Rock Band Network: Developer Quotes and Clarification

[Apples]

Is RBN confusing you? Here's a compilation of links, resources, and developer quotes on the service so far:


News Breaking Article:
http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/content_display/industry/e3i4d0b1b4303c83997ea8bf1f3ea673d95

Press Release:
http://www.rockband.com/forums/showthread.php?goto=newpost&t=152225

Official Discussion:
http://www.rockband.com/forums/showthread.php?t=152203

FAQ:
http://creators.rockband.com/docs/Main_Page

Discussion of Bands that may likely be coming to RBN:
http://www.rockband.com/forums/showthread.php?t=152742


On the country availability of the RBN:


RBN songs will be available for sale in North America (inc Canada) and Europe. Submitters of RBN songs will need to be from the U.S.


To be specific, to submit a song, you must be a resident of the U.S. Where the band is from has nothing to do with it.

Of course unsigned bands can submit songs! You have to own the rights to the material. Unsigned bands will probably have to do less work to make sure their material is in the clear.



On allowing covers on the RBN:


Covers will not be allowed to be submitted for RBN. We made this decision in order to simplify the process by which we can assure ourselves that the submitter of the song owns all the necessary rights.


On availability for non-Xbox consoles:


We are working closely with the other consoles to get it work. We do hope that we can make this viable for all systems at some point.


All I can say is we are working on it. I would say there is very little chance that the hand-picked songs we can move over would hit at the same time. procedurally I would say that is currently impossible technically. Again, we are talking to, and have been talking to for some time, the other consoles so we can make this universal.


Whoa. Hold back a little. That has nothing to do with anything like that. This was a massive undertaking requiring significant infrastructure to support both on our side and at the console level. XNA is an existing infrastructure that could actually make this a reality. It has nothing to do with what you're saying. As I said we have been talking to everybody for some time about making this happen. And we will continue to do so. We want this music to be available for everyone.


It was never a necessity. I would love to see the RBN on all consoles. I really want RBN to embody that same passion as many underground artists have trying to get their music heard by just one more person. I hope that those same artists embrace and join RBN. I'm one of them. I release most of my music for free because I love sharing my art.


We have been talking to all first-party partners for a while. This is not a surprise to anyone.


Clarification on what "select songs" means as coming to the Wii/PS3:


I can't really give a full explanation other than to say we are working with the outside parties to make this available universally. And until then its our intention to at least get some of the premium content moved over.


Just saw that. Not sure exactly what that is on about but will investigate. The way the process will work is that we will be able to pick songs that rise to the top and hand move them over to the other systems when possible. Our dream is that one day we can get this to be universal on all infrastructures.


Who does the charting/legwork behind these tracks?


The artist has the option to charts songs themselves.
We give all Rock Band Network members the tools to do this.

(ie: not Harmonix)


What if people try to "game the system" and get illegal stuff up on the service?


Peer review (similar to the XNA indie games process) will catch licensing issues, authoring issues, and content issues.


In addition to that all the other reviewers are also reviewing them. It's a pretty tight system. Of course some jerk may try to pull something like that but they will be failed out of the system and very likely have their $100 membership revoked for blatantly breaking the TOS.


Limits on song length of RBN songs?


We are committed to giving artists the same tools that Harmonix uses when authoring music. I want to make it clear that RBN Store songs (if authored to the fullest) will be of the same caliber of songs in the RB Music Store. More details to come later :)

(ie: doesn't sound like there is one or else its pretty large)


What does this mean for regular DLC that we're used to?


The Rock Band Music Store will not see a drop in weekly output due to the Rock Band Network. They are separate entities.



I think if there's an indie and that we're excited about, there's still a huge possibility that we will chart them.


Possibility of instrumentals or having an instrument missing:


short answer - yes


Will songs be required to cater to every difficulty level (easy, medium, hard, expert)


Correct


Workflow of steps to get your songs in the game:


- Band X wants in RB
- Band X signs up for the RBN creators club
- Band X gets the tools to author / test / submit a song
- Band X authors / tests / submits a song
- Other RBN creators club members test the song / give feedback and ultimately pass the song
- Band X's song goes live in the RBN music store.


On charting and quality:


Documentation will be released in the coming month. We want the Rock Band Network to have the same standards of quality that our weekly dlc has. Keep checking out - http://creators.rockband.com/docs/Authoring for more details..


Yes, you will be able to test songs in-game before submitting them.

More info on charting is coming soon :)


Like most UGC, RBN charting will take some time. This isn't a program with a "Chart" button ;)


Charting non-guitar parts to guitar:


We've done some creative charting before. Piano or Organ solo on Guitar for example. I think it will be encouraged as long as it's tasteful. I have a song coming out for RBN where a bleepy synth is authored to guitar. There's no guitar in the track so it's tasteful.


On pricing:


As of right now there are not any plans for a "free" option on RBN songs.


The $.50 was actually a bit incorrect the lowest price is actually 80 MS Points.

Editor note: Pricing will be 1 to 3 dollars in 50 cent increments.


On Harmonix promoting/featuring various artists as they appear in the RBN store:


We're planning to promote RBN songs in many different ways. Both popular and HMX favorites will be easy to keep track of...


More info on what a developer/creator can customize on their tracks:


You will be able to add album art, genre info, ratings, album info, year, etc...
[/url]

thanks

When it will launch publicly:


When public Beta launches later this Summer. Store actually opens once it has plenty of content late this Fall.


On Rock Band 1 and other things:


1 - More information on Animations is coming soon.

2 - RBN songs will be sortable by album.

3 - No RBN store in RB1.

4 - RBN songs do not work in RB1.

[Apples]

Stage kit and effects switch usage:


Yes. [to both] The fog part of stage kit doesn't though, just the lights.

The ability to demo songs before buying them:



Anyone can download a demo version of an RBN song for free. This way you can try before they buy. You get to play the first 35 percent of the song. You can still configure the instrument combination and difficulty for the demo song and play the first 35 percent as much as you'd like..

[OakTea]

http://www.joystiq.com/2009/07/17/mtv-reveals-rock-band-network-track-upload-program-for-artists/

I thought this was a pretty useful link. It has a video as well, for people who don't feel like reading. :p

[skyttskytt]

Now, if only people read stickies...

I like pretty much all of those quotes from Sean are responses to me yelling about the 360 only kind of thing.

[sillystou]

Thanks Apples, this should help anyone with a question. It's very interesting. :)

[Meatwad555]

Apples to the rescue!

[Ilikemyname]

One question....what if we can prove we have rights to a cover?

[HMXMister_Game]

A couple clarifications.

- Song length must be between 30 seconds and 10 minutes.
- Any combination of instruments is fair game, including solo instruments (even acapella!)
- Final pricing is still subject to change, but it's likely to be a choice of $1, $2, or $3. Submitters can change the price once per quarter.
- Every song has a demo version, which is the first 1 minute, or 35% of the song (whichever is shorter), and you can play that demo as many times as you want. You can play the demos multiplayer, but not during network play.

edit: more stuff I forgot the first time

[aspiring]

This is great thanks, as i found some useful info in here. So RBN is useless to me now anyway. Besides some new DLC songs, i cannot attempt to make my own as i am not from the US. Are there any plans to let the rest of the world attempt making songs, as this seriously limits the songs and styles that can be brought to the game, from different cultures. I mean i dont game on 360, but my cousin does, and his band wanted to do this. Now they cant.

[Renrock]

This is great thanks, as i found some useful info in here. So RBN is useless to me now anyway. Besides some new DLC songs, i cannot attempt to make my own as i am not from the US.

You could still have your own stuff in the game. You'll just need to use a US company to submit it for you.

[SonicRocker15X]

A couple clarifications.

- Song length must be between 30 seconds and 10 minutes.
- Any combination of instruments is fair game, including solo instruments (even acapella!)
- Final pricing is still subject to change, but it's likely to be a choice of $1, $2, or $3. Submitters can change the price once per quarter.
- Every song has a demo version, which is the first 1 minute, or 35% of the song (whichever is shorter), and you can play that demo as many times as you want. You can play the demos multiplayer, but not during network play.

edit: more stuff I forgot the first time

30 seconds? Wow. We're practically going to get TV show themes out of this.

