Before it was ever a TV show or trading card game, Pokemon could only be found on the Nintendo Gameboy. At the time of its release, there was no question that Pokemon would become an international sensation. Although there was no actual color on the original Gameboy, Pokemon provided a surprisingly colorful experience as a handheld game. A lot of that beauty comes from the game’s unforgettable original music.
The music of Pokemon truly sets the mood for an action adventure role-playing game. With such low-def two-dimensional graphics, there had to be something to fill in the gap and make Pokemon an exciting, epic experience. It is obvious that Nintendo put a lot of time and effort into bringing this game to life.
Game theme
Show theme, if you haven’t heard it before…
Okay, so a lot of people may remember the Pokemon anime theme song more than the video game music, but many of the songs within the show itself were based off tunes that were played throughout the game.
Game
Show
In the grand scheme of things, you could say that both the show and the game were co-dependent in each other’s success and popularity.
The music in Pokemon is great not only because it is catchy, but it acts sort of as a guide indicating where you are in the large virtual world and letting you know if you are actually progressing through the game. Everywhere you go in the game there is a unique tune that will play. If you hear a tune you’ve never heard before, it probably means your going in the right direction.
Route 4
Vermillion City
Route 11
It’s pretty easy to get lost in the Pokemon world, but having that music there really helps keep you on the right path. Even with the low fidelity, 8-bit sounds that Gameboys generated, the developers were able to do something quite special with the intricate melodies of Pokemon. The songs are fun, and even if the tone sounds weird and electronic, the music itself is composed very well. So much so that it has inspired many musicians to give it their own personal touch…
Drums
Guitar
Piano
Anyone within the Millennial Generation has definitely either been into Pokemon at some point in time or at least knows someone who has. It is a pop-culture staple that is not likely to disappear anytime soon. I believe that, because of Pokemon’s great music, it became popular in the first place.
These two guys are hands down the most iconic heroes of the first generation of PlayStation. Although, they have been out of the loop for some time, they will never be forgotten, and neither will their fantastic, thematic game world music.
Back in the late 90s, If you owned a Sony PlayStation, chances are you had either or both of these games in your collection. Keeping up with gaming evolution, each of these heroes’ worlds was given an array of catch theme music for each and every level to bring the game to life. Being different characters, each get’s there own personalized tone and style for their worlds music that suits the feeling of how the player moves through the game.
Crash Bandicoot’s themes are usually beat heavy, highly melodic and wacky sounding to characterize his eccentric personality but also to create a sense of urgency, since all of his levels are riddled with dangerous obstacles. The first game of the series went for a sort of jungle, island, tiki, surfer vibe.
As the series went on and Crash kept being teleported to many different places and time periods, his theme music had to evolve as he did. And man, does he go everywhere. Many songs are stylized after whatever geographical location or historic era that is presented.
Egypt
Arabia
China
With such catchy jingles, its easy to get sucked in to these different levels as Crash Bandicoot does daily.
Spyro’s music, on the other hand, has an atmospheric quality to it. His games are free-roam, as apposed to a linear experience we see with Crash, so we don’t get that same sense of constant danger. Instead, we get a tone fit for adventure and discovery. Another interesting fact about Spyro is that the original music for the first game was entirely composed and performed by Stewart Copeland, former drummer for the band, The Police.
Spyro’s world music is different than Crash’s in that is has a much jazzier, dynamic feel to it. Most of Crash’s worlds have a straight forward four-four time signature, while some of Spyro’s seem to have a progressive style. The music is layered in such a way that you get these overlapping melodies that are not only stimulating, but also add to explorative nature of the game.
Here’s a magical level.
Some more fun jingles.
So, whose music is better? There is no way I can choose. I love Crash Bandicoot’s because of its silly yet driving beats and catchy hooks. But I still love Spyro’s for its intricate and ethereal tone. If anything, both games give me the strongest sense of nostalgia, so they both win in my book.
If you’ve never heard of “Dynasty Warriors”, that’s because it’s a cult game. Even though the game sells enough to continue with it’s almost annual releases, it never gets the same attention as other popular game titles. This is because the developers have kept relatively the same formula for over a decade now. Take superhuman, ancient Chinese soldiers fighting on an enormous battlefield, and slap virtuoso duel guitar riffs in the mix, you get “Dynasty Warriors”. While some mechanics in the game have been altered over the years, it’s still the same game. Some people love this, while others find it repetitive. But what really draws me to it, and basically the reason I started playing, is the awesome music.
