Interactive music CD-ROM

An interactive music CD-ROM is a CD-ROM containing software with interactive multimedia features intended to complement the work of a musical artist. Compared to an enhanced CD-ROM containing music, it is usually a standalone work of software. The format was adopted by several popular music artists during the 1990s including David Bowie, Peter Gabriel, and Prince. The trend of musical artists creating interactive software declined by 1997, due to the waning interest of consumers and publishers.

Features

Interactive music CD-ROMs are designed to display multimedia a user can interact with, merging music, video clips, and games. The design of an interactive music CD-ROM can vary. Some CD-ROMs contain multimedia allowing users to access additional information about a musician. These CD-ROMs may contain interactive elements, such as a virtual mixing console to remix sound or video. Other releases may include standalone interactive features presented as their own work, encouraging users to explore virtual worlds or experiences created or inspired by a musical artist.

History

One of the first recording artists to explore the format was Todd Rundgren, whose 1993 album No World Order, released on the Philips CD-i, featured an interactive component in which users could remix tracks by changing tempo, tracks, or samples. Several artists expressed interest in using multimedia as a vehicle for music, with David Bowie considering multimedia "the best delivery system currently available".

In September 1993, BMG announced a joint venture with San Francisco publisher Ion to develop music CD-ROMs, following their development of the David Bowie CD-ROM Jump. In 1994, the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences sponsored a showcase of works in the genre at the San Francisco International Film Festival, and such games were featured in Cybermania '94 by the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences, where the Peter Gabriel title Xplora1: Peter Gabriel's Secret World received Best Use of Music.

Billboard reported on the decline of the music CD-ROM format in 1997, citing a number of factors including a downturn in the software industry, the increasing accessibility of the Internet, pricing and quality issues. During this year, software publisher Graphix Zone ceased development of music CD-ROMs.

List of music CD-ROMs

Title Year Artist Developer Ref.
No World Order 1993 Todd Rundgren Todd Rundgren, Aaron David Levine
Xplora1: Peter Gabriel's Secret World 1993 Peter Gabriel Real World MultiMedia, Brilliant Media
Freak Show 1994 The Residents The Voyager Company
Heart: 20 Years of Rock & Roll 1994 Heart Compton's NewMedia
Jump: The David Bowie Interactive CD-ROM 1994 David Bowie Ion
Prince Interactive 1994 Prince Graphix Zone
Gingerbread Man 1994 The Residents Ion
Headcandy 1994 Brian Eno Ion
Quest for Fame 1995 Aerosmith Virtual Music Entertainment
Puppet Motel 1995 Laurie Anderson The Voyager Company
Highway 61 Interactive 1995 Bob Dylan Graphix Zone
Bad Day on the Midway 1995 The Residents Inscape
Voodoo Lounge 1995 The Rolling Stones Second Vision
All This Time 1995 Sting Starwave
Eve 1996 Peter Gabriel Real World MultiMedia
Devo Presents Adventures of the Smart Patrol 1996 Devo Inscape

Reception

The music CD-ROM gained interest as a transition of music into a new medium. Billboard estimated at its peak, successful CD-ROMs in this line each sold between 70,000 to 150,000 units, although the market for these titles became less commercially successful over time.

Some theorists identified the opportunities of interactive multimedia presented in creating new ways to consume music. Composer Paul Théberge wrote that software could "give the listener greater editorial decision-making power over their listening experience", although these methods would be "limited by the available technology [and] the manufacturers' own perception of the needs and interests" of listeners. Museum of Communication curator Beatrice Tobler wrote music CD-ROMs reflected changing ways in how consumers could perceive music, by providing greater opportunities to interpret and play with music beyond listening.

However, several critics critiqued the limited interactivity offered by titles. Describing the software as "ego trips disguised as diversions", Entertainment Weekly considered features such as mixing boards "pointless" and their overall purpose as to market the artists rather than to entertain. CD-ROM Today stated that titles varied "greatly in how much they reveal about each artist", considering Prince Interactive offered little insight into the "goals or personal obsessions" of Prince.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Tolber, Beatrice (2000). Tony Mitchell, Peter Doyle & Bruce Johnson (ed.). "'Jump in and Xplore': The perception of music and space in music CD-ROMs" (PDF). Changing Sounds: New Directions and Configurations in Popular Music. IASPM International Conference Proceedings: 422–6.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Doyle, Audrey (August 1994). "Playing With The Music". Computer Graphics World. pp. 38–41.
  3. ↑ Hall, Derva (1995). "CD-ROMs in the Family Room". The CD-ROM Revolution. Prima Publishing. pp. 134–7.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Powell, Phill (November 1994). "CD-Rock". CD-ROM Today. Vol. 2, no. 6. pp. 58–64.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Conover, Kirsten (14 March 1994). "Rock Musicians Tackle CD-ROM With an Eye on the Future". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 6 October 2026.
  6. 1 2 Corliss, Richard (17 January 1994). "Rock Goes Interactive". Time.
  7. 1 2 Strauss, Neil (28 July 1994). "The Pop Life". New York Times. Archived from the original on 26 May 2015.
  8. ↑ "BMG Makes Deal for Interactive Music Label" (PDF). Gavin. 17 September 1993. p. 4.
  9. 1 2 Rosenberg, Scott (1 May 1994). "Sound and Visions: Peter Gabriel and Todd Rundgren Attempt to Interact With You". Digital Culture. Retrieved 6 October 2026.
  10. ↑ "Interactive Academy Awards for 1994". Academy Of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Archived from the original on 7 November 1996.
  11. ↑ Nashawaty, Chris (25 November 1994). "Cybermania '94: The Ultimate Gamer Awards". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 6 November 2015.
  12. 1 2 Atwood, Brett (3 May 1997). "Music CD-ROMs, Once Promising, Showing Decline" (PDF). Billboard. pp. 1, 59.
  13. 1 2 3 4 Balleisen, Kristin (November 1995). "Rock Around the Mac" (PDF). MacUser. pp. 140–1.
  14. 1 2 3 Burr, Ty (17 June 1994). "Prince Interactive". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 26 October 2015.
  15. ↑ Théberge, Paul (1997). Any sound you can imagine : making music/consuming technology. Wesleyan University Press. pp. 253–5.