This week marks a very interesting one in not only the world of music, but also the world of video games as well. Rock Band, a new interactive music video game, was released that is sure to have gamers and music fans alike rocking out.

Rock Band was created by Harmonix, the same company that developed the original Guitar Hero series. If you are unfamiliar with the game, then you’ve been living in a cave for sure.

The game consists of a player using a silly plastic guitar with 5 colored fret keys and a “strum” button; the goal of the game is to follow the imaginary fretboard as seen on your TV and to hit the correct fret keys in order to play the song. Classic and current rock hits make up the set list, and is a blast to play for anyone who is in to music.

Rock Band follows a similar concept, except instead on 1 or 2 guitars as in Guitar Hero, Rock Band is the entire band: up to 2 guitars, vocals, and a drum set make up the game. Users can learn each instrument on their own or get their friends together and play as a full band, with online competition available.

There’s even a marketplace set up online where your imaginary band can make stickers and other merchandise with your bands name and logo on it!

The game is a surefire hit, and we can’t wait to get ours in the mail. It’s going to be a great crowd pleaser at any party (anyone who’s tried to play Guitar Hero while under the influence knows what I am talking about.

So what does this mean for the budding musician or band looking to get their name out there?

Well, it means a lot actually. You see, the game comes with preloaded rock hits for you to learn and play. In the very near future, however, players will be able to download additional tracks from other band’s catalogs of music as they become available.

This means that you too could have your tracks available to play on the Rock Band game. These could be used as an additional revenue stream or as a marketing tool by giving them away for free. Either way, you can bet a deeper connection is made when gamers are allowed to sing, play, or bang their fake drum sets to the tune of your songs.

I have tried to make contact with the folks over at Harmonix to see what hoops you’ll have to jump through in order to make this a reality. When and if they get back to me, I’ll be sure to pass this information along the way!

Learn more about the game at Rock Band.com