Game Music Digest | Linkin Park's Latest Song is the League of Legends 2024 WORLDS Anthem
Also: expert advice from sync experts on how to get your music in a video game
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Linkin Park x League of Legends: 2024’s Biggest Music and Gaming Collab?
Linkin Park’s latest song, ‘Heavy is the Crown,’ is the official anthem for this year’s League of Legends World Championship (WORLDS), an annual esports tournament created by the game’s developer and publisher, Riot Games. The animated music video for the song, which debuted on the Riot Games YouTube channel to 15.4 million subscribers, picked up more than 10 million views in just over 24 hours, and was momentarily the #1 trending video on YouTube.
EXP: Riot’s League of Legends is one of the most popular Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) and esports games in the world. It currently holds the record for most concurrent views of an esports tournament, with more than 6,400,000 people watching the WORLDS 2023 tournament. Music has been a major highlight of these tournaments since 2014, as Riot collaborates with well-known bands and artists to write an original song that serves as the ‘anthem’ for every WORLDS tournament.
These anthems are the music highlight of League of Legends every year. They’re accompanied by unique music videos that tell the stories of key players and their main characters, with cameos from well-known players and figures within the scene. The anthems are also performed live by the artists at the opening ceremonies for WORLDS finals. When people ask me questions about the cultural impact of video games, I usually point them to this live video from the opening ceremony for WORLDS 2017, where 200 musicians perform on-stage at a packed stadium in Bejing as a giant CGI dragon circles overhead.
WORLDS anthems are basically the video game equivalent of the Super Bowl halftime shows. To put their popularity into perspective, here’s the full list of WORLDS collaborations to date, along with total view counts on YouTube.
2014 – ‘Warriors’ ft. Imagine Dragons – 430 million views
2015 – ‘Worlds Collide’ ft. Nicki Taylor – 32 million views
2016 – ‘Ignite’ ft. DJ Zedd – 100 million views
2017 – ‘Legends Never Die’ ft Against The Current – 282 million views
2018 – ‘Rise’ ft. The Glitch Mob, Mako, The Word Alive – 379 million views
2019 – ‘Phoenix’ ft Cailin Russo, Chrissy Costanza from Against The Current – 156 million views
2020 – ‘Take Over’ ft Jeremy McKinnon from A Day to Remember, Japanese vocal group MAX and singer Henry Lau) – 87 million views
2021 – ‘Burn it All Down’ ft PVRIS – 64 million views
2022 – ‘STAR WALKIN’ by Lil Nas X – 83 million views
2023 - ‘GODS’ ft NewJeans - 96 million views
2024 - ‘Heavy is the Crown’ by Linkin Park - 10 million views (in 24 hours)
Riot’s strategy of tying original music from the world’s biggest bands and artists to marketing beats for its games is so successful that other major gaming studios are now doing the same. This ‘anthem’ idea has now been emulated by other game franchises such as Tekken, Call of Duty and Diablo. Riot continues to build on this strategy as the audience for League of Legends expands and the IP grows into new formats such as the TV series Arcane. I never thought I’d see Sting associated with a video game IP, but here we are!
League of Legends fans take the artist choices for its WORLDS anthems incredibly seriously. These music partnerships must make sense for the fanbase and have a sound that resonates with them. Imagine Dragons might not make sense from an outsider’s perspective, but vocalist Dan Reynolds is a huge League of Legends fan, and the 2014 anthem ‘Warriors’ is by far the fan favourite of the anthems.
So, what about Linkin Park? The band recently reformed with new vocalist Emily Armstrong after a seven-year hiatus following the death of the band’s original vocalist Chester Bennington in 2017. Chartmetric ranks Linkin Park as the most talked-about metal band in the world right now. And while the band’s formation has caused controversy due to Armstrong’s reported links with Scientology and backlash from some Bennington family members, the band’s first new song in seven years – ‘The Emptiness Machine’ – has been welcomed by the majority of fans as being a ‘new era’ for Linkin Park. It charted #1 in more than seven countries and hit the top 20 in more than 15 other countries. At the time of writing, it’s picked up more than 100 million streams on Spotify in less than a month.
The band’s follow-up single, Heavy is the Crown, being the anthem for WORLDS 2024 ties Riot Games and League of Legends to the most talked-about metal band in the world right now. This is impeccable timing, of course. I reached out to Maria Egan, global head of music and events at Riot Games, to ask how long this partnership has been in the works and why Linkin Park is the right fit for the League universe and its players. She writes over email:
“The collaboration has been in the works for many months. Mike Shinoda has been a longtime friend of the Riot family and has a genuine love for our games and IP. And of course, like millions of players around the world, the Riot team are massive fans of the band.
