Rock Band

Grammy winning Green Day to bring their music exclusively to Rock Band.

News by GamesIndustry International Contributor

Published on June 12, 2009

New York, NY – June 11, 2009 - MTV Games’ Harmonix Music Systems, a part of Viacom’s MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), the leading developer of music-based games, announced an extraordinary partnership with Warner Bros. Records and Green Day today to bring the music of multi-platinum, Grammy® Award winning Green Day, exclusively to Rock Band ®. Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, and Tré Cool are the latest artists to bring songs from their impressive catalogue of hits to MTV’s genre defining, multi-million selling Rock Band® music video game platform that allows music fans and gamers to interact with and discover music like never before by choosing guitar, drums, vocals, or bass to start a band and rock the world.

The first selection of Green Day songs to arrive on Rock Band as downloadable content will be a three-pack of songs from their latest release, 21st Century Breakdown on July 7th including: 21 Guns, Know Your Enemy, East Jesus Nowhere. Additional Green Day songs and projects will be announced at a later date.

“Green Day not only rock hard, but are also epic storytellers,” said Van Toffler, President, MTV Networks, Music, LOGO and Film. “Their message and their music have been the voice and sound of this generation. The addition of Green Day is a huge victory for MTV and our audience, and marks another landmark in our efforts to bring the best artists to Rock Band.”

"We are excited to be working with MTV and Harmonix,” said Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong. “They are leaders and visionaries in the world of music and video games, and Rock Band is a really cool way for fans of all ages to experience our music.”

"Green Day's epic music and incredible live performances put them in a class by themselves. Bringing Green Day and Rock Band together unites two extremely powerful forces to create a great music game experience for their fans," said Tom Whalley, Chairman/CEO, Warner Bros. Records. "This unique deal with MTV creates a true partnership with Green Day, Reprise and Harmonix as we embark upon the next great era of Green Day."

“It’s awesome that one of greatest bands on earth is coming to the Rock Band platform,” said Paul DeGooyer, SVP, Electronic Games and Music, MTV. “Green Day is a longtime favorite of the Harmonix team, and we’re very excited to provide a new way for their fans to connect with them, while at the same time helping put this incredible music in front of a whole new audience.”

Selling nearly 50 million records worldwide, Green Day has won critical acclaim and numerous accolades including three Grammy® Awards for Best Alternative Album for Dookie, Best Rock Album for American Idiot, and Record of the Year for their smash hit "Boulevard of Broken Dreams". Green Day recently released their eighth studio album, 21st Century Breakdown, on Warner Music Group’s Reprise Records. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 chart, as well as on the Rock, Active Rock, and Alternative charts, fueled by the Alternative radio No. 1 single “Know Your Enemy.” 21st Century Breakdown, which Rolling Stone has called “a rock opera in which the rock always comes first,” is also a hit around the world topping the charts in 24 countries including the UK, Canada, and Japan.

Green Day - vocalist/guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist Mike Dirnt, and drummer Tré Cool - were three kids from working-class backgrounds who came of age in the underground punk scene in Berkeley, California. Even though they had released two records prior (1039 / Smooth Out Slappy Hours and Kerplunk), they announced their arrival with 1994's Dookie, a blast of punk-pop that spoke to bored teenagers everywhere. The album eventually sold 15 million copies worldwide, earned the band their first Grammy Award and inspired a raft of imitators. Over the years, Green Day continued to top the charts with their subsequent studio albums Insomniac, Nimrod, and Warning while entertaining millions of fans with their frenetic live shows. But it was their landmark 2004 album American Idiot that launched Green Day into the stratosphere. An artistic leap forward, American Idiot is a punk rock opera and sarcastic middle-finger salute to the Administration that captured the cultural and political landscape at that time. "Jesus of Suburbia" set the tone by telling a tale of choosing between self-destruction and redemption that resonated with listeners of all ages, nationalities, and political persuasions. American Idiot debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard chart and went on to sell more than five million copies in the U.S. and 12 million worldwide. It spawned five hit singles, earned seven Grammy nominations (winning two including Rock Album of the Year) and raised the bar for modern rock and roll.