[cherokeesam]

30 seconds? Wow. We're practically going to get TV show themes out of this.

Not unless you know somebody who owns the rights to a TV show theme.

RBN is going to be 99.99% original content; as you must have read in the FAQ, covers are *not* allowed, nor will you be allowed to upload content that you don't own the copyright for.

[NiwirBigal]

Okay, just to clarify something I've been wondering. We can't upload songs we don't have the rights to, but will it be possible for a user to chart a song themselves and just have it on their own 360 for personal use, without having to submit the song online?

[cherokeesam]

Okay, just to clarify something I've been wondering. We can't upload songs we don't have the rights to, but will it be possible for a user to chart a song themselves and just have it on their own 360 for personal use, without having to submit the song online?

Probably.
That seems to be the purpose of the Auditioning we'll get after the patch for RB 2.2 comes out in a few weeks. You'll be able to test-play songs on your own game before submitting them for review.

Not sure if you'd be able to actually save and store those tracks, though, so if you're looking to put your entire iTunes into your own personal RB setlist, I srsly doubt that's gonna happen.

[NiwirBigal]

Yeah, storing them was what I meant.

[Krutzak]

Breaking Article:
http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/conte...8bf1f3ea673d95


Dead link there!

EDIT: fixed now

[newfroJDIX]

Wow, Rock Band just continues to kick more ass every day. I swear it boggles my mind how Guitar Hero is even a competing product anymore, especially with this new beauty which makes GHTunes look like a children's toy.

[Avatar_Ko]

Apples, do you mind if we post more questions for the devs here?

I'm wondering how the content delivery is taken care of? Do the songs still need to be submitted through Xbox Live (meaning they'll have to wait for Tuesdays they'll appear in the RB page in the marketplace and they're subject to whatever problems MS has with the marketplace) or is this bypassing that?

[sandswipe]

1. I'm in america, so while I'm not directly affected by the USA only rule, it seems rather harsh. Could a HMXer clarify on the reasoning behind that, and an estimates for when we could get some foreign rock? Most of my favorite bands are British (everyone from The Who to Iron Maiden to Franz Ferdinand), and the continent, Australia, Africa, Asia, and South America all have hundreds of great artists. This can't be fair to them.

2. Regarding original songs: say I'm in a band, and we do a mix of original songs, covers of well known songs, and rewritten covers of songs that have been in the public domain for a hundred years (for popular examples think Grateful Dead's Cold Rain and Snow or Zeppelin's Gallows Pole). If we do a rewrite of a song in the public domain, would that be permissible on Rock Band Network, or would we have to write one hundred percent original material?

[The Highway To Hell]

I'm really confused, what's the difference between this and the music store. They sound exactly the same.

[skyttskytt]

I'm really confused, what's the difference between this and the music store. They sound exactly the same.

There are going to be 2 stores. One houses the current and continued releases by Harmonix. The other will house everything released through the RBN.

[The Highway To Hell]

There are going to be 2 stores. One houses the current and continued releases by Harmonix. The other will house everything released through the RBN.So... why are they making 2 stores.

[skyttskytt]

So... why are they making 2 stores.

I'd imagine to keep things organized, so those not interested in 3rd-party generated charts don't have to look through them, and so you know for sure that the ones you are looking at are officially made by Harmonix or not.

The main thing is most likely organization, though, just aesthetics kind of reasons. "These are the ones we made, and these are the ones made through the RBN."

[The Highway To Hell]

I'd imagine to keep things organized, so those not interested in 3rd-party generated charts don't have to look through them, and so you know for sure that the ones you are looking at are officially made by Harmonix or not.

The main thing is most likely organization, though, just aesthetics kind of reasons. "These are the ones we made, and these are the ones made through the RBN."OK thanks.

[cherokeesam]

So... why are they making 2 stores.

Think of it as a professional league vs. an amateur league.

There will be great songs to be found in both music stores, but most people (including you and me) will prefer to keep them separate rather than shuffle through a TON of user-generated content to get to the bigger-name bands you might be looking for.

[Mr. Tate]

Think of it as a professional league vs. an amateur league.

Well, let's actually not. :) I would hate to see good bands not show up in RBN because it's regarded as an amateur league.

[Swivle]

Awe, I was kind of excited to see $.50 (40MSP) songs, too bad that was a mistake.:p

Also, the ten minute cap seems...limiting. At least for the music I like. That's a little unfortunate.

Also, that US-only this sucks big time. Get working on including the world, HMX!

[Zacek1000]

I have a band and we have a lot of questions. What will happen with the rights of the songs? We should give them to Harmonix? What happens with the tax, and the legal issues? Can we upload songs in Japanese, or Spanish? Well, if you want to check our music, go to www.myspace.com/thmkm
We love the idea, but we need more information!
And why are you limiting this only to USA and Europe? We are from Mexico and we know a lot of bands wanting something like this! Japan has a lot of indie bands...
When do you think people all over the world can upload songs? That would add very different styles, really.

[Rubicante]

D'oh, I was excited about the possibility of long songs. Why would there be a 3 dollar option then? I thought the point was for songs that require significantly more effort to chart.

[Ilikemyname]

If there's no way we can show we have rights to a cover??? How can we show we even have rights to our own songs??

[kiggidykev]

RBN songs will be available for sale in North America (inc Canada) and Europe. Submitters of RBN songs will need to be from the U.S.

Oh thank goodness!

[HMXMister_Game]

I have a band and we have a lot of questions. What will happen with the rights of the songs? We should give them to Harmonix? What happens with the tax, and the legal issues? ...

Patience, my young Jedi. All will be revealed soon.

The Terms Of Use for submitters spell out exactly what song rights we ask for. Generally speaking, we will only ask for what we need to review and distribute the songs in the game, but pretty soon you'll be able to read over the whole agreement in minute detail.

[Ilikemyname]

If there's no way we can show we have rights to a cover??? How can we show we even have rights to our own songs?? Nevemind found the answer in another thread...So I'm guessing we can do covers if we have all parties in agreement?

[aspiring]

You could still have your own stuff in the game. You'll just need to use a US company to submit it for you.

That would require some serious money and/or time. I dont think its going to happen for a lot of bands that are unsigned and would like to use this to get a bit of money and exposure. I do wonder why HMX have chosen this though.

[RayMkII]

How is this all going to work for online play? Currently, as it is, all people in your online party have to have a song downloaded for it to be playable over XBL. With this new system there's going to be TONS of songs. How are these going to be playable online? From what it looks like now we're NEVER going to get to play ANY of these songs online. Is that just an unavoidable disadvantage of having so many tracks or are there plans for a workaround?

[cherokeesam]

How is this all going to work for online play? Currently, as it is, all people in your online party have to have a song downloaded for it to be playable over XBL. With this new system there's going to be TONS of songs. How are these going to be playable online? From what it looks like now we're NEVER going to get to play ANY of these songs online. Is that just an unavoidable disadvantage of having so many tracks or are there plans for a workaround?

That's why it'll pay even more to check out the "Bands Wanted" forum, and check out the list of people with similar DLC to you. Random band quickplay has always been a terrible idea, and even more so once RBN kicks in. Play only with friends, online and off, not random strangers. :)

[Viewtiful Jason]

So from what I understand this is for people who want to do it themselves. But, the idea of having separate stores still seems confusing to me, especially if big name artists and record labels have this power also. Indie stuff I understand, but now this just seems kind of unnecessary. Do people who really get a lot of attention on RBN have their songs re-charted by Harmonix and put in the Music Store? By that I mean does this act as a sort of waiting list to get onto the Music Store, a sort of "prove your worth"?

[NormanCoxwell]

So it appears that the lack of covers is strategically a good thing but how exactly is that going to be enforced?

[Thom1234]

I thought this would be US-only (for making/uploading,) but it still sucks.