Each game has a super rad original soundtrack, with a different jam for each individual level. Sometime there can be up to fifty levels, so you can see just how many songs are in only one of these games. I realize that not everybody enjoys instrumental shred guitar, but this music was the kind of stuff that inspired to pick up an instrument in the first place. It also suits the high speed imagery of the game, giving it an aesthetic style.
If it weren’t for the adrenaline injecting music, “Dynasty Warriors” would loose its edge completely. Aside from the combat, there isn’t too much else it has going for it. The whole point of the game is to make the player feel like a supersonic warrior, so there must be stimulating soundtrack to bring the combat to life. Otherwise, slaying thousands of enemies might get old much more quickly.
Being that the series has reached its eighth main installment with “Dynasty Warriors 8”, along with numerous spin-offs, there is no doubt that it will continue in the future. These games may never truly fall into the mainstream gaming category, but they will also never lose their loyal fans. There will always be more “Dynasty Warriors” because there are still so many people out there who still dig that same old formula of swords and guitar solos.
If we’re talking about music games, my all-time favorite is “Guitar Hero.” With its legendary soundtracks and well-designed rhythm mechanics, it was destined to be a hit. It also helped revamp rock n’roll back into popularity during the time of its release.
I was already starting to get big into rock music as a kid and I knew that I wanted to play the guitar at some point in my teens. Since I was much better at video games at the time, I assumed that “Guitar Hero” would be fun alternative to playing a real guitar. After I saved up enough to buy the game and controller, I didn’t do anything else for the next month. It got me hooked.
After I got used to the speed of the notes flying at me and the spacing of the buttons on the plastic guitar, the game started to become a breeze. I noticed my wrist and fingers becoming more agile the more I played, and the confusing clusters of colors on the screen started taking more familiar shapes that I could follow. I loved how the game would boost your sound whenever you started doing really good, and that boost just kept me playing. It was strange, but it actually felt like I was gaining something out of playing this game. Unlike other games, where I’d start and give up since it felt like a waste of time.
But then I started seeing things… well, sort of.
Shortly after “Guitar Hero 2” came out, I had pretty much mastered the game. I had consistently gotten better and better, up until the point when I actually started seeing colored dots flying toward me every time I closed my eyes. That was when I decided to pick up a real guitar.
If there was a video game that I played way too much of when I was younger, it would have to be “Guitar Hero.” Not that I regret a single moment spent playing it, but if I had spent as much time and energy doing something else at the time, who knows what I would have accomplished. Luckily, I did learn how to play the real guitar quite quickly after playing “Guitar Hero.” I will admit, playing a real instrument and clicking on a plastic guitar are completely different actions. Although some techniques have a chance of carrying over, like arm and finger endurance. Also, being able to hold a guitar shaped object and strum quickly to a specific rhythm can also take some practice. In several ways, “Guitar Hero” sort of gave be a head start on the physical side of playing the guitar.
The best part of all this is that a video game was what got me truly wanting to play an instrument. It was like instant satisfaction knowing I could hit all those digital notes. So why couldn’t I hit all those notes in real life? Well, I actually started to write my own music and have now practically reached the same level of guitar playing that I would compare myself to on “Guitar Hero.” Never has a video game inspired me so much to change myself for the better.
Of all the badass video game soundtracks out there, some of the most important in the evolution of video game music would have to be from the “Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater” series. What made “Tony Hawk” so unique was that the game’s playlists were entirely made up of licensed recording artist’s music. This was most likely the first game that anybody of my generation had that included real popular songs that you could go out and buy or listen to elsewhere.
Not only were the playlists on each game great, but also, they basically shaped the music taste of kids and teens at the time of its release. Any gamer twenty to thirty years old could probably give some credit to the “Tony Hawk” games for introducing them to popular music early on.
From the first game, I remember being introduced to punk and rock bands such as Dead Kennedys, Primus and Suicidal Tendencies. It was obvious that the songs were intended to pump up the action of the game. Fortunately, the game, along with the soundtrack, was a great success.
By the time “Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2” had come out, almost all of my friends owned the game and were humming along to the high energy soundtrack. These first few games featured mostly punk, ska, alternative, rap, and rock songs, which were all popular genres in the late 1990s into the early 2000s. I remember this is where I heard Rage Against the Machine, Bad Religion, Anthrax and Public Enemy for the first time.
“Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3” had great songs too, like “Blitzkeig Bop” by the Ramones, “Ace of Spades” by Motorhead, and “Fight Like a Brave” by Red Hot Chili Peppers. All three of these bands are still some of my favorites today. At this point I noticed that the developers of the games were loading the games with more and more songs to boost the genre variety. I think this was a good idea to help get more people playing the game.
“Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4” was also a game changer for my music taste. It first introduced me to AC/DC, Flogging Molly, The Offspring, The Sex Pistols, System of a Down and others. You could even play as “Eddie,” the mascot of my favorite band, Iron Maiden, as a secret character.
What I was realizing was that there were all these really great bands out there that I would have just never been exposed to had I not played these games. It just goes to show what how music can add something special to a game and make it memorable. It definitely fueled the entire experience in my opinion.
In other news, there has been talk on the Internet of a new “Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5” being released later this year. Since the last “Pro Skater” title, there have been other title spin-offs used by Tony Hawk like “Tony Hawk’s Underground,” or “Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland,” but this new title is said to get going back to the roots of the game series. One could only hope that the soundtrack will be as awesome as the former titles and possibly inspire a new generation of gamers to discover new and old bands like it did for mine.
Video games are one of the fastest growing industries around, and someday may overtake movies as the top-grossing source of video entertainment. Although video games have reached such great heights in resent years with ever-enhancing graphics and new interactive innovations, one aspect of games that gets constantly overlooked is the music.
Just like films or TV shows, much of the emotional effect comes from the music, not only the images on the screen. Just take the sound away from any movie; whether it is the dissonant droning of a horror flick, or the fast-paced, action beat of a car chase scene. Without music to set the mood of the story and action, the illusion that the video is trying to achieve becomes instantly less convincing.
So what makes videogame music so special? Well, just like classic TV shows and movies, part of what makes them famous are the catchy jingles that went along with them. Even the simplest of tones and themes have made the hugest impact in how games are marketed and enjoyed.
Let’s take a trip back to the early 1970’s, before there was such think as video game music. In 1972, “Pong” was released as the first arcade game to actually have a sound effect. Although the game visually represented virtual Ping-Pong, the one sound that the game generated was a “Pong”- like beep. Not all that musical, but captivating at the time nonetheless. “Pong” became a sensation regardless of its simplicity. It was an effective, visually interactive experience and its appeal was only heightened by the fact that it made a little noise whenever the ball was hit.
People were so mesmerized by this new interactive audiovisual medium that developers started implementing catchy melodies to make up for the low-definition visual imagery in games. Not that people complained about bad graphics back in the day like they do now, but if video games were going to compete with movies and TV shows, they needed to be overly stimulating.
No wonder there are so many wacky sounds in games like “Pac-Man.” A distinct audio track or a catchy theme always makes a game stand out a little more. It makes a game seem three-dimensional. Even if you have something like “wokka-wokka-wokka” playing over and over again, it’s pretty easy to get drawn into. “Pac-Man” may have had a memorable soundtrack, but that was only the beginning of video game sound design.
Just like technology, video game music only got better over the years. Fast forward to 1985 when Super Mario Bros. was unleashed upon the world. Along with its incredible gameplay, the game is recognized for its memorable theme music and sound effects. Mario may not have been the same without that theme, or possibly as much of a success.
One of the first things my friends and I would try to learn on the guitar would be this song. People have obsessed so much over this game’s theme and sound effects that there are countless covers on YouTube and all over the Internet. There’s even a Mario theme-inspired computer program called “Mario Paint Composer” that allows you to actually make your own songs using the same tones and sounds from the Mario games. With the sheet music layout and goofy sound icons, it’s a fun app to experiment with.
As low-def as the electronic beats and tones were in games back in the day, they were still catchy enough to get people listening and playing. Just like the demand for video games rose over the years, so did the demand for higher quality music.
Until this last year, somehow I was able to go my whole youth without ever joining Twitter, but now I can’t seem to avoid it when trying to get my fandom fix while online. I don’t usually use social media sites as it is, with maybe the exception of Facebook that I mainly use when trying to contact old friends and promote my band, but somehow Twitter crept its way into my life, starting with a most unfortunate event that was the biggest Christmas buzz kill I have ever experienced.
On December 25th, 2014, I woke up to find out that my family had all pitched in to get me a Sony PlayStation 4. As soon as I turned it on to sign into the PlayStation Network (PSN), something was terribly wrong. All services were completely shut down, so I went online to see what was up.
