Latin music getting in the game

Latin music, until recently virtually absent from videogames, is slowly but surely gaining a foothold in the industry.

At least three major, newly announced games will prominently feature Latin music in their soundtracks. They include EA Sports' "FIFA Soccer 2009" and SEGA's "Samba de Amigo," a Wii music game.

Most of the 40 tracks on the "Samba" soundtrack, in particular, are Latin, including cover versions and original recordings. The roster includes Ricky Martin's "Livin' La Vida Loca" and Chayanne's "Salome," both in cover versions, as well the original recordings of Gipsy Kings' "Bamboleo" and Ozomatli's "Como Ves."

While "Samba" is Latin-themed and therefore calls for a Latin soundtrack, other games are now more open to Latin sounds, says Tomas Cookman, president of indie Nacional Records.

"(Game makers) understand very well that the games go to the world, and they program their music that way," he says.

While games don't represent an enormous portion of Nacional's licensing business, it is a growth area, and Cookman has placed at least 20 songs in games this year. They include four tracks in "FIFA Soccer 2009" (by alternative acts the Pinker Tones, Senor Flavio, Plastilina Mosh and DJ Bitman) and one in "Madden NFL 2009."

At EMI Music Publishing Latin America, Andres Zambrano, director of repertoire and exploitation for Latin America, sees a growing trend toward using Latin music in gaming. "Grand Theft Auto IV," for example, includes a Latin radio station -- San Juan Sounds -- in the game (although no Latin songs made the actual game soundtrack CD). Three of those songs are EMI's, including Don Omar's "Salio El Sol."

"The trend toward music in games is bigger all the time," Zambrano says. While rock and urban remain the Latin genres of choice for games, gaming is regarded as a "major promotional and exploitation target," he adds.

Granted, Latin companies are still not getting rich via games. Labels and publishers usually get paid a flat fee that fluctuates between $3,000 and $6,000.

However, small indie films pay even less for song usage, and the exposure from a game is enormous.

"The best thing about a game is that gaming is worldwide and you get your music into so many more hands," Cookman says. "Plus, a lot of these artists are gamers, so they love being there."