- Fall Out Boy blazes a new trail for the music business Fall Out Boy recently launched a new contest for fans, giving them a chance to win tickets to the band’s upcoming North American tour. To be entered into the drawing, they must successfully navigate their way on the long, hard, zombie-infested road known as the Fall Out Boy Trail.
Based on popular computer game, The Oregon Trail, this updated version has kept many of its predecessor’s original features (graphics, text, and fording that damn river) while switching up some aspects to suit a fresh audience. Players are still required to ration food and supplies (McNuggets and laser beams) while facing some interesting new challenges--homesickness, sexually transmitted diseases, and that pesky Perez Hilton.
While Fall Out Boy Trail was created as a site for FOB fans, it’s also a clever marketing strategy. As they are playing the game, users can stream songs from Fall Out Boy’s latest album Folie a Deux and can even purchase music directly the iTunes Store. Players can also find a list of tour dates as well as information about other bands featured on the Friends or Enemies website, where the game is hosted.
Fall Out Boy is just one of many bands seeking creative solutions to stay afloat in an ever-changing music industry. No Doubt recently announced they will offer a free digital download of their complete album collection to those who purchase a full-price ticket to their new reunion tour. Depeche Mode has even teamed up with Apple, yielding the company’s first ever iTunes Pass for a single musical artist. With the iTunes Pass, fans pay a one-time fee of $19 in exchange for music videos, remixes, and more exclusive content that will be released over the next few weeks. A digital copy of Depeche Mode’s new album, Sounds of the Universe, will automatically be sent to customers when it drops on April 21st.
Though there’s no telling if any of these strategies will actually work, for Fall Out Boy the odds are stacked in their favor. Fall Out Boy Trail is already the buzz on entertainment blogs and music websites, appealing to a diverse group of users. Fans of the band are the obvious audience but the game is also a draw for old-school Oregon Trail aficionados (geeks) and one possibly overlooked demographic: the haters. Now multitudes of people who despise Pete Wentz have the perfect opportunity to inflict bodily harm without the risk of jail time, all while bopping their heads along to some Fall Out Boy tunes.
http://www.examiner.com/x-1658-NY-Rock-Music-Examiner~y2009m3d4-Fall-Out-Boy-blaze-a-new-trail-for-the-music-businessLabels: fall out boy, news
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