The first news I found was on Twitter.com.
And then I saw this….
It turns out that a team of hackers known as “Lizard Squad” made a DDoS (distributed denial-of-service) attack on both the XBox Live and PlayStation Network by creating hundreds of machine run accounts that overloaded the servers with enough useless data to slow down online activity until ultimately nobody was able to login. They even announced their responsibility for the hack attack on their Twitter page, which is where I followed the news for several days while Sony and Microsoft got everything up and running again. It was a most unfortunate Christmas indeed considering the only game that came with my PS4 was “Destiny,” which is an online only game. Thanks “Lizard Squad” for trolling everybody’s Christmas….
After the whole “Lizard Squad” fiasco, I realized that Twitter was actually pretty informative with current news concerning the video game world. The main reason I really wanted to get a PS4 in the first place was because of a game that released this March called “Bloodborne.” Ever since Japanese game company known as “From Software” released their 2011 masterpiece “Dark Souls,” which some would consider to be one of the most difficult yet fulfilling gaming experiences of all time, I was eager to see what would be in store for their next generation PS4 exclusive, spiritual successor “Bloodborne.” I went on Twitter every day the whole month of March, eager to get any glimpse I could at one of the most anticipated games of 2015.
When the game came out March 24th, It was everything and more than what I expected it to be. With its blend of gothic, Victorian era and Lovecraftian, cosmic horror artistic look, this game is more than just an action role-playing adventure. It is a nightmare. But In the greatest sort of way. It has been more than a month since the game came out, but I am in no rush to beat it completely. Every time I pick it up again, I discover some new mystery that makes the game that much more more cryptic, and that much more epic. I just can’t wait until the next “From Software” game comes out.
Also while surfing Twitter, I stumbled upon the new “Sony Project Morpheus.” Ever since the birth of video games, people have dreamed of virtual reality headgear. With Sony’s “Morpheus” headset releasing for the PlayStation 4, we may be taking the first step into real virtual reality. It should be pretty awesome, I just hope nobody hurts themselves using it when it comes out next year…
In more recent video game news on Twitter, the latest installment in the legendary fighting series “Mortal Kombat” hit next-gen consoles April 14th with “Mortal Kombat X.” Since the day it came out I’ve been following Ed Boon, original co-creator of the series, on Twitter daily as he reveals upcoming game secrets and interacts with fans.
This guy…
With “Mortal Kombat X’s” improved graphics, high-intensity online action and over-the-top gory fatalities, fans of the series bring this game to life like never before. Looks like Ed Boon’s been having a whole lot of fun showcasing what is now being declared by some as best the “Mortal Kombat” ever.
I LOL’d when I saw this one…
Here’s Ed Boon playing with Conan O’Brien
Keeping up with the Kombat!
And in more special “Mortal Kombat” news, “Friday the 13th’s” horror monster legend, Jason Vorhees arrived to MKX last week!!!!
Just in time for mothers day =)
So there you have it. While news from Twitter may have sparked my interest back in December with the “Lizard Squad” attacks, since then, I have been increasingly unable to avoid Twitter. With its constant, informative gaming stories and wacky fan art contributions, I feel the geek in me getting its fix on a daily basis. Thanks Tweeters for making me laugh and want to stick around.
As upcoming musicians begin their trek to success in the 21st century, some may be skeptical as to whether or not they will be able to make a profit off of their creative work. The average misconception people have about the music industry has been that, due to illegal downloading and digital transactions, artists have been gaining less profit off their music. As of late this notion has proven to be false. Although physical CD sales have diminished since the 90’s, it does not mean that artists are not receiving revenue elsewhere. With innovative music distribution techniques, streaming and social media sites, artists now have the ability to promote their work through more avenues than ever before. By using new and creative revenue models, artists can become successful without having to get signed by a big name label.
(From HitMusicAcademy.com)
By utilizing social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, artists can not only capture other online users attention but also endorse their music through video streams and links. For example, by creating a musician/band group page and engaging with friends by getting more “likes” and frequently posting comments, Facebook’s trending algorithm “EdgeRank” will make your posts appear more commonly on other users news feeds as they begin to trend (Kim, 2012). Bryan Kim from Lifehacker.com emphasizes this by saying “So how does EdgeRank determine if your Facebook post is news feed worthy? One word: ENGAGEMENT. You need your fans to like, comment and share your Facebook posts. Anytime one of your fans engages with one of your posts, they’re more likely to see your following posts. Conversely, if a lot of your fans engage with your status update in the first few moments it’s posted, fans who sign into Facebook later are more likely to see it on their news feed.” By talking to other local bands and venue organizers through these sites, artists can take their music one step further by performing in the real world to gain popularity and money and start building a band fund.