[Apples]

It sort of boggles me how much emphasis/questioning is being put on cover songs given the immense feedback and lashback against them from the early days of Rock Band.

I mean, back in the day people were boycotting them, and blasting the idea at every turn.

[Knucklesdude]

I think some bands prefer feeling the lash of inspiration that comes from covering a song versus the propelling leadership that is required to write original material.

^ Just a hypothesis.

[Mr. Tate]

It sort of boggles me how much emphasis/questioning is being put on cover songs given the immense feedback and lashback against them from the early days of Rock Band.

I mean, back in the day people were boycotting them, and blasting the idea at every turn.

Though I personally liked most of the covers, I think the issue is about covers made by other groups as opposed to covers done to emulate the original. A different take is one thing, a rough copy another.

[Coldplayer]

I have one question. Only artists from the US can submit songs to the RBN you say. Will artists from outside the US be able to submit songs someday as well, and if so, when will this be?

Oh, and also, is it possible for unsigned bands to submit songs?

[psivenn]

Thank you for compiling these clarifications. The wording of the original press release was... unfortunate but I am optimistic now for the PS3's part in this.

[cherokeesam]

It sort of boggles me how much emphasis/questioning is being put on cover songs given the immense feedback and lashback against them from the early days of Rock Band.

I mean, back in the day people were boycotting them, and blasting the idea at every turn.

I'd be willing to bet that the "thinking" (or, more accurately, LACK of thinking) behind all this talk about covers is that people were hoping that, if we can't get Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Fill In The Blank Bandname etc in the game, they were wanting to see tribute bands, Wavegroup and the like just give us the one-off versions instead.

[HMXMister_Game]

I have one question. Only artists from the US can submit songs to the RBN you say. Will artists from outside the US be able to submit songs someday as well, and if so, when will this be?

Oh, and also, is it possible for unsigned bands to submit songs?

To be specific, to submit a song, you must be a resident of the U.S. Where the band is from has nothing to do with it.

Of course unsigned bands can submit songs! You have to own the rights to the material. Unsigned bands will probably have to do less work to make sure their material is in the clear.

[Coldplayer]

To be specific, to submit a song, you must be a resident of the U.S. Where the band is from has nothing to do with it.

Of course unsigned bands can submit songs! You have to own the rights to the material. Unsigned bands will probably have to do less work to make sure their material is in the clear.

Well ok, I'm not a resident of the U.S. So I could not submit songs from my band, right? So, will there ever be a possibility that people from Europe can submit songs as well?

BTW, thanks for all the answers! :)

[kingtonyx]

It sort of boggles me how much emphasis/questioning is being put on cover songs given the immense feedback and lashback against them from the early days of Rock Band.

I mean, back in the day people were boycotting them, and blasting the idea at every turn.

when I'm talking about covers

I mean like this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkmTAt1aKUg&fmt=18)

I'm still not entirely clear if A Day To Remember could get this song put up if they wanted to...

[Ilikemyname]

Okay if I own the rights to both the music and lyrics, but I'm not a US resident, however 2 out of 5 of my band members are... So is it just a US resident can submit a song?

So Can I get one of those two band members to come down on my behalf if we are in agreement, or even get a solicitor in the US to do it for us? Or does the copyright holder and not just the band have to be a US resident?

[cherokeesam]

Okay if I own the rights to both the music and lyrics, but I'm not a US resident, however 2 out of 5 of my band members are... So is it just a US resident can submit a song?

So Can I get one of those two band members to come down on my behalf if we are in agreement, or even get a solicitor in the US to do it for us? Or does the copyright holder and not just the band have to be a US resident?

^That's the idea.

The requirement that submissions come from the US has nothing to do with a band's actual nationality, but simply that HMX isn't authorized to accept uploads from other countries (yet). So bands from other countries can still submit all the songs they want --- they just have to send it by proxy through someone Stateside.

[jr174200]

HMX, is it plausible to assume that many of the tracks on RBN (especially at the beginning) will have been previously charted in-house? Or that many of the newly charted tracks, especially by larger bands, will be done by professional HMX employees?

Something about this endeavor makes me think that a large portion of the new RBN DLC won't be charted by amateurs at all (although much of it will) but the tender hands of our favorite game developers.

Over the years HMX has charted a large amount of tracks that for whatever reason didn't make it as core DLC. Whether it's the remaining tracks of partially-released albums, tracks of their own bands or the complete discography of their favorite act, I have to imagine that the computers in Boston are full of unheard/unreleased material.

The Rock Band Network seems like the PERFECT time and forum to release all of that amazing music and allow both the fans and Harmonix to reap the benefits/rewards of all their hard work.

So HMX, between you and me, wink if I'm on to something.

[MrBrutal666]

Ok, let's try this. Let's say I know a lot of bands that would love to release content on RBN, but they have no computer know how and don't even know where to start. Could I pay the $99 and chart the songs for the bands while the bands compensate me for my time and effort?

I'm fixing to open a small digital recording studio for local artist to get affordable recordings for MySpace and I would love to use this as a selling tool for that as well. "While we record your tracks, we will also chart them for release on Rock Band." As long as the band and copyright holder is in agreement with this process, could I submit the tracks for them?

[Knucklesdude]

Ok, let's try this. Let's say I know a lot of bands that would love to release content on RBN, but they have no computer know how and don't even know where to start. Could I pay the $99 and chart the songs for the bands while the bands compensate me for my time and effort?

I'm fixing to open a small digital recording studio for local artist to get affordable recordings for MySpace and I would love to use this as a selling tool for that as well. "While we record your tracks, we will also chart them for release on Rock Band." As long as the band and copyright holder is in agreement with this process, could I submit the tracks for them?

Absolutely. But note that each track takes a lot of time and effort. If I was a studio professional like yourself, I would contract a team like Rhythm Authors LLC (http://www.rhythmauthors.com/) that may do it for you.

[MrBrutal666]

Absolutely. But note that each track takes a lot of time and effort. If I was a studio professional like yourself, I would contract a team like Rhythm Authors LLC (http://www.rhythmauthors.com/) that may do it for you.

How much time/effort are we talking for say a 3 minute track, estimated?

[Knucklesdude]

How much time/effort are we talking for say a 3 minute track, estimated?

Well I haven't looked at Reaper: Rock Band Edition, nor do I know what the peer review system will look like, but at the bare minimum I'd say you might be spending at least 40 hours per song.

Edit: I should mention that includes mixing the song for RB, syncing the midi (if you haven't already), creating the expert charts, writing sections for practice, the other difficulties for the instruments, making the light cues, character animations, charting overdrive and other special events, other stuff I'm forgetting, testing the song, and uploading it- in a hurry. :)

I have a feeling Harmonix will make it easier on us though. Stay tuned.

[timmay9]

Great work Apples. This is really helpful as someone who may be very interested in the whole project in the upcoming months.

[MrBrutal666]

Well I haven't looked at Reaper: Rock Band Edition, nor do I know what the peer review system will look like, but at the bare minimum I'd say you might be spending at least 40 hours per song.

Edit: I should mention that includes mixing the song for RB, syncing the midi (if you haven't already), creating the expert charts, writing sections for practice, the other difficulties for the instruments, making the light cues, character animations, charting overdrive and other special events, other stuff I'm forgetting, testing the song, and uploading it- in a hurry. :)

I have a feeling Harmonix will make it easier on us though. Stay tuned.

Damn.

Rhythm Authors then.

[Knucklesdude]

Harmonix could really chop that though.

I encourage anyone aspiring to get their music in the Rock Band Network should wait it out until the Creators website is updated with the promised documentation, which should be quite soon.

I also encourage every Rock Band enthusiast here interested to try their hand at authoring, definitely the more the merrier.

[maniac3000]

Will I be able to audition songs with just an XNA trial membership?

[ShoTTySLanKiN]

This seems like this will be pretty cool.

So will HMX have any say on what bands can release songs on RBN.

