GXM #28: $150m in three years: How mobile game Beatstar is revolutionising music engagement ft. Jessica Ashton from Space Ape

With more than 70m total installs and 300k daily active users, the mobile rhythm games Beat Star and Country Star are revolutionising how players engage with music, leading to partnerships with the likes of Post Malone and The Killers who use the games to reach diverse audiences and generate new revenue streams. 

We sit down with Jessica Ashton, Music Licensing and Artist Partnership Lead at Space Ape to learn about tracklist curation for both games, how Beatstar and Country Star can be used in marketing campaigns to boost presaves, and the process of pitching music to video game studios for sync spots. 

News - 00:03:37

Topic introduction - 00:26:32

Topic interview: How Beatstar is revolutionising music engagement with Jessica Ashton from Space Ape 

60-second recommendations - 1:01:48

In the news… 

• Via Blabbermouth, DRAGONFORCE Releases New Song 'A Draco Tale' in Honor of 'Brawl Stars' Game Character DRACO

• Via TechCrunch, There’s a video game hidden inside Bring Me The Horizon’s new album Post Human: Nex Gen

• Via MusicAlly, Post Malone’s ‘Live at le Louvre’ gig streamed live on Roblox  

• Via The Guardian, Wax Heads is a game about working in a vinyl shop

• Via TimeExtension, Video Game Music Legend Geoff Follin Has Passed Away

• Via RollingStone, Rolling Stone names GTA Vice City as the best licensed game soundtrack of all time 

• Via RockPaperShotgun, Sorry, I only drink wine that was aged listening to the Nier Automata soundtrack now

We're GXM (Games X Music), a fortnightly podcast exploring video game music and the intersection of video games and the music industry. Your hosts are freelancer Tom Quillfeldt (also Laced Records community manager + A&R) and Mat Ombler (also Laced Head of Music and Game Partnerships.)

Whether you work in the music or games industries or simply enjoy video game music and want to learn more about this area of interest, make sure to give us a listen…

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We'd love to hear your feedback, thoughts on topics you'd like to hear us discuss, and ideas for guests.

Email — ⁠gxmpodcast@gmail.com⁠   

Twitter — ⁠@gxmpodcast⁠ | ⁠@tquillfeldt⁠ | ⁠@matombler⁠

Instagram — ⁠@gxmpodcast⁠

Produced by Tom Quillfeldt and Mat Ombler

Edited by Tom Quillfeldt

Music by Zak Foster

Show artwork by Joshua Klein