Labels Look To Bundle Artists On iPhone Game

EMI Music is the first major label to line up multiple artists for the popular game Tap Tap on the iPhone. It's a move likely to be followed by the other three majors. On Thursday, EMI Music announced a new version of the series of music rhythm games called Tap Tap Dance.The game uses dance music from five EMI artists -- Moby, the Chemical Brothers, Digitalism, Daft Punk and Basement Jaxx -- as well as independent artists Justice, Junkie XL, Soul Magic Orchestra and Morgan Page.In addition, EMI will distribute an as-yet-untitled digital soundtrack to the game, with both its artists as well as the independent acts on it.Developed by Palo Alto, Calif-based company Tapulous, there are several Tap Tap applications, which focus on the music of a single artist such as Katy Perry or Nine Inch Nails. One is comprised of six Christmas songs performed by Weezer, and will also be released on Thursday.Despite the involvement of EMI Music, the company says it wants the majority of the promotion of the game to come from the artists involved. "Artists will promote on their Web sites and reach out to fans," EMI Music executive VP of global brand partnership, licensing and synchronization says. "We're talking to them about ways of letting their fan base know through existing social networks."Tapulous CEO Bart Decrem says that he is talking to the remaining majors and expects to have another application with multiple artists on it in the Apple store early next year. "We are close to having a formula that the artists, labels, publishers, and Apple are all happy with," he says.