The band I currently play in, “Mimi Kama Chama” or “MKC” for short, uses Facebook all the time to book gigs. Here is a flyer from one of our recent shows.
(From Facebook.com)
Some websites, such as ReverbNation and SonicBids, have features that actually locate venues in your area that book shows similar to your band’s genre, but for a price. For example ReverbNations “Gig Finder” app allows artists to register their band into its system and submit applications including music tracks and videos to promoters at venues who then look over all submissions and choose the best bands to perform at particular gigs (WillInDenver, 2011). Also, these sites will immediately connect with any social media you choose, making mailing list management quite easy. Although WillInDenver from Talkbass.com writes “If you are a performing artist, I recommend against using the gig finder services from ReverbNation and SonicBids until they adjust their fee models to become more equitable and transparent.” It turns out the more you submit applications to find gigs, the more you have to pay, and you are never guaranteed a gig. But if you are willing to pay and have music that you think is marketable, it may be worth a shot. Even if your band does not get booked immediately, it still locates venues that you can just call up and ask for a gig without submitting an application to a promoter.
(From ReverbNation.com)
A more obvious way artists can get noticed in order to make money would be to put their work on YouTube. Even without a high quality audio recording, videos of live band performances can still be a great way to get heard. Social media sites allow video links like YouTube to be included in posts and comments, which makes the self-promotional process even easier. However, to actually get money from YouTube one would have to gain some sort of following before signing a partnership deal with YouTube or getting a sponsor, but it is possible to make money off views (Johnston, 2013). By signing up for YouTube partnership video contributors can split the revenue received from ads that play before and during videos, in addition to banner ads on the sidebars. YouTube is also a great way to advertise music and merchandise that viewers can purchase through artist’s social media and promotional websites pages. Although this is the most common way people make money off of YouTube, one would still have to rack up hundreds of thousands of views to receive a substantial amount from just these ads.
Yet it is possible to gain exposure and become successful through social video media like YouTube and get connected to big labels with big money, if that is your goal. Many music artists such as Justin Beiber, Carly Rae Jepsen and Soulja Boy all gained success through their YouTube and social media channels (Johnston, 2014).
Justin Bieber was only 12 years old when Island Def Jam Recordings picked him up for his YouTube videos showcasing his musical talent. Now a multimillion dollar superstar, Justin has received both praise and hate for his pop-music. Just recently Comedy Central did a celebrity roast to honor and ridicule the young musician.
(From ComedyCentral.com)
Carly Rae Jepsen, who was already well-known in home country of Canada after placing third in “Canadian Idol,” didn’t make her way over to the U.S. until Justin Bieber himself posted on Twitter that Jepsen’s song “Call Me Maybe” was one of the most catchy songs he had ever heard. Shortly after this post, Bieber’s manager Scooter Braun got on YouTube to see what the hype was about and decided to give her a sweet deal and signed her to Schoolboy Records (Johnston, 2014).”Call Me Maybe” was one of the most popular songs of 2012.
(From Twitter.com)
Soulja Boy, a hip-hop artist from Chicago, became famous from his self released song “Crank That” by using Myspace and Youtube as his main video channels. Once Soulja Boy started gaining popularity he got discovered by Mr. Collipark at Interpol Records and made about $7 million dollars in 2010, placing him at to top of the hip-hop game at the time (Johnston, 2014).
(From YouTube.com)
While being signed to a big label may seem ideal, there are more innovative ways for artists to expose themselves and make lots of money off their music independently.
If you are looking for a way to distribute or sell your music online, some very important sites to consider using are SoundCloud and BandCamp, which both connect via social media. SoundCloud allows artists to post several hours of their music that has potential of being heard by web surfers or other independent music artists. As you use the site you can follow other groups to get more connected and even leave comments, which acts like social media. With SoundCloud’s analytic tracking graphs, it is easy to monitor who is listening to your music, how often your tracks are played, and even which country your music is most popular in. SoundCloud tracks initially start out as free, but members can also add a “buy link” to sell tracks or concert tickets to fans if they so choose (Lu, 2013).
