Snoop Dogg’s remake of The Doors’ 1971 rock classic “Riders on the Storm” debuted on Tuesday (Nov. 16) as the theme for the Electronic Arts video game, Need For Speed: Underground 2.
The collaboration was completed at the personal request of Steve Schnur, Worldwide Executive of Music for Electronic Arts, and it unites Snoop with existing members of The Doors with additional lyrics by Jim Morrison, who died in 1971.
“Bringing together the haunting vocals of Jim Morrison and the timeless music of The Doors with the cool energy of Snoop Dogg is revolutionary,” Schnur said.
The alliance was further advanced by Snoop’s own desire to redo “Riders” and The Doors, who sought to formulate the record for a new generation.
Though labels have been reluctant to license songs to video game executives in the past, Schnur said that this year record labels have been more eager to promote their artists.
And they should be. Video game sales hit $10 billion dollars last year, eclipsing the motion picture industry’s box office draw by over a billion dollars.
“The way that music is integrated into games, when it is done well, it does help build awareness for artists,” Courtney Holt, head of new media and strategic marketing at Interscope Geffen A&M, told the New York Times.
Video game play is up 26 percent annually in the last five years among men between ages 18 and 34, according to Nielsen Interactive Entertainment, which could explain why record companies are more willing.
In addition to Snoop’s remix, Need for Speed: Underground 2 also features exclusive tracks from rap artists Capone, Chingy, Terror Squad and Xzibit.