Video Gamers & the Music Business: Time to Level Up

What do gamers listen to and how can I serve them?

Video Gamers & the Music Business: Time to Level Up
Jason Joven
Jason Joven
February 9, 201912 min read
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Marshmello live-streaming a DJ set on gaming platform Fortnite in Feb 2019

To the tune of 10M concurrent viewers, American producer/DJ Marshmello played a live DJ set on Feb 2 2019 to Fortnite players in Pleasant Park, a virtual location in the massive multiplayer game that took 2018 by storm. Gamers tuned in, showed up with their customized avatars, and danced on the virtual floor and on the DJ stage with Marshmello.

Accumulating $3B+ in revenue last year alone, Epic Games’ latest venture into live music seemed natural, as the in-game dance “emotes” have long been a meme-able signature feature in what’s mostly a first-person shooter gaming experience.

If this all looks bizarre to you, you’re probably not much of a gamer (or you don’t have kids yet). But it’s worth taking a look at the gaming community, and how music plays a part in their lives, because 10M concurrent viewers does not necessarily equal 10M streams on Spotify or Apple Music.