Roblox is launching a new music chart as well as entering a partnership with DistroKid, but artists won’t be making any money directly from the platform.
As reported by Billboard, Roblox will be launching music charts in early 2025 that will track the level of engagement songs get within the platform.
There will be a device added to the game that can show players what song they’re currently listening to in whatever experience they’re in. “Users are going to be able to see the name of the song, the artist, and even like the song,” said Roblox chief product officer Manuel Bronstein.
The music charts will then track this data to see which songs have the most engagement, and display them in a chart to the platform’s near 80million daily users. Unfortunately for artists, the music played in-game won’t earn them any royalties, and this feature is instead supposed to increase exposure and allow them to monetise their songs off the platform. Artists who release music on DistroKid have to opt in to be a part of its collaboration with Roblox.
According to Billboard, the recently announced Zedd takeover of the UMG experience in Roblox only saw visits jump from 4,000 to 10,000, barely anything compared to games like Piggy which get 2.7million visitors in a day.
Earlier this year, Roblox refuted claims that it was exploiting the children who develop experiences within the platform. “You can say, ‘Okay, we are exploiting child labour,’ right? Or, you can say we are offering people anywhere in the world the capability to get a job and an income,” said Roblox studio boss Stefano Corazza.
In other news, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, nearly had a completely different name but it was cut due to fears it would give away a major plot point.