Guitar Hero & Rock Band Driving Digital Sales

With the pending release of The Beatles: Rock Band on September 9th, there are rumors of Apple finally striking a deal with The Beatles and releasing the band’s music on iTunes the same day. These Beatles/iTunes rumors have been around for some time and if there was any time to release The Beatles on iTunes, now is a better time than ever. Why?

In December 2007, Nieselson SoundScan revealed that songs on the “set list” of Guitar Hero III and Rock Band saw an increase in digital purchases anywhere from 15% to 847%. In essence, Rock Band and Guitar Hero essentially become entertaining advertising vehicles for bands and recording labels.

There is no denying that it’s no secret that the release of The Beatles on iTunes would do quite well just with the Apple PR machine powering it. However, Apple’s efforts plus a release of The Beatles:Rock Band would certainly be a home run.

It’s fascinating to see how a new product (Guitar Hero or Rock Band) can drive incremental sales in other channels of business (digital music).