‘Heavy Is the Crown’ started as a lyric Mike had written for Arcane but then found its way into a Linkin Park song as they started bringing the new band together. Right around the same time we realized the concept of “Heavy Is The Crown” perfectly aligned with the narrative we had chosen for the Worlds music video. Mike showed us the Linkin Park version and it blew us away. We knew it would make the perfect score for the intense, emotional journey of the animation. When the band saw the treatment for the video, they felt the same connection. It was one of those rare, magical moments of creative alignment, making this song not only perfect to be the 2024 Worlds anthem but also a pivotal element for the TV show
It’s an honor to be part of their extraordinary comeback story, and it’s clear from the overwhelming reactions that our players are just as excited.”
This answers some of the questions that League of Legends players have about the anthem and Linkin Park’s involvement. While many fans are in agreement that ‘Heavy is the Crown’ is one of the strongest anthems in recent years, others feel it lacks the ‘Riot sound’ and feels more like a new Linkin Park song rather than an original WORLDS anthem. According to the credits, no Riot Games staff were involved in the songwriting process. Every other WORLDS anthem, with the exception of this song and ‘Star Walkin’ by Lil Nas X in 2022, has been written in collaboration with Riot Games.
But does that matter to fans? It depends who you ask. While the sound of WORLDS anthems has evolved over the years – as seen in the diversity of its artist partnerships spanning genres such as K-Pop and rap to metalcore and EDM – there’s a consistent theme or ‘feel’ across all the anthems, which many dub the ‘Riot Games sound’. That special sound can be hard to put into words, but it’s best described as: epic, triumphant, defiant, emotional. I believe the Lil Nas X 2022 anthem lacked that feel – and many League fans agree, according to the top-rated comments on its YouTube video – but ‘Heavy is the Crown’ delivers everything that you’d expect from a WORLDS anthem.
Even if the song wasn’t co-written with Riot Games, it still has roots in the League of Legends universe. The partnership makes even more sense when you consider Linkin Park’s co-founder Mike Shinoda is a huge gamer, anime buff, and Twitch streamer, and there’s a long-running joke and meme within the League community after he turned up to the premiere for Arcane and wasn’t recognized by an interviewer there.
Linkin Park x League of Legends is a masterclass in strategic timing and also the matchmaking process of getting the right artists involved with your IP. It also speaks volumes to the massive popularity of League of Legends as Linkin Park chose to debut the single as a WORLDS anthem rather than holding off and releasing it through their own channels, which will inevitably get them in front of new fans in countries such as Korea, Japan and China where League of Legends is the most popular.
Alan Walker Teams up With Battlegrounds Mobile India Ahead of India Tour
KRAFTON, the developer behind Battlegrounds Mobile India (the India SKU for PUBG Mobile), announced a special partnership and in-game event with EDM DJ and producer Alan Walker ahead of his India tour. Walker’s track, ‘Hero’, was added to the game as lobby music, and players who log into the game between 20 September and 27 September have a chance of winning free Alan Walker concert tickets and Alan Walker-themed cosmetic items if they complete event challenges.
EXP: Battlegrounds Mobile India has 8.2 million daily active users in India, according to Sensor Tower data. Anyone who plays the game online has to jump into the lobby as part of online matchmaking, so Walker’s track ‘Hero’ is getting in front of 8.2 million people every single day. Walker’s India tour kicks off on September 27, and building excitement through an event with one of the most popular games in India is a very smart move. The ticket giveaway is smart too, and I think we could see concert promoters actually selling tickets through in-game events in the next year or two.
Candy Crush Collaborates With Kimbra, TOKiMONSTA, and Łaszewo in a New ‘Music Season Tournament’
King, developers of the hit mobile puzzle game Candy Crush Sega, announced a partnership with Kimbra, TOKiMONSTA, and Łaszewo who have written three new songs for the Candy Crush Music Season Tournament inspired by the game’s iconic sounds. Players participate in challenges themed around music to win special rewards in the Music Season Tournament. According to the release, the highlight of this year’s Tournament is the Sweet Sound Passport, an “exclusive reward that grants the top 10 players tickets to three concerts of their choice practically anywhere in the world.”