(From SoundCloud.com)
BandCamp is a similar site but is more focused on actually selling products to fans like digital song tracks, merchandise and even physical records like CDs and vinyl. On this site artists can put any price they wish and can even set up subscriptions for users to receive extra promotional merchandise and music tracks. Although BandCamp takes 15% revenue from sales, that number drops to 10% once an artist sells $5000 worth of stuff from their catalogue. One of the first bands to use BandCamp’s subscription feature called “Candy Says” from Britain, set their subscription to 20 pounds a year per subscriber and they claimed that they personally knew another prolific artist who was signed to a label that was only giving them 200 dollars a year overall, a lot less than they were making (Dredge, 2014). If artists are looking to take control of how much their music is worth and want to present themselves professionally, BandCamp may be a great site to get familiar with.
(From BandCamp.com)
Another interesting development in the music world has been the resurgence of vinyl LP records. While CD sales have dwindled in the 21st century, vinyl sales have actually risen 30% since the 90’s as of 2013 (Resnikoff, 2014). Now that audio files are more commonly being distributed digitally, many people are now encouraged to buy vinyl as opposed to CD’s for good reason. Because music tracks have become so easily distributable due to rip drives, music sharing and illegal downloading from the internet, people now have the ability to acquire any band’s music for free. The band “Dom,” who released their first record as an LP with a free digital download code only, told Forbes.com over the telephone, “The reason we sell vinyl is that there will always be a market for it…the people in the crowd probably already downloaded the music anyway, and they’ll buy the record because of the big artwork and because it’s something you can hold on to” (Greenburg, 2011). While the argument that vinyl audio has better sound quality than digital tracks and CD’s has been a debate for some time, there is no denying that vinyl has a retro aesthetic that not only makes it fun to hold and listen to, but also acts as a mini poster/souvenir and great physical representation of a band and their sound.
New online services such as Amazon’s “AutoRip” allow buyers to get free digital downloads with every purchase for artists vinyls and CD’s. Martin Talbot, chief executive of U.K.’s The Official Charts Company claimed that “As music fans embrace digital, there has been a shift towards vinyl albums with a digital download code included – while the higher quality of modern vinyl is also appealing to music collectors generally…Amazon’s AutoRip will further drive vinyl sales” (Metro Reporter for Metro.co.uk, 2013).
So if you are a music artist who wants to do something outside of the box and give new fans something to take home with them to remember you by, vinyl records with free digital download codes may be a good option when selling your music online or at gigs to make your band seem that much more interesting.
(From DigitalMusicNews.com)
Of all the ways that artists become popular and make money, they first had to put at least some effort into promoting themselves. The best thing for upcoming musicians and artists to do would be to utilize as many of the social media, video streaming, and music distributing websites as they can in order gain as much exposure as possible. Getting out and playing gigs will also create personal connections with audiences and other musicians and hopefully get you noticed by somebody. There is no guarantee that any given artist will become the next big thing, but the more one does to get their name out, the more likely other people will listen to, watch and share what that artist has done with others. Like Cory Doctorow stated in Information Doesn’t Want To Be Free: Laws For The Internet Age, “Recognition is one of many necessary preconditions for artistic success: luck, talent, and an indefatigable drive to succeed that lasts through the years and years it takes to get noticed, build a following, or get onto the radar of an important promoter, gatekeeper, or investor are a few of the others…..being famous won’t—in itself— make you rich. But if nobody knows about your work, nobody’s going to buy it…if you’re in the arts, you’ll never get money without some kind of fame. People can’t give you money for your art unless they know it and you exist.”(Doctorow, 2014)
So there you have it. In order make money and become a successful artist, you just have to to get your name out there.
Sources:
Doctorow, C. (2014) Information Doesn’t Want To Be Free: Laws For The Internet Age. San Francisco, CA. McSweeney’s SanFrancisco.
Recently the electronic entertainment media company known as Sony Corporation has been under attack by hackers who have leaked company information and even temporarily sabotaged its online entertainment services. While some of the information leaked from Sony sheds some light on controversial matters within the corporation, customers, employees and associates of Sony may have been under threat of stolen private information or plagued by the inconvenience of not being able to use Sony products.
