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Gaming, In My Opinion 
Monday 4th June, 2007, 12:30 GMT
Microsoft is due to introduce Ignition today, a new initiative designed to promote new music artists across its digital services, including MSN, Zune and Xbox Live. British band Maximo Park will be the first to go through the program, in which Microsoft will expose artists and their music to the company's user base for a month with content exclusive to its own systems. For Maximo Park, the company is providing a free music video available for download on Xbox Live, streaming the video on MSN and offering the group's first single as a free exclusive download through the Zune Marketplace. Microsoft will be creating a custom website focusing on the band and their activities on the zune.net site, as well as hosting online listening parties of their current album on MSN Music. The company will also work with the band to produce new custom content, such as 'behind the album' commentary and artist-created playlists. The Ignition program is the latest in a series of Microsoft's artist promotional efforts. Xbox Live features an Artist Of The Month service that offers free music video downloads, interviews and monthly Game With Fame sessions, allowing gamers to compete online against their favourite artists. While Ignition will not replaces current initiatives such as this, it will be promoted as the flagship offering. Microsoft is insisting on exclusive content and hands-on contribution from the music acts involved. The company's director of music marketing, Christina Calio said: "We don't want the same thing that is going out on MTV." Ignition will be the broadest program of its type to be made available so far, as the total users for MSN, Xbox and Zune currently totals 30 million regular consumers. Published at In Stock Magazine |