Example: Senses Fail wants their song/s on RB. Would HMX want to chart songs for more well known artist. Or will this open us up to getting more songs from bands we have wanted but haven't released DLC yet.

[cherokeesam]

This seems like this will be pretty cool.

So will HMX have any say on what bands can release songs on RBN.

Example: Senses Fail wants their song/s on RB. Would HMX want to chart songs for more well known artist. Or will this open us up to getting more songs from bands we have wanted but haven't released DLC yet.

HMX set up the RBN for two main reasons:
1) to give up and coming bands the chance to get their music out to the masses via the Rock Band platform, and
2) to ease up their own workload. Some of the devs have said that they're just swamped with bands wanting to get into the game; by offering RBN as a DIY, they're hoping that some of these bands will take the initiative and learn how to use the software themselves.

[Sonic_Snowman]

I apologize in advance if this has been asked beforehand.

This is purely for cosmetic purposes, but does anyone from HMX know if there is going to be cover-art and song info for the RBN songs in the song selection menus. This could pose a problem 'cause I'm sure lots of people will be uploading songs that have never appeared on an album before. We will probably get either the generic RB logo (like with covers) or possibly an all new RBN logo with any available info, but can anybody from HMX confirm anything about how these songs will look in the menus.

[topperharley]

If I shell out the $99 fee for a Creators Club Premium Account, will I be able to review and provide feedback on the songs that are submitted for approval before they "go public" so to speak?

If so, I'm assuming there will be a limited use license, which expires once the song is approved and is put on the RBN?

[Coldplayer]

I apologize in advance if this has been asked beforehand.

This is purely for cosmetic purposes, but does anyone from HMX know if there is going to be cover-art and song info for the RBN songs in the song selection menus. This could pose a problem 'cause I'm sure lots of people will be uploading songs that have never appeared on an album before. We will probably get either the generic RB logo (like with covers) or possibly an all new RBN logo with any available info, but can anybody from HMX confirm anything about how these songs will look in the menus.

Well, if the song didn't appear on an album yet, the band could upload a band picture or a band logo. This would be awesome. I hope that's possible.

[ForgottenHero]

Apples,

On promoting bands and their songs on RBN:


We're planning to promote RBN songs in many different ways. Both popular and HMX favorites will be easy to keep track of...

[MisterSchulz]

Sounds cool, but I'm concerned about Chart quality. Will all the charting be done by these "Harmonix-trained freelance developers?" If so, then I guess it should be fine. But other than that, it sounds like it would turn into Guitar Hero charts.

[Vedicardi]

Very informative. Great job apples

[Vedicardi]

Sounds cool, but I'm concerned about Chart quality. Will all the charting be done by these "Harmonix-trained freelance developers?" If so, then I guess it should be fine. But other than that, it sounds like it would turn into Guitar Hero charts.

If the charts are really bad, they will be turned down by peer review. The HMX trained freelancers can be found here:

http://www.rhythmauthors.com/

[Apples]

Sounds cool, but I'm concerned about Chart quality. Will all the charting be done by these "Harmonix-trained freelance developers?" If so, then I guess it should be fine. But other than that, it sounds like it would turn into Guitar Hero charts.

I have to imagine the QA and vetting process will be pretty strict.

Because the second that crap/shoddy quality starts showing up is the second people get turned off to the service and start avoiding it.

Plus, it will make a difference having official, professional tools to work with instead of hackjob hex editors.

[hmxsean]

That would require some serious money and/or time. I dont think its going to happen for a lot of bands that are unsigned and would like to use this to get a bit of money and exposure. I do wonder why HMX have chosen this though.

I don't think we really so much "chose it" as it is certainly fairly limiting at the outset. The truth is IP laws vary wildly from territory to territory and require vastly different checks and balances and rules to be lawful in each place. It is certainly something we are aware of but it isn't as simple as flipping a switch.

[HMXMister_Game]

I apologize in advance if this has been asked beforehand.

This is purely for cosmetic purposes, but does anyone from HMX know if there is going to be cover-art and song info for the RBN songs in the song selection menus. This could pose a problem 'cause I'm sure lots of people will be uploading songs that have never appeared on an album before. We will probably get either the generic RB logo (like with covers) or possibly an all new RBN logo with any available info, but can anybody from HMX confirm anything about how these songs will look in the menus.

Yes, there will be song info for RBN. In fact, we have more info for RBN songs than we do for DLC songs (we added an author field, a subgenre field, and a few more).

Yes, there will be album art for all the RBN songs. You can pick it yourself in Magma, or if you don't have any some strikingly attractive default art will be used.

[HMXMister_Game]

If I shell out the $99 fee for a Creators Club Premium Account, will I be able to review and provide feedback on the songs that are submitted for approval before they "go public" so to speak?

If so, I'm assuming there will be a limited use license, which expires once the song is approved and is put on the RBN?

Yes, if you don't want a membership to submit content, peer-reviewing prior to public release is the whole point of XNA/creators.rockband.com.

[Rampaging_Wang]

I wonder how difficult it would be to license a trustworthy American to put up my bands songs when I'm in the UK?

[kingtonyx]

I wonder how difficult it would be to license a trustworthy American to put up my bands songs when I'm in the UK?

http://www.RhythmAuthors.com

[Algonah]

I Will message Pendulum at once!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[topperharley]

Yes, there will be album art for all the RBN songs. You can pick it yourself in Magma, or if you don't have any some strikingly attractive default art will be used.

I nominate your avatar as the default album artwork. :p


Yes, if you don't want a membership to submit content, peer-reviewing prior to public release is the whole point of XNA/creators.rockband.com.

Awesome! :)

[Rampaging_Wang]

http://www.rhythmauthors.com

win

[Bartenderjoe]

From Rhythm Authors website: "Starting out as hobbyists in ScoreHero’s software forums, much of what Rhythm Authors now offers as a service we've already been doing for over 2 years on our own. In addition to that, our primary authors have recently attended a master class hosted by Harmonix, and we are fully committed to upholding the game developer's top quality standards for every project that we accept."

This is true. They did attend an authoring class at HMX.

This is a dev quote that is somewhat important

[ShoTTySLanKiN]

HMX set up the RBN for two main reasons:
1) to give up and coming bands the chance to get their music out to the masses via the Rock Band platform, and
2) to ease up their own workload. Some of the devs have said that they're just swamped with bands wanting to get into the game; by offering RBN as a DIY, they're hoping that some of these bands will take the initiative and learn how to use the software themselves.

Thanks for clearing that up!

[kingtonyx]

Hmmmm, how will RBN work with Tour Challenges?

[Al_Dags]

US submission only :(. I wish I would have seen Apple's sticky before I got my creators membership and purchased the authoring software.

Got my brother all exited and he was sending me his digital masters so I could start mixing.

Currently Canadian resident with no way to get US submission. Rhythm Authors seems nice but we wanted to do it on our own.

[Apples]

US submission only :(. I wish I would have seen Apple's sticky before I got my creators membership and purchased the authoring software.

Got my brother all exited and he was sending me his digital masters so I could start mixing.

Currently Canadian resident with no way to get US submission. Rhythm Authors seems nice but we wanted to do it on our own.

I wouldn't presume to speak for them. But couldn't you propose an arrangement where you do the work, and then they do the publishing for you after the fact?

[HMXEnosity]

But couldn't you propose an arrangement where you do the work, and then they do the publishing for you after the fact?

Indeed you could.

[soupisgood08]

hey so i much would it cost (about) fo me to upload my bands (the flock of lobsters i know i know its the best name ever) music on RBN i spend at least 20 dollors on RB dlc as it is a month so i can save that money for RBN and i would like to know ASAP to tell my band we need some money

[soupisgood08]

well i can't quote this but HMX SEAN sent me a message when i asked him if i needed the 99 dollors xb creaters club and this is what he said

Short answer - yes. Our infrastructure runs on the Microsoft XNA program. Therefore it requires a membership to that program.-HMX sean

[Numanoid]

HMX Devs or Mods, the official discussion thread is choked with the whole "360 only" thing and I think it would be beneficial to the whole community to give an explanation as to why this is. I understand it, but I don't think most people do and think it's some kind of favoritism.

