Lead: Smoke and mirrors have always been part of music, but when it comes to data, truth is starting to play second fiddle to hype. The nefarious and ruthless are finding ways to “massage” social media and streaming numbers while offering the desperate and gullible a quick fix. But the platforms are getting wise to […]
Those rumours that dance artist Marshmello was going to play a concert within video-game Fortnite were right: it happened on Saturday. In fact, he played two concerts, 12 hours apart, […]
The popularity of video-game Fortnite has recently sparked a series of lawsuits from rappers and dancers, angry at the game including some of their signature moves without asking for permission […]
UMG’s Astralwerks has released ‘Ninjawerks’, the dance-music compilation curated by gaming star Tyler ‘Ninja’ Blevins. The album was released on Friday through the usual streaming and download services, as well […]
We’ve written about how music is woven into the fabric of this year’s gaming craze Fortnite thanks to its ‘emotes’ – dance moves that players can buy using the game’s […]
At Music Ally’s Sandbox Summit London conference last month, I gave a talk about games: specifically about what 2018’s gaming craze Fortnite, and the wider world of esports – competitive gaming – could mean for music marketing and the wider industry. This is an edited summary of the talk.
In a break with tradition, this issue of Sandbox is a wrap up of our recent Sandbox Summit in London. Inside, we have reports from every panel, every keynote and every presentation – going into detail on what was covered in each one and all the talking points you need to be aware of. Including: […]
Given that video-game Fortnite made its first billion dollars around nine months after its release last September, you might think its publisher Epic Games can fund itself. Yet as the […]
According to the IFPI, for the whole of 2017, global digital-music spending (streaming and downloads combined) totalled $9.4bn. Without wishing to make you depressed on a Friday morning, here’s a figure to compare that to: in the single month of July 2018, players spent $8.2bn on digital games globally.
Lead: Just 18 months ago, pre-saves were a breath of fresh air for marketers struggling to stand above the cattle run of global releases on a Friday. But as they become ubiquitous, it is almost back to square one with everyone finding themselves lost again in the tumult. We look at what needs to be done […]
For a man with a bucket on his head, dance star Marshmello isn’t half bad at playing games. As we reported earlier this month, he won a pro-amateur Fortnite tournament at the E3 show, after teaming up with online-video star Ninja.
Now the pair are reuniting for a new project: Marshmello’s new ‘Gaming with Marshmello’ series, which will make its debut on YouTube this Friday (29 June). The show will see the artist inviting friends from the game-streaming community into his ‘Mello Cave’ to play games suggested by fans.
If you’re still not sure what the game Fortnite is all about, ask a passing 10 year-old. The action-shooter has become one of the biggest gaming crazes since Minecraft, with similar appeal to tween and teen gamers, as well as older players and Twitch / YouTube live-streamers.
Now Fortnite’s publisher, Epic Games, is making a big, nine-figure bet on the game’s popularity in the competitive-gaming world of esports.
