EA gets on Trax
Snoop Dog and Bon Jovi "in the game"
Bon Jovi's next single will debut not in record stores or on MTV (or even VH1), but in Madden NFL 2003. The move is part of a new drive by Electronic Arts dubbed EA Trax, which will provide brand new music for the company's wide range of annual sports games. Partners in the program include Island, Def Jam, Capitol and Electra, with acts such as Method Man, Papa Roach and Snoop Dog all lined up to get "in the game", with some of the songs set to appear in EA Sports soundtracks before the album they're taken from is even in the stores. "This is good for the gamer, good for the developer and good for the record label", EA marketing VP Jeff Karp declared. The idea is that gamers get new music, developers get more sales, and the record labels get some cheap pre-release promotion for their acts. Def Jam president Kevin Liles murmured something about video game and hip hop demographics converging and the "exciting [sic] cross-promotional activities" EA Trax would provide, while EA's musical master of ceremonies Steve Schnur raised the possibility of videogame soundtrack compilation albums appearing in future. Related Feature - Madden NFL 2003 screenshots (Xbox)