Specifically:

What is XNA?
How does it differ from what you use to chart things for Nintendo and PS3 today?
Does Sony or Nintendo have anything comparable to XNA currently?

Once people see that it's the lack of available dev tools that is causing the lack of availability on the other platformsI think the whole thing will settle down.

Thanks!

[gilorian]

It's been said that to submit a song a person must be an American resident. Could we get a bit of clarification on that please?

Will an American Citizen living in a foreign country count? <notice I said "citizen", not resident)

Will a foreign citizen living in America count?

What about a American Resident who is currently overseas, will they be able to submit tracks?

(my apologies if this has already been mentioned, I tried looking for it but this is one huge thread!)

[Captain_Cool]

HMX Devs or Mods, the official discussion thread is choked with the whole "360 only" thing and I think it would be beneficial to the whole community to give an explanation as to why this is. I understand it, but I don't think most people do and think it's some kind of favoritism.

Specifically:

What is XNA?
How does it differ from what you use to chart things for Nintendo and PS3 today?
Does Sony or Nintendo have anything comparable to XNA currently?

Once people see that it's the lack of available dev tools that is causing the lack of availability on the other platformsI think the whole thing will settle down.

Thanks!

XNA is Microsoft's game creation tool that indie devs use to upload their game's to the Xbox Live Marketplace.
Nintendo and Sony do not have a feature like this presently, and that's why RBN authoring/creation is not available to Wii/PS3 users.

[DavyinaToga]

Fun with announcements! (http://www.4shared.com/file/119253036/cf7f867d/RBNannouncement.html)
This.

[Al_Dags]

I wouldn't presume to speak for them. But couldn't you propose an arrangement where you do the work, and then they do the publishing for you after the fact?


Indeed you could.

Hmmm Just finished reading through the FAQ on the Rhythm Authors (http://www.rhythmauthors.com/) site and it seems you are both correct (not that I doubted you). Things are looking good again. Thanks for the input :)

[ThatAuthoringGroup]

I have a question about the play testing.

I've heard that you just get one play test and then it deletes itself from your hard drive.

How are we suppossed to test the drums/vocals/guitar/bass, easy/med/hard/expert charts if we can only play each song once?

I'm not complaining oh I can't play this song as much as I want for free, because I know that's not what this is designed for, but I don't know how anything can be properly tested with just a single play through.

So did I just read that wrong, or am I missing something?

[SHPhr34k]

I have a question about the play testing.

I've heard that you just get one play test and then it deletes itself from your hard drive.

How are we suppossed to test the drums/vocals/guitar/bass, easy/med/hard/expert charts if we can only play each song once?

I'm not complaining oh I can't play this song as much as I want for free, because I know that's not what this is designed for, but I don't know how anything can be properly tested with just a single play through.

So did I just read that wrong, or am I missing something?

You had actually read it wrong. The way auditioning works is that you upload the song to your drive, play it in as many combinations and difficulties as you want. Once you either exit Audition Mode or upload another song, then the first song you uploaded will be lost.

[Mr. Tate]

You had actually read it wrong. The way auditioning works is that you upload the song to your drive, play it in as many combinations and difficulties as you want. Once you either exit Audition Mode or upload another song, then the first song you uploaded will be lost.

I think he's talking about downloading other artists' songs, not uploading his songs.

[HMXEnosity]

I think he's talking about downloading other artists' songs, not uploading his songs.

playtesting other bands works the same as testing your own songs. you get to play it as many times as you want. as soon as you exit audition mode, the song is deleted but can be re-uploaded to Rock Band.

[ForgottenHero]

HMXEnosity, I have quick question (and I know this isn't a question thread so if you don't want to/can't answer I'll understand).

Do artists have to follow the HMX way of charting exactly? More specifically, I was wondering about any double bass used in drum tracks.

Now, I really don't mind the idea of introducing double bass to RB, but I'm not completely for it either so I'm quite neutral on this topic, but I'm curious all the same.

What I'm thinking is that people will probably have to chart double bass gently, making sure that someone with one pedal can accomplish the chart. If not, the peer reviews will not approve it. I mean, technically anybody can chart anything to the song but it all comes down to the peers to review it and approve/deny it.

So, will HMX be instructing the reviewers to only approve acceptable double bass charts?

[Jorm]

Here's a little tidbit, maybe only interested me.

You can't make your own loading screen facts for the band.

http://www.rockband.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2747057&highlight=loading+screen#post2747057

[HMXEnosity]

Do artists have to follow the HMX way of charting exactly? More specifically, I was wondering about any double bass used in drum tracks. ....So, will HMX be instructing the reviewers to only approve acceptable double bass charts?


We will be releasing a detailed set of guidelines for charting songs. It is highly recommended that they are followed as these guidelines are for both charters and reviewers.

[ForgottenHero]

We will be releasing a detailed set of guidelines for charting songs. It is highly recommended that they are followed as these guidelines are for both charters and reviewers.

I appreciate the response.

[SonicRocker15X]

I don't know if anyone else has posted this yet, but this is a complete list of genres/subgenres shown in the RBN video (note that this is not final, subject to change, and might not be all of the available genres):

Alternative
Classic Rock
Country
Emo
Fusion*
Glam
Grunge
Indie Rock
Jazz*
Metal
New Wave
Novelty*
Nu-Metal
Other
Pop-Rock
Prog
Punk
Rock
Southern Rock
Urban*
Arena*
Blues
Folk Rock*
Funk
Garage*
Hard Rock*
Psychedelic*
Reggae*
Rockabilly*
Rock And Roll*
Ska*
Surf*

(I apologize for the post length)

* means they're not yet shown in any available RB2/RB1 songs or DLC.

[rockdude]

i know all the details will come out soon enough but i really want to get jump on figuring out how things work. My question is about how charting works, like what if i have a previously recorded song that my band record in ProTools 8 and some of the song tracks were recorded with virtual instruments and some were live instruments, how do i then chart this song in reaper? like what are the requirements for this master track to be charted?

[Knucklesdude]

Hmm, I think it's a little peculiar there is only one genre for metal.

There will have to be very many metal bands squeezed into that metal title. An extreme metal genre would probably be nice.

[redlummada]

Still a pretty big bummer that I won't be able to be a part of this, just because I own the game for PS3. Even though I've spent well over $1500 on RB hardware, software and DLC, I still get crapped on for owning the PS3 version. I understand that there is some cooperation required from PS and Nintendo to make it happen on those systems but it's still a bummer. Oh well, not much I can do about it...keep hounding PS and Nintendo HMX.

[rockdude]

I have a question for Harmonix, will all the software needed to make a RBN song be available for free to the community? And how much different is the Reaper software from Pro Tools?

also the rhythm authors service looks really cool but are more details going to come out on how exactly we must have a song mixed right because i dont know how it should be done to meet requirements?

[Swivle]

Hmm, I think it's a little peculiar there is only one genre for metal.

There will have to be very many metal bands squeezed into that metal title. An extreme metal genre would probably be nice.

Here:

Yes, there will be song info for RBN. In fact, we have more info for RBN songs than we do for DLC songs (we added an author field, a subgenre field, and a few more)

You can add subgenres.

[SenorLarry]

I have 2 questions:

1. Are songs required to be submitted, or can they be kept on one's own console? If they're not, then does the author of the non-submitted songs have to have the right to them to just play them on his own console?

2. By signing up for RBN when the Beta begins, are you given access to the authoring tools, or do you have to buy them in addition to the membership?

[HMXEnosity]

i know all the details will come out soon enough but i really want to get jump on figuring out how things work. My question is about how charting works, like what if i have a previously recorded song that my band record in ProTools 8 and some of the song tracks were recorded with virtual instruments and some were live instruments, how do i then chart this song in reaper? like what are the requirements for this master track to be charted?

You'll need wav files. Each instrument that you plan to chart must be isolated and saved as a wav file.




