Why top bands often feature in online casinos
In 2021, the availability of vaccines and testing made the return of music festivals possible. However, during the first half of the year, dozens of festivals were cancelled. Even the legendary Glastonbury had to be postponed for a year.
Luckily in 2022, music festivals seemed to be finally making a triumphant return. Festivals like The Great Escape, as well as City Splash and Junction 2 have been announced. Although with the festival season kicking off again, this also means fans will have to deal with the usual long journeys and waiting times.
In order to beat boredom, festivalgoers might want to use Shazam to identify a song playing on their journey to the festival site. Alternatively, there are a number of games featuring music from famous bands like Rock Band as well as an increasing amount of casino games featuring AC/DC, Motörhead and other iconic bands.
In fact, there’s already an engaging title that Guns ‘N Roses fans can play in the lead up to their gig in London in early July, where the band will finally play Wembley after having to cancel the show twice already. The legendary rock band has a self-titled online slot featured on Foxy Games, and they’re not alone. Guitarist Jimi Hendrix also appears in a slot from the same provider, again in a self-titled game. Both use snippets of their music and iconic imagery associated with their brand. But why have music slots become so popular? After all, other bands such as Megadeth and Kiss have also featured in very popular online slots.
Licensing Contracts
While concerts and tours weren’t possible between 2019 and 2021, musicians found other ways to earn money. They organized remote concerts and worked on collaborations with other artists. However, it’s times like this when passive revenue can be particularly valuable. Licensed slot games allow bands to earn revenue from the titles by selling their rights to leading gaming platforms, without them actually having to do anything.
Increased Reach
Casinos are always looking for ways to attract new audiences, and bands are an excellent way to attract them. Guns ‘N Roses, for example, may not have had a top ten hit in the UK for almost three decades, but they still remain popular due to their iconic hits. The band’s music can be heard across practically all forms of media, from the TV series Family Guy to the film Terminator 2: Judgment Day and even the trailer for the next MCU movie Thor: Love and Thunder. The inclusion of the iconic Guns ‘N Roses hit ‘Sweet Child O’ Mine’ was referred to by FanSided as “the perfect song selection” as it frames the reunion with an old friend of the protagonist. And if it works for the MCU, it might very well work for the casino industry.
Brand Recognition
As aforementioned, bands are not new to having their music added to different forms of media. Music from bands like AC/DC and Motörhead can be heard in superhero films to TV series about zombies. However, slot games are a different proposition, allowing bands to insert their branding front and centre to attract new followers. Players are introduced initially to the band’s logos, band members, and references to album covers. And often leads to music fans going one further and checking the band out, listening to their music or even buying merch which in this day and age is vitally important for bands to survive.
With the variables above, it shows that some of the leading bands have been getting very creative in recent years, looking to expand their reach. And while their imagery has been on pinball machines for decades, it was only a matter of time before they bridged the digital divide and entered online casinos.