GrindEFX

Rock Band, Guitar Hero and Singstar have become huge in the video game market over the past few years, and for a very obvious reason; everybody wants to be a rockstar. But Rock Band are about to take a big step, they’re becoming a distributor.

The Rock Band Network, which will launch in beta next month in the US, will allow musicians to turn they’re songs into playable, Rock Band tracks. Not only that but they will be able to sell their songs to other Rock Band users for a price of their choice (between $0.50 and $3) and take a 30% cut of each sale. These won’t just be cheesy, polyphonic versions of your songs, this service will allow you to take the digital master of your song and turn it into a gameplay track (video after the jump).

Not just anybody will be able to publish songs, potential publishers will need a membership to Microsoft’s XNA Creators Club Online in order to test and publish game content. The service will only be available to those who purchase a premium membership to Microsoft’s XNA Creators Club Online, which can be purchased for four months at $49.99 or for a year at $99.99.

Now while many of you may think that’s a downer, I think it’s a good way to stop the network becoming saturated with every Tom, Dick and Harry trying to make a quick buck from their garbage music. All songs will also have to be reviewed by Rock Band before being published.

“Our goal with Rock Band has always been to go beyond making music games and create a true music platform,” said Alex Rigopulos, CEO and co-founder of Harmonix. “With the Rock Band Network, we’ve evolved the platform to its next logical step, giving players access to an incredible amount of new music by putting the professional tools we use in the hands of the artists themselves.”

“The Rock Band Network enables songwriters and musicians – at any stage of their careers – to create their own paths through the interactive music realm,” said Paul DeGooyer, Senior Vice President, Electronic Games and Music, MTV Networks Music Group. “Our download store has been an extraordinary success, and it’s exciting for us to provide access to our platform through this uniquely elegant solution.”

I think we all saw this coming, allowing bands to actually sell their own music through the game was the next logical step for these types of games. I’m sure Guitar Hero will soon be following suit. We will keep you updated on this. Check the video below for a look at the service.