1. Are songs required to be submitted, or can they be kept on one's own console? If they're not, then does the author of the non-submitted songs have to have the right to them to just play them on his own console?

2. By signing up for RBN when the Beta begins, are you given access to the authoring tools, or do you have to buy them in addition to the membership?

1. You don't have to submit anything if you don't want to.

2. Magma will be made freely available. Information on Reaper can be found here: http://www.reaper.fm/

[BootsMegamix]

I like this idea, however my only concern is having seen the subpar quality that comes out of the custom GH/RB/FoF scene, I'm a little skeptical about how some of these charts will turn out.

[cherokeesam]

I like this idea, however my only concern is having seen the subpar quality that comes out of the custom GH/RB/FoF scene, I'm a little skeptical about how some of these charts will turn out.

No doubt there'll be some chartmeisters who are better at this than others; but it's not like there haven't been controversial charts even from the pros at HMX (and Neversoft, for that matter). Charting is guesswork, not an exact science; but maybe there'll be a rating system on RBN where players can let you know who the *good* charters are as opposed to those who consistently turn in shoddy work.

[BootsMegamix]

No doubt there'll be some chartmeisters who are better at this than others; but it's not like there haven't been controversial charts even from the pros at HMX (and Neversoft, for that matter). Charting is guesswork, not an exact science; but maybe there'll be a rating system on RBN where players can let you know who the *good* charters are as opposed to those who consistently turn in shoddy work.

Yeah, I agree with you on pretty much all points. When I used to make customs, some of the charts that I did really did boil down to guesswork. If you had a riff involving more than 5 notes, you had to improvise somewhere, which is an acquired skill more than anything as some people are better at it than others. I felt for the most part I was pretty good at it. Looking back at old charts, I see areas of opportunity for improvement, however I guess a perfect chart is rare.

It'll be very interesting to see where this goes. Hopefully a serious rating system will be in place, as that was one of the biggest frustrations I had was people going "OMG I LUV THIS SONG BEST CHART EVERRRRRRRR" and either the timing or the chart would be anywhere from half a second off sync to not even in the same ballpark as far as note placement.

Don't get me wrong, I'm really hoping this works and I hate to be a Negative Nancy but there's just too much that I can forsee going wrong with it. I'll have to wait a few months until it drops to see whether or not I'm right.

[Phydeaux]

You'll need wav files. Each instrument that you plan to chart must be isolated and saved as a wav file.





1. You don't have to submit anything if you don't want to.

2. Magma will be made freely available. Information on Reaper can be found here: http://www.reaper.fm/

I am considering my purchase of Reaper, but I do have a question. Reaper is available to work on both Windows and Mac, and while I prefer to work on the Mac side -will Magma be PC only? I presume if I'm having to use PC Magma I'll have to have done the work in PC Reaper.

[rockdude]

well what im curious about is if Harmonix is going to make the software needed for getting a song in the game free? Because at all I have read about RBN almost makes it sound like that, or our we going to have to buy it? I dont think this will matter that much to me though because I think I would try doing it the Rythm Authors way, but that brings up another question isnt rythm authors a fairly small group? so will they only be able to accept a certain amount of songs or will they take it all and just get it done when they get it done?

[Poncho]

I just have one quick question that I didn't see up in the quotes.

Does anyone know if bands will have to censored their songs or will it be uncensored but have some sort of rating system for songs?

[Knucklesdude]

well what im curious about is if Harmonix is going to make the software needed for getting a song in the game free? Because at all I have read about RBN almost makes it sound like that, or our we going to have to buy it?
The only things that you would really need to shell money on are the Creator's Club Membership ($100) and a Reaper license ($60). The rest will be provided for free. Look here for more on what you need: http://creators.rockband.com/spec


I dont think this will matter that much to me though because I think I would try doing it the Rythm Authors way, but that brings up another question isnt rythm authors a fairly small group? so will they only be able to accept a certain amount of songs or will they take it all and just get it done when they get it done?
They have a contact e-mail and a Twitter, so you can go on either of those to ask them. But you can go ahead and apply, it's moreso their problem to handle the demand than yours.


Does anyone know if bands will have to censored their songs or will it be uncensored but have some sort of rating system for songs?
The RBN is under the same content umbrella as regular download content. So yes, songs may have to be edited to make appropriate for Rock Band.

[HMXEnosity]

Reaper is available to work on both Windows and Mac, and while I prefer to work on the Mac side -will Magma be PC only? I presume if I'm having to use PC Magma I'll have to have done the work in PC Reaper.

Reaper is available for Mac and PC.
The Rock Band Network plugin for Reaper is PC only.
Magma is also PC only.

The RBN plugin is not necessary for charting (but very helpful). Magma however is required for testing and submitting songs. Also remember that both Magma and the RBN plugin for Reaper will work on a Mac running VMware (or something similar).



well what im curious about is if Harmonix is going to make the software needed for getting a song in the game free? Because at all I have read about RBN almost makes it sound like that, or our we going to have to buy it?

Magma and the RBN plugin for Reaper will both be free.

[General Lein979]

1. Will artist be able to sell their songs in packs?
2. How are the characters going to be mocaped? Mainly mouths and hands.

[HMXEnosity]

1. Will artist be able to sell their songs in packs?
2. How are the characters going to be mocaped? Mainly mouths and hands.

1 - no

2 - RBN uses a program to lip-sync based on the song's vocal track. Hand positions for the Guitarist and Bassist can be animated in Reaper.

[iruhlman]

No doubt there'll be some chartmeisters who are better at this than others; but it's not like there haven't been controversial charts even from the pros at HMX (and Neversoft, for that matter). Charting is guesswork, not an exact science; but maybe there'll be a rating system on RBN where players can let you know who the *good* charters are as opposed to those who consistently turn in shoddy work.

but what if someone brings something different to the table than your standard "charting" from like HMX or someone they have trained?

Meaning songs are different from the GH boys that chart the same songs already in Rock Band and vice versa. Someone might like they way a song is charted in GH over the same song in RB (I cna't give an example: just used for sake of argument)

Example I know how to play alot of the songs in RB and GH on guitar for real so its nice to see (War Ensemble in GH) is nearly identical to how its played for real on a guitar. Not all songs are charted with how they are actually played on guitar. Some prefer this and some don't. Granted if someone just throws up a bunch of random notes to expert guitar chances are it wont be that great, dunno maybe they get lucky and its still fun, only time will tell once these songs are released and everyone is watching youtube videos of the RBN charts and starts commenting on them.

[massiveparanoia]

So I totally understand the concept of moving songs over to the PS3/Wii versions by hand, but out of curiosity, will PS3 and Wii owners still be downloading a "RBN Client," as in essentially a separate store from the main music store? Or will RBN songs be intertwined with the rest of the songs in the music store? Or will it get it's own section (among the "new release, song packs, etc)?

[massiveparanoia]

but what if someone brings something different to the table than your standard "charting" from like HMX or someone they have trained?


People who enjoy some of the older music games, for example Dance Dance Revolution, will probably be familiar to song charting already, not just in game, but from the ABSOLUTELY HUGE amount of user made songs/stepfiles (chart) And really it's a give and take process.

Sometimes there are people that make really good charts, either accurately challenging or really fun. Then there are the jokesters or no tallents that just throw a bunch of random notes to screw with people.

But that's what the screening process is for. If the song's guitarist is simply playing fourth notes and the chart is some wacky shredding throughout, flags will be raised.

At the same time, it's a new system, just starting up. We've gotta give people time to get accustomed to it. I've nothing but high hopes for it (plus I can't wait, because sometime in the future I'll have my own material up for download :D)

[iruhlman]

People who enjoy some of the older music games, for example Dance Dance Revolution, will probably be familiar to song charting already, not just in game, but from the ABSOLUTELY HUGE amount of user made songs/stepfiles (chart) And really it's a give and take process.

Sometimes there are people that make really good charts, either accurately challenging or really fun. Then there are the jokesters or no tallents that just throw a bunch of random notes to screw with people.

