Our level of expertise, combined with our unparalleled degree of experience, will make your group’s music stand out as the most enjoyable, polished and detailed tracks you can buy.
Who are you? Why should we work with you?
Adam Kleifield, a Los Angeles native, computer expert, and the founder of octave(ABOVE), has always considered music to be one of his greatest passions. An avid fan of the rhythm game genre since first playing the original Guitar Hero, he possesses a keen understanding of what elements make a track the most fun to play.
Notably, Adam is one of the very few people officially trained by Harmonix on Rock Band track authoring, and octave(ABOVE) was included in the Rock Band Network private beta, allowing direct involvement with the day-to-day development of this exciting new platform.
octave(ABOVE) is very proud to be working with a selection of top local talent, including West Indian Girl, Pollyn, Regrets & Brunettes, Ubyk, and Kingsize. We have already submitted several expertly programmed tracks to the Rock Band Network system; we know the process to get your music in to the game inside and out.
How will people find out about our new Rock Band track?
There are several ways to get great publicity for your Rock Band track. Making your songs into Rock Band tracks now means they could possibly be available for sale on the very first day that people can access the Rock Band Network. Being one of the first out there provides tremendous exposure, as people get caught up in the excitement of this new shopping experience, and the store offerings are at their slimmest. From that point on, having your music in the Rock Band Network store will continue to provide valuable publicity.
You can bet we’ll write about your band on our blog, in order to share with everyone why we’re excited to be working with you and why they should check you out.
Also, once Harmonix makes them available, you will be provided with tools to help promote your songs by allowing people to purchase them through your website.
Will I make money from this?
Although sales projections are completely speculative at the moment, with the right publicity and timing, there’s a good chance you can expect some decent extra income from your Rock Band tracks. And unlike mp3s, it isn’t possible to pirate or steal Rock Band tracks. In fact, people who buy music through Rock Band and similar games are actually more likely to scope out the artist further and buy their recordings as well, so you need not be afraid that this could detract from your own sales.
You will benefit from every download of your music. Get in touch with us for more information.