From a Reuters story in The Boston Globe: "It is a dark time for record labels and mainstream radio, but the people who pick music for video games say there has never been a better time to be an aspiring rock star.

"'There are more opportunities than ever before. I would much rather be a young band right now than 10 years ago,' said Steve Schnur, referring to a time when record companies and radio station owners held the keys to what got heard.

"The worldwide executive of music at Electronic Arts Inc., which is the biggest video game publisher, put a once unknown Southern California band called Avenged Sevenfold in multiple games... The band, also known as A7X, has since gotten a Warner Bros. Records contract...

"Scottish indie rock band Franz Ferdinand crossed the pond, winning U.S. fans after its music was in games like 'Madden NFL 2005,' soccer game 'FIFA 2005' and racing title 'Burnout 3: Takedown,' [screenshot above] said Schnur, who also led the music selection in 'NBA Live 2003' -- the only video game soundtrack to go platinum.

"'We're a new medium that delivers music in a new and interesting way,' said Alex Hackford, artist and repertoire manager for Sony Computer Entertainment America...

"He put (band Stab the Matador) in baseball game 'MLB 06: The Show.' From there, he said, the band got a booking agent and a national tour...

"Music-based games such as Konami's various karaoke titles, Activision Inc.'s 'Guitar Hero' and Sony's 'SingStar' are also an outlet for established groups from the Rolling Stones and Queen to Lynyrd Skynyrd and Deep Purple. Crooner Frank Sinatra, country star Johnny Cash and the Doors were headliners in Activision's 'Tony Hawk Underground 2.'

"'It really underscores the fact that there is no longer a magic bullet that sells a record,' said Celia Hirschman, founder of Downtown Marketing, a music marketing consulting company in San Francisco.

"Video games are a perfect way for consumers to discover new music and for bands, especially those of the post-modern punk, hip hop, funk and heavy metal variety, to reach their typically rabid fan base, she said."

Read this entire story at Boston.com, The Boston Globe's web site, here.