But that's what the screening process is for. If the song's guitarist is simply playing fourth notes and the chart is some wacky shredding throughout, flags will be raised.

At the same time, it's a new system, just starting up. We've gotta give people time to get accustomed to it. I've nothing but high hopes for it (plus I can't wait, because sometime in the future I'll have my own material up for download :D)

me too (i hope), The big question is how will you stand out from the crowd when RBN has 1,000 tracks to choose from? I play metal/Vai'ish mostly but many are burnt out on the metal category already.

I'm coming in with a bit different approach as I don't have alot of existing material and pretty much its all is going to be created strictly with this RBN in mind. So when I come up with a guitar riff, I'll coincide that with a note chart instantly. Should be interesting to see how it turns out. Hard part is going to be getting a singer to write and record lyrics in like a matter of days. Could prove difficult especially with using a variety of vocalists with different music styles.

[topperharley]

So I saw that the RBN tab was clickable now, and I see this quote:

"Players can demo any song for free"

How will that work, exactly? Will people be able to play the full song? How often will they be able to play it? Will they be able to play it online?

[Knucklesdude]

So I saw that the RBN tab was clickable now, and I see this quote:

"Players can demo any song for free"

How will that work, exactly? Will people be able to play the full song? How often will they be able to play it? Will they be able to play it online?

From the Rhythm Authors home page:

A new in-game Rock Band Network Store will be added with the ability to "demo" any RBN song that is live for free. Players will be able to play the first 35% of the song (or full 1 minute, whichever is shorter) before being given the option to buy the full track.

I'm not sure about the playability options though. Might be a good question to ask HMXenosity when he gets back.

[HMXEnosity]

Hmm, I think it's a little peculiar there is only one genre for metal.

That video only shows some of the genres. Metal is an overarching genre and contains many sub-genres.



So I saw that the RBN tab was clickable now, and I see this quote: "Players can demo any song for free". How will that work, exactly? Will people be able to play the full song? How often will they be able to play it? Will they be able to play it online?

Anyone can download a demo version of an RBN song for free. This way you can try before they buy. You get to play the first 35 percent of the song. You can still configure the instrument combination and difficulty for the demo song and play the first 35 percent as much as you'd like..

[Mex]

Anyone can download a demo version of an RBN song for free. This way you can try before they buy. You get to play the first 35 percent of the song. You can still configure the instrument combination and difficulty for the demo song and play the first 35 percent as much as you'd like..

That's amazing. Great idea :)

[topperharley]

That's amazing. Great idea :)

That is very cool. I'm sure S1ckH4nds will be pleased to know he doesn't have to buy all of the RBN songs to show people what the charts are like... :)

[General Lein979]

Will the effects switch and stage kit work with rbn songs? On a some what related note not about rbn will the effects switch/ stage kit work with beatles?

[ArmsAreLoud]

There's a band I really want to see get into this, but I've got two problems:

1. They reside halfway across the US.
2. I have a Wii so I can't chart the songs myself.

How would I work through this? Would the band themselves be the ones to make and submit their songs? Would I (or the band, more likely) be able to find someone who could chart their songs?

[Sayburr]

There's a band I really want to see get into this, but I've got two problems:

1. They reside halfway across the US.
2. I have a Wii so I can't chart the songs myself.

How would I work through this? Would the band themselves be the ones to make and submit their songs? Would I (or the band, more likely) be able to find someone who could chart their songs?
See this thread for groups who will chart songs for others
http://www.rockband.com/forums/showthread.php?t=155543

[HMXEnosity]

Will the effects switch and stage kit work with rbn songs?

Yes. The fog part of stage kit doesn't though, just the lights.

[Knucklesdude]

Yes. The fog part of stage kit doesn't though, just the lights.

Really? Why is that?

[HMXEnosity]

Really? Why is that?

Fog is normally authored in the midi. We can't expect everyone creating and reviewing RBN tracks to own a Stage Kit.

[Knucklesdude]

Fog is normally authored in the midi. We can't expect everyone creating and reviewing RBN tracks to own a Stage Kit.

Yes, but will the option still be available to make the fog queues if we wanted?

[HMXEnosity]

No

[Apples]

I was wondering about that.

So much for my plan to blast the smoke machine for 10 minutes straight. :)

[Knucklesdude]

The only problem for me is that, well, learning to queue fog is really easy. Much easier than learning the Rock Band conventions, correctly charting notes, etc. (FogOn and FogOff?) A reviewer could easily look at the venue events and tell if the fog was charted wrong.

And there'll be reviewers with stage kits for sure, same with how some will specialize in vocals, drums, and how some may have only one instrument, or two.

I mean it's not like a huge deal or anything, but it's something I think should be implemented.

[BigCat8]

I'm very much looking forward to getting "select" songs... but I'm more excited about the idea that this concept could go completely universal. Are the hang-ups about adding a full-fledged RBN store to PS3 on the logistical side (as far as being unable to deliver that much content), economic side (who handles payments of artists, etc.), or just general hesitance (not 100% behind the idea)?

I apologize if you can't divulge that information, but as a PS3 RBer, I'm clamoring for any info I can get.

[Mex]

I'm very much looking forward to getting "select" songs... but I'm more excited about the idea that this concept could go completely universal. Are the hang-ups about adding a full-fledged RBN store to PS3 on the logistical side (as far as being unable to deliver that much content), economic side (who handles payments of artists, etc.), or just general hesitance (not 100% behind the idea)?

I apologize if you can't divulge that information, but as a PS3 RBer, I'm clamoring for any info I can get.

From what I've read in these forum, quotes from the devs, it's Technical. Microsoft's XNA already exists and is perfect for the implementation of RBN. There is no equivalent for PS3 or Wii, it would have to be built from the ground up.

Though HMXSean has said they do want to get it on all platforms. Who knows when or if that will happen though?

[BillyBlaze314]

From what I've read in these forum, quotes from the devs, it's Technical. Microsoft's XNA already exists and is perfect for the implementation of RBN. There is no equivalent for PS3 or Wii, it would have to be built from the ground up.

Though HMXSean has said they do want to get it on all platforms. Who knows when or if that will happen though?

I understand that, but I've been wondering what's stopping them from releasing RBN songs as DLC on the other consoles, even though you can't develop RBN songs on those consoles. So from the authoring side, you need an xbox, but from the consumer side, it doesn't seem as important. I would guess it's legal stuff that's hanging them up there.

[Koipop]

Man, this entire thing is awesome yet confusing.

I'm new here, but I signed up not only because of my love for the game, but because of the opportunity to bring in unsigned bands I know and love to this game! I believe they deserve much more recognition, and this game will definitely help out with that.

Anyways, I want to clarify on something. I have bands from, let's say, japan. They're known as "doujin bands". I'm going to contact them, but first I must know and clarify, can they submit the song themselves with all of the info and such to you directly, or do I have to do so myself (or a friend that lives in the US)? I do not have the time to chart their songs unfortunately, but I really don't want that to be the main factor and reason why they can't be in the game. Outside sources tell me that HMX can chart it themselves.

[Knucklesdude]

Anyways, I want to clarify on something. I have bands from, let's say, japan. They're known as "doujin bands". I'm going to contact them, but first I must know and clarify, can they submit the song themselves with all of the info and such to you directly, or do I have to do so myself (or a friend that lives in the US)? I do not have the time to chart their songs unfortunately, but I really don't want that to be the main factor and reason why they can't be in the game. Outside sources tell me that HMX can chart it themselves.
There are trained teams out there that will take the songs, chart them, and upload them for a slice of the profit. Check out this thread for more: http://www.rockband.com/forums/showthread.php?t=155543

I don't believe Harmonix will be charting Network songs, but folks from Harmonix certainly will be (for their own bands).

[Koipop]

There are trained teams out there that will take the songs, chart them, and upload them for a slice of the profit. Check out this thread for more: http://www.rockband.com/forums/showthread.php?t=155543

I don't believe Harmonix will be charting Network songs, but folks from Harmonix certainly will be (for their own bands).

Oh ok my sources was apparently wrong then.

