A few months ago when Rock Band was released I mentioned how important it will be for musicians to get there tracks available as playable tracks on the game. I’ve even gone as far as contacting Harmonix to see how one goes about making this possible.

Great news today as Reuters reports that both Guitar Hero and Rock Band are having success selling these special playable tracks, and that these downloads are also affecting sales of the actual songs!

There are two interesting aspects about getting your music available on these games. The first is having another revenue stream available for your music. Everybody is wondering what the hell is going to happen to the musicians as the old industry crumbles. I say that those who understand that having multiple streams of income will persavere, and those who stick to trying to sell their old cd’s will have to keep a day job.

The second and even more promising reason for jumping on the Rock Band/Guitar hero train is simply exposure. Already bands have become popular because of their inclusion on these games, and you could be the next. I’m sure many, many new bands will someday claim that these games were integral to their success.

In addition, by allowing people to “play” your songs in these games, you allow them to create a deeper connection with specific songs, which ultimately will help create a deeper relationship with the band as well. And it’s these relationships that musicians need to focus on making.

Don’t think older bands are not benefiting from these games. In fact, they are getting an opportunity to reach a younger audience that otherwise would never know of there existence unless their parent’s have a working 8-Track player.

Hopefully the folks behind both Rock Band and Guitar Hero will clue us in shortly on how we can get our songs to be made available for these games.