EXP: Candy Crush Saga has 13.5 million daily active users, according to Sensor Tower, making it one of the most popular mobile games in the world. Music has always been an integral part of the game – many of the songs that appear in the game’s soundtrack are recorded at Abbey Road Studios. With so many daily active users, Candy Crush Saga has even managed to host new music exclusives with artists such as Meghan Trainor and the Jonas Brothers. Don’t underestimate the popularity of mobile games - they account for 49% of global gaming revenue.
Lessons from Reeperbahn: How to Get Your Music in a Video Game
I was away in Hamburg last week (sorry for the missing newsletter!) moderating a Reeperbahn panel on the untapped opportunities for music in video games featuring Jessica Ashton, head of music, licensing and partnerships at Space Ape Games, and James Marshall, senior music supervisor at PlayStation, as speakers. Space Ape Games are responsible for Beat Star and Country Star, two of the most popular rhythm games on mobile with more than 450k daily active users between them, while PlayStation is home to exclusives such as Gran Turismo, Spider-Man, and Death Stranding, whose soundtracks feature a mix of original music written by major artists alongside licensed tunes.
In addition to exploring the various ways in which music is integrated across Beat Star, Country Star and PlayStation games, Ashton and Marshall shared their expert advice on what artists, labels, and managers can do to increase their chances of getting music placed in video games, and what music supervisors are looking for when they’re exploring partnerships and sync placements.
Here are some of the biggest lessons that came out of the panel:
Take the time to research the games you’re pitching for and tailor your emails accordingly. Licensed soundtracks in video games can vary significantly. You shouldn’t pitch heavy metal music to EA for EA Sports FC (FIFA), and you shouldn’t pitch anything that isn’t country music to Country Star. It’s going to be very obvious to the people you’re pitching if you haven’t done your research. Make sure the artists you’re suggesting are the right fit, and explain why.
There’s no preferred platform or software for sharing music. Spotify playlists and disco links are great. Don’t attach music as individual files! Make the listening process as easy as it needs to be.
Marshall says a lot of the work they do at PlayStation requires access to stems because of the various ways in which they integrate music into game experiences. Being able to provide stems is always beneficial.
Don’t pitch stuff that’s going to be a nightmare to license from a rights/ownership perspective. Make sure everything you’re pitching can be easily cleared. No one wants to spend time getting clearance from 10+ people!
Game studios want to work with artists that are genuine fans of their IP. Bring Me The Horizon writing an original song for Death Stranding is cool because vocalist Oli is a huge fan of the game’s creator, Hideo Kojima. Mutual interests such as this open up new marketing and PR opportunities across social. Artists are willing to do and give more to partnerships and collabs that they’re genuinely into, and this makes things a lot easier for game studios.
It’s cool to be a geek. Bands and artists that are vocal on social media platforms about their favourite games increase their chances of getting approached by game studios direct if they’re the right fit, or social and marketing teams for wider campaigns.
In other news…
Indie mega hit Shovel Knight is getting the live concert treatment courtesy of Charlie Rosen from the Grammy-winning 8-bit Big Band. Tickets for the LA and New York concerts are on sale now. You don’t wanna miss this. [Link]
Speaking of video game concerts, if you live in London (UK) there are two major concerts taking place this Saturday: the Sonic Symphony Concert at Eventin Apollo and Final Fantasy Rebirth Orchestra World Tour at the Royal Albert Hall.
PocketGamer explores Armenian musical storytelling in The Bird of a Thousand Voices, a mobile game companion to Tigran Hamasyan’s latest album of the same name. [Link]
Great news for rhythm game fans: Hi-Fi Rush is likely getting a sequel according to Krafton, who acquired the game’s developer following its sale from Microsoft. [Link]
Music mobile game publisher Amanotes has teamed up with EDM DJ TheFatRat for a new partnership celebrating the 10th anniversary of his track ‘Unity’. [Link]
Have you dived into the Dead Rising remaster yet? Wearing the Chris Redfield costume in-game replaces the mall music with the save room music from Resident Evil! [Link]
Keylocker, a new cyberpunk rhythm game inspired by Chrono Trigger, is out now! [Link]
Midia Research released a new in-game spending report exploring why gamers buy certain cosmetic items. “Nearly a third of in-game item buyers spend most in-game money on third-party branded items. TV shows, fashion, and music-branded items rank the highest in terms of categories.” [Link]
Raphaella Lima, global music marketing director at EA, tells Rolling Stone why music is at the heart of EA Sports FC. [Link]
I can’t stop listening to Songs from the Underworld, an entire album of diegetic music written for the cantina bars and arcades in Star Wars: Outlaws. [Link]