I would try it myself, but my tight schedule disallow me so. I dunno if the bands I'm gonna contact will allow them to have some of the profit, but I'll see.

Thanks a lot.

[k-mac]

my question is to do with the pricing. if a band releases 3 songs, 6 songs, etc, will they be able to make a "pack" option that will give the same sort of discount that HMX-made packs give?

[Knucklesdude]

my question is to do with the pricing. if a band releases 3 songs, 6 songs, etc, will they be able to make a "pack" option that will give the same sort of discount that HMX-made packs give?

No, just individual songs.

But I think that would be a lovely feature to introduce in the future.

[HelloMaster]

A couple clarifications.

- Song length must be between 30 seconds and 10 minutes.
- Any combination of instruments is fair game, including solo instruments (even acapella!)
- Final pricing is still subject to change, but it's likely to be a choice of $1, $2, or $3. Submitters can change the price once per quarter.
- Every song has a demo version, which is the first 1 minute, or 35% of the song (whichever is shorter), and you can play that demo as many times as you want. You can play the demos multiplayer, but not during network play.

edit: more stuff I forgot the first time

I read all 142 comments (at the time) and didn't see an answer. It's a short question, but I really would like one:

10 minutes? What gives?

The stuff I like, 10 minutes is a short song. With longer songs already in Rock Band ("The Camera Eye" at least), this seems like an arbitrary rule. Like the limits on youtube. Please, developers, explain your reasoning to me.

EDIT

I started another thread for this question, and even got a pretty good answer. You can check it out here (http://www.rockband.com/forums/showthread.php?t=157183). Please devs, if you can shed any more light on the discussion, please do.

[Alonzo1948]

I can understand why RB1 doesnt have the RBN store, but why dont the RBN songs work with RB1?

[Godeater]

I've read through every comment here but still would like some clarification *please* on the US only submissions.

Is the only issue here that when it comes time for the charted song to be submitted to the network via whatever mechanism (web / FTP whatever) is that the this must be sent from a person/PC residing in the USA? Or is there any other holdups due to paperwork, arrangement royalties, rights anything like that? I am in Canada but do have computer savvy friends in the States that I would trust to just upload the song for me if that is the only issue.

Also if an independent charter will be doing songs for bands for % of royalties how does payment get disbursed, is this something XNA takes care of?

[azzaman333]

RBN songs will be available for sale in North America (inc Canada) and Europe. Submitters of RBN songs will need to be from the U.S.

Does "Europe" include Australia? Or is Europe specifically Europe?

[General Lein979]

If I were to release a song and decide to sell it for $2 but I notice that it is not selling well could I go back and change the price to $1 to increase the sales of it and get my band name out there?

[BillyBlaze314]

If I were to release a song and decide to sell it for $2 but I notice that it is not selling well could I go back and change the price to $1 to increase the sales of it and get my band name out there?

I would think so, since you can do this with xbox indie games. I think you can only do it once every three months there though.

[Clanker]

RBN songs will be available for sale in North America (inc Canada) and Europe. Submitters of RBN songs will need to be from the U.S.

But hey!... Is this confirmed?

How about us european people who want to upload our songs?

Not fair!!!

[HMXEnosity]

This is correct but just an initial restriction. We are hoping to bring song submission to Europe and Canada, post haste!

[Clanker]

but it really is an advantage to be out in the first row of songs, so if europeans have to wait longer, that would mean less profit and less attention. That would also mean a lot of good bands not being able to come out on RBN

[Koipop]

This is correct but just an initial restriction. We are hoping to bring song submission to Europe and Canada, post haste!

I would hope so. I'm already contacting a few bands that I know of, and I would like to submit them myself, but if not then I'm forced to use a friend of mine who is a current resident of the US.

[Godeater]

I've read through every comment here but still would like some clarification *please* on the US only submissions.

Is the only issue here that when it comes time for the charted song to be submitted to the network via whatever mechanism (web / FTP whatever) is that the this must be sent from a person/PC residing in the USA? Or is there any other holdups due to paperwork, arrangement royalties, rights anything like that? I am in Canada but do have computer savvy friends in the States that I would trust to just upload the song for me if that is the only issue.

Also if an independent charter will be doing songs for bands for % of royalties how does payment get disbursed, is this something XNA takes care of?

Any answer for this please? Is the only issue submitting from the USA having someone there to actually submit the song files or is it something more like the legal paperwork or something?

Thank-you

[el_panel0n]

RBN songs will be available for sale in North America (inc Canada) and Europe. Submitters of RBN songs will need to be from the U.S.

Question on availability... when you say North America, does that include Mexico?

By official standards, Mexico is part of North America so I guess they should be available, however I don't want to tell you how many times I've seen North America NOT include Mexico in stuff like this.

Thanks guys.

[General Lein979]

Wild question if we could get one freecreditreport.com song would that be ok? What I'm trying to say is a business aloud to put a song advertising their business on.

[HMXEnosity]

No advertisement songs on RBN.

...We're saving those for Jingle Band.

[Mex]

No advertisement songs on RBN.

...We're saving those for Jingle Band.

It's REEEEEAAAAAAAALLLL! :D

[MarsPhoenix]

Darn it, and I REALLY wanted to chart Nannerpuss.

[trg007]

Dumb question. I've been searching before posting, so I apologize if this has been answered.

I understand audition mode is currently locked to non-XNA members and you do not need to submit any song you chart, and can test on your xbox locally, However, once the open beta starts do you need XNA membership to do this? With the PC tools just released, can you make playable songs, send them to your xbox and test locally without an XNA account?

I'm not 100% sure, but I believe you'll always need a premium XNA account to get into Audition Mode.

EDIT - weird, I could've sworn the post I quoted was just in THIS thread.

[DavyinaToga]

I'm not 100% sure, but I believe you'll always need a premium XNA account to get into Audition Mode.

EDIT - weird, I could've sworn the post I quoted was just in THIS thread.

Nope, this thread. (http://www.rockband.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3125682#post3125682)

I thought the opposite, but since I have no proof, I'll let someone who really knows answer that question.

[RockAuthors]

I'm not 100% positive either, but everything I have read has pointed to one needing to have a premium XNA account to enter audition mode. Sounds like it's exclusive to XNA members...not exactly sure why....i think that's where all the rating takes place to get approved. Maybe they don't want just anyone judging whether a song should get published or not, so songs are judged fairly

[SHPhr34k]

Yes, you absolutely require a Premium XNA account to access Audition Mode. In fact, if you do not have one active, Rock Band will tell you that you need it when you try to select Audition Mode.

[FairwoodStudios]

So here's something that a friend brought up. Indie games require a LIVE connection to play them. I couldn't think of any other games that actually have user-generated content like this, so that's the closest analog I can think of. But would RBN songs also require a LIVE connection?

[davidshek]

So here's something that a friend brought up. Indie games require a LIVE connection to play them. I couldn't think of any other games that actually have user-generated content like this, so that's the closest analog I can think of. But would RBN songs also require a LIVE connection?

No. RBN songs are not indie games. They are indie content developed for Rock Band 2.

[FairwoodStudios]

No. RBN songs are not indie games. They are indie content developed for Rock Band 2.

Oh, I know, but that's the closest analog I can think of so I wasn't sure if the restriction was for all indie content or just indie games.

[azaraxzealot]

I'm still not clear... when will it launch? how can we buy the songs? when it DOES launch, will it only be available to gold users?

[davidshek]

I'm still not clear... when will it launch? how can we buy the songs? when it DOES launch, will it only be available to gold users?

The launch date has not been announced.

When it does launch, all you have to do is go into the RBN Store, which will be available via the RB2 main menu, and purchase songs just like any other DLC.

It will be available to anyone, just like regular DLC.

[savingEon]

why cant i get RBN? i have the option to go into it..but every time i do it tells me its a temporary problem..its been saying that for about 2 months...please help me!

[ThatAuthoringGroup]

You talking about the creators site, or the Rock Band network store on the 360?

Also what country are you in?