Originally launched on November 20, 2007, Rock Band is the ground-breaking, billion dollar selling franchise[1] and music video game leader in paid song sales (over 45 million paid individual songs) and downloadable content with more than 700 tracks available to date via disc and download purchase (complete list of tracks at www.rockband.com/music). Rock Band and Rock Band 2 are available for Xbox 360, PLAYSTATION 3 system, PlayStation 2 system and Wii.

For more information on Green Day, please visit www.greenday.com and www.warnerbrosrecords.com.

For more information on Rock Band and Rock Band 2, please visit www.rockband.com.

About MTV Networks

MTV Networks, a division of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B) is one of the world’s leading creators of entertainment content, with brands that engage and connect diverse audiences across television, online, mobile, games, virtual worlds and consumer products. The company’s portfolio spans more than 150 television channels and 350 digital media properties worldwide, and includes MTV, VH1, CMT, LOGO, Harmonix, Nickelodeon, Nick at Nite, Noggin, The N, Addicting Games, Neopets, COMEDY CENTRAL, Spike TV, TV Land, Aton, GameTrailers and Xfire.

About MTV Games

MTV Games is dedicated to creating, marketing and publishing high-quality, innovative interactive products that are relevant to the MTV audience and complement the core values of the MTV Networks brands.

About Harmonix Music Systems, Inc.

Harmonix Music Systems, Inc., based in Cambridge, MA, and established in 1995, is the leading developer of ground-breaking music-oriented videogames. Harmonix was founded by Alex Rigopulos and Eran Egozy, who formed the company to invent new ways for non-musicians to experience the unique joy that comes from making music and have pioneered music and rhythm gaming in the US. For more information please visit: www.harmonixmusic.com.

About Warner Bros. Records

Warner Bros. Records is one of the most successful recording companies in music history and home to some of the most influential and innovative artists of our time. Its reputation and extraordinary roster of new and established recording artists is unparalleled, and its collective influence on pop culture is without precedent. Warner Bros. Records was founded 50 years ago by Jack Warner, the last of the original pioneering Warner brothers, as an offshoot of Warner Bros. Studios, which, thirty-two years earlier, had introduced its Vitaphone sound-on-disc system for feature films. The acquisition of Frank Sinatra's Reprise label in 1963 catapulted the company into one of the most dynamic organizations in popular music and throughout the next five decades built a family of labels that today represent a full spectrum of musical genres. With a visionary approach toward discovering and nurturing musical talent, the Warner Bros. family of labels is currently home to an impressive generation of major artists including Ashley Tisdale, Avenged Sevenfold, Blake Shelton, Cher, Damien Rice, Disturbed, Eric Clapton, Faith Hill, Fleetwood Mac, Goo Goo Dolls, Green Day, Josh Groban, K.D. Lang, Linkin Park, Mastodon, Michael Buble, Michelle Branch, Missy Higgins, My Chemical Romance, Neil Young, R.E.M., Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rilo Kiley, Robert Randolph, Seal, Taking Back Sunday, The Flaming Lips, The Raconteurs, The Used, The White Stripes, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Wilco and many more.

© 2009 Harmonix Music Systems, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Harmonix, Rock Band, Rock Band 2 and all related titles and logos are trademarks of Harmonix Music Systems, Inc., an MTV Networks company. Rock Band, Rock Band 2, and The Beatles: Rock Band are developed by Harmonix Music Systems, inc. MTV: Music Television, MTV Games and all related titles and logos are trademarks of MTV Networks, a division of Viacom International Inc. Microsoft, Xbox and Xbox 360 are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. “PlayStation” and the “PS” Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. Wii and the Wii logo are trademarks of Nintendo. All other marks are the property of their respective owners.

Contacts:

For MTV Games:

Jeff Castaneda

212.846.6774

Jeff.Castaneda@mtvstaff.com

Mariana Agathoklis

212.846.5755

Mariana.Agathoklis@mtvstaff.com

For Harmonix:

Tracie Snitker

Reverb Communications

Tracie@reverbinc.com