Watch Dogs: Legion, a game based in a post-BREXIT alternate future where citizens covertly unite to overthrow their fascist government, is recruiting real-life artists to help create its soundtrack.
In collaboration with Joseph Gorden Levitt's collaborative platform, HITRECORD, Ubisoft is commissioning 10 tracks from its community for use in the game's virtual radio. According to HITRECORD's project page, the type of music Watch Dogs: Legion is looking for ranges from "Anti-Establishment Uptempo Hip-hop" to "Aggressive Grime". Being thematically steeped in anti-establishment, it is entirely fitting that Legion's soundtrack would reflect social and political unrest.
Upon reading the announcement that Ubisoft was outsourcing their game's soundtrack, my initial inclination was to question whether or not it was an opportunity to provide exposure for independent artists, or if it was exploitive of those artist's desire for prominence; Regardless of how you spin it, the reality is that Ubisoft gets to underpay the community collaborators for a job that would have otherwise been delegated to an internal department. While I'm not convinced one way or the other, I would definitely like to think that this arrangement is simply Ubisoft attempting to get their community involved in a meaningful way. It should be noted that the artists whom contribute to the selected music tracks will be compensated for their work, albeit in amounts far below what their Ubisoft-employed counterparts would have made.
In any case, you'll be able to hear what the Watch Dogs: Legion community comes up with when the game launches March 6, 2020.
Are you an aspiring musician that doesn't mind navigating the ethically questionable in order to contribute to a AAA game's soundtrack? You can get all the details over on HITRECORD.