The makers of 'Rock Band' - MTV Games, Electronic Arts and Harmonix - have launched the Rock Band Network Store, which will sell pretend-to-play tracks by artists who have uploaded their content to the Rock Band Network.

Launched last year, the Network was set up to enable any band to make their music available to - and therefore earn a royalty from - players of the 'Rock Band' game. Not that, even with the Network in place, that's an especially simple thing to do. Songs must be split into a number of specially formatted audio files, while lyrics, tablatures and instructions for camera angles, lighting and choreography need to be provided.

The Network aims to link unsigned bands with grass roots developers who might be able to help with that process. I don't know how well that bit of the proposition is going. Unless you can find a bedroom geek willing to do it for fun, then getting your music Rock-Band-ified can be expensive. Going rates seem to go up to £300 per minute of music. Bands can then charge between 99 cents and $2.99 for their pretend-to-play tracks, of which you they get a 30% cut. So it would take some time to recoup the investment on a three minute song.

Which is perhaps why this programme has been embraced more by established bands and labels than the unsigned acts the Rock Band team initially expected to get involved. An MTV gaming spokesman told the Wall Street Journal: "We expected this to be an initiative that would appeal to unsigned artists. What was surprising to us was how many artists with hit records have offered themselves up".

Rock Banders hoping that the Network might result in them getting less mainstream music to play along to may be pleased to hear that US indie Sub Pop is using the platform and new Rock Band store to make a greatest hits package available to the game's users, which will feature songs from the likes of The Shins and Mudhoney.

But even they admit the Rock Band Network isn't especially attractive to totally new alternative talent, partly because of the set up costs, and partly because no one expects Rock Band players to be using the new Network Store to take a punt on totally unheard of acts. Sub Pop Head Of A&R Tony Kiewel: "At three dollars apiece nobody's looking to 'Rock Band' as a discovery tool. That's not going to happen".

The chairman of the Entertainment Retailers Association has called on the film, gaming and music industries to be just a little bit more innovative in 2010, urging them to rely less on sequels, heritage acts, back catalogue and Simon Cowell.

Paul Quirk noted that 2009 had been a better year for entertainment retail than most predicted, given the demise of both Woolies and Zavvi at the end of 2008, but he points out that most of the big sellers in terms of DVDs and video games were sequels, while music relied on established acts and the Cowell-led telly talent show machine. This, he fears, is not sustainable long term.

Bigging up his own team, Music Week quote Quirk thus: "Despite the collapse of Woolworths and Zavvi a year ago, 2009 was far better than many expected. More than anything that has been down to a renewed investment by retailers in making product available to the consumer. We've seen new entrants to the music market like Game and Waterstones and Peacocks. We've seen HMV investing in pop-up shops, some of which have now become permanent openings".

But turning his attention to the other parts of the home entertainment industry, he continued: "Retail investment on its own is not sufficient. We need suppliers to be more innovative and deliver new product which really excites the consumer. Retailers are certainly not complaining about the success of Simon Cowell or Harry Potter or 'Call of Duty 2'. Customers love these products and we are here to sell customers what they want. But the sheer dominance of a small number of franchises, the narrowing of the range of creativity and the focus on blockbusters raises real long-term issues. The great strength of the UK entertainment business has always been constant innovation, and we need to recognise that it is that innovation which keeps the public interested".

Though just to be clear, all of this is really the fault of those pesky file-sharers. Stressing his allegiances with the record companies, movie studios and games publishers, he concluded: "It is hard to blame suppliers for not being adventurous when illegal file-sharing makes it ever more difficult for them to recoup their investment in new projects. That is why entertainment retailers are working closely with the film, game and music industries to persuade government that tough action on illegal file-sharing is required now".

Green Day have been announced as the next band to get their own 'Rock Band' video game, following on from The Beatles, which must mean we're edging ever closer to a Status Quo version of the game. Don't get me wrong, I like Green Day and all, but they're not exactly known for the variation in their songs.
 
Anyway, Billie Joe Armstrong reckons it'll be good. He said this: "We've worked with the 'Rock Band' team in the past year to enable our fans to play tracks from '21st Century Breakdown', and we're excited to now be working on a game spanning our entire career. We want people to fire this up, choose their favourite Green Day tracks and play along with us as 'Rock Band' avatars so they can feel what it's like to perform on stage as Green Day".

Games company Activision has launched a countersuit against No Doubt who hit out against the firm's 'Band Hero' game, in which they appear, when they realised their virtual selves could be made to sing songs by other artists. No Doubt have sued the gaming company, claiming that they were not aware that artists who feature in 'Hero' games could be unlocked and made to sing others' music. Their litigation accuses Activision of misuse of the band's likeness.

Activision deny that they misled any artists regarding the fact their likenesses could be made to sing songs other than their own, and claim No Doubt only expressed any problem with that element of the game after it had been released. They are suing because the band has reneged on its commitment to promote the game since becoming aware of the unlock function.

As expected, the Queen's Speech yesterday included an outline of the Digital Economy Bill, the proposed legislation perhaps most notable for its three-strikes provisions.

The Bill is the conclusion of the government's much reported 'Digital Britain' review, though in reality half of that report's recommendations have been tweaked, altered and in some cases totally ignored in the creation of the Bill. Three-strikes being, perhaps, the biggest change.

Stephen Carter's 'Digital Britain' paper rejected the suspension of persistent file-sharers' net access as a tactic for tackling online piracy, advocating more direct litigation against individual file-sharers, and only talking about net suspensions as something to think about way off in the future.

Needless to say, those in the music industry who support three-strikes were glad to see the proposals - which weren't being seriously considered by the British government until August (in fact IP Minister David Lammy had previously dissed the proposals) - make it into the Queen's big speech, ensuring they will be on the government's agenda in the next year. If all goes to plan, persistent file-sharers could have their net connections suspended as soon as Spring 2011.

Geoff Taylor, the boss of record label trade body the BPI, who have probably been lobbying government on this issue longer than anyone, told reporters: "It is good news for fans of British music that government is now introducing legislation to tackle illegal downloading. The creative sector in the UK needs new measures implemented urgently that address this problem for now and the future if the UK is to lead Europe in giving consumers innovative and high quality digital entertainment".

Though, of course, opposition to three-strikes remains in a number of circles, including some within the music business. Being most vocal about the issue yesterday were lobby organisation The Open Rights Group who called on voters to contact their MPs about the three-strikes proposals. They said: "This plan won't stop copyright infringement and with a simple accusation could see you and your family disconnected from the internet - unable to engage in everyday activities like shopping and socialising".

Other key features of the Digital Economy Bill include a shake up of the radio spectrum, new powers and responsibilities for media regulator OfCom, and a film-style classification system for video games. One of the most controversial parts of 'Digital Britain' itself, the proposal that a broadband tax be introduced - a levy on all net subscriptions to fund future high speed internet development - is not in this Bill, because it will appear in the Finance Bill, which will be published after the next Budget.

So there you go. It is worth noting, of course, that few expect the Digital Economy Bill to get through parliament before the next General Election is called in the Spring. If the Tories were to win, then it would most likely be back to the drawing board regarding new internet laws.