Steve Schnur | worldwide executive of music and audio | Chingy | Electronic Arts

Luckily, things look a lot brighter for manufacturers who are music connoisseurs. An ailing record industry, devastated by rampant piracy, is all too happy to play ball. While radio darlings like hip-hopper ­Chingy, whose single "I Do" appears on Need for Speed Underground 2's soundtrack, are paid for their work, most would willingly offer their services pro bono.

"For musicians hoping to reach their core audience, games are the place to be," says Steve Schnur, worldwide executive of music and audio for Electronic Arts. "In the near future, after hearing a track, you'll likely be able to immediately download the ditty. We suspect next-generation consoles [e.g., PlayStation 3 and Xbox 2] will serve as the record store of the future."

At the very least, they're certain to become a fertile breeding ground for new artists. The EA Trax program, a 10-man-strong international outfit that Schnur heads, has already proved to be a massive success since launching in 2003. Devoted to breaking bands, the unit spends its time seeking out up-and-coming talent. Once viable artists are identified, the company commissions the rights to singles, which receive prominent placement - including pop-ups stating the song name, artist, and album it appears on - within chart-­topping action and sports simulations.

The initiative has turned gaming into a force in the music industry. You can feel the impact already: Bands like Blink 182 and Green Day are using multimillion-unit sellers such as the Madden NFL series to debut songs months before radio. Why? The number of spins - the system by which a song's impact on the public is measured - received via the association can total upwards of 800 million. There's not a number-one record around the globe that comes anywhere close to generating that kind of exposure.

Rappers and rockers are universally showing their approval.