(From Deadline)
This last Christmas, 2014, I was more than ecstatic to discover that my family had all pitched in to get me the new Sony PlayStation 4. As soon I got it running, something was quite wrong when setting up my account connecting to PSN (PlayStation Network). All services were completely down. What was more unfortunate was that the only game that came with my PS4, “Destiny” along with many other PS4 games, are only playable online through PSN servers. Considering game stores are closed on Christmas, this meant that there were no games to be played by me and thousands of others who had just set up their systems that day.
This is what showed up on my brand new Sony PS4
(From Kotaku)
It turns out that not only Sony PlayStation PSN but also the Microsoft X Box Live networks were both being hacked by a group known as “Lizard Squad,” who claimed to take credit for the events via Twitter.com. Apparently the method they used was called a DDoS (distributed denial of service) hack, which consisted of a large set machine run accounts that bombard servers with enough useless data to completely halt network services.
This hacking method was also used by “Lizard Squad” to attack PlayStation and Blizzard games back in August 2014. During this time “Lizard Squad” even made several bomb threats, which got the attention of the FBI. A team known as “Finest Squad” was able to find and take down some of the “Lizard Squad” members back in August as explained in Imad Khan’s “Hackers Ruin Christmas by Taking Down Sony and Microsoft’s Servers.” The case was not the same for the Christmas attacks unfortunately.
(From Twitter)
But this was not the start of the hacks on Sony Corporation; this was just one instance in a long strain of network attacks that have affected both the company and those affiliated.
Another strange hacking occurrence may have something to do with the Sony Pictures Entertainment film staring Seth Rogen and James Franco,”The Interview.” Shortly after the film was announced in June 2014, North Korea responded angrily to the film considering it was about assassinating Kim Jong Un. According to CNN.com many threats were made by North Korea if the film would actually be released and they even went as far as making racist comments toward President Obama. As the film was considered freedom of speech, the film went on with production.
(From IMDB)
Come late November, early December 2014, an anonymous hacking group called “Guardians of Peace” gained control of the internal computer system at Sony, and left a threatening message of their intentions to leak corporate information. A summary of the attack was broken down in Aly Weisman’s Business Insider article “A Timeline Of The Crazy Events In The Sony Hacking Scandal.”
(From Business Insider)
What came out of this hack were tons of private company information records and also several leaked Sony Picture films including “Fury” starring Brad Pitt. During the infiltration some documents revealed salaries of both Sony executives and actors hired by Sony Pictures showing that women were being paid less than men at Sony according to Seth Rosenblatt in his CNET.com article,”13 Revelations from the Sony Hacks.” Although this information may have uncovered statistics and corporate secrets for public consideration, the information released even went as far as revealing medical records and social securities of employees, their family members and other associates of Sony, which put many individuals at risk. Once the FBI started investigation into the so-called “Guardians of Peace” attack on Sony, they believed that North Korea may have had something to do with it. Although North Korea denied any involvement with the “GOP.”
In more recent news, on May 1st, Variety.com released an article by Dave McNary explaining how in the last few weeks, WikiLeaks had taken thousands of private Sony Picture documents and emails and released them to the pubic as announced on the WikiLeaks Twitter page. The main concern that Sony has at the moment is maintaining security and privacy for its employees, as some of the leaked documents are revealing private information that associates with Sony may believe could affect their careers. For example, several leaked emails suggested that actor Ben Affleck tried to cover up his ties to his slave-owning ancestors while being interviewed for the PBS series “Finding Your Roots.”
(From Twitter)
In reaction to Ben Affleck’s attempt to cover up his lineage, host of the Nightly Show, Larry Wilmore, did a bit on the controversy bringing the event even closer into the public eye. With news of Ben Affleck starring as the next Batman, it is no surprise that the media would be all over him at this time. Yet this topic may have never come to fruition had WikiLeaks not revealed the private Sony documents concerning Ben Affleck.
(From Comedy Central)
From the hacks that have been occurring at Sony in the last year, it is easy to see how it is affecting not only Sony’s CEOs and employees, but also anybody who is affiliated with Sony including actors and even customers of its entertainment services. Although hackers release private data and slow down network capabilities to make a point, all they seem to be doing is raising concerns and controversy. At this point Sony has no choice but to double or even triple their network security if they wish to maintain private and smooth operations for the coming years. Whether or not North Korea is somewhat responsible for any or all of the recent hack attacks of Sony is still up for debate, but it does make a cool story. Perhaps Sony will make the changes; otherwise the company may remain fair game to hackers looking for a niche to practice their web-cracking skills.
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