Gaming giant Roblox is doubling down on its music offerings as it seeks to become “a destination for organic and immersive music discovery.”
On Friday (September 6), at the annual Roblox Developers Conference (RDC), the platform announced three new music-related features.
First up, Roblox formally announced its DistroKid integration, which MBW broke the news about last month. The partnership between Roblox and DistroKid enables DK’s artists to make their music available to Roblox’s 80 million daily active users.
As reported last month, however, per the opt-in form obtained by MBW, indie artists signing up for the beta program “are granting rights for Roblox developers to use [their] music on a gratis basis”.
In addition to the DistroKid integration, Roblox launched two other features also aimed at fueling on-platform music discovery: ‘What’s Playing’ and music charts.
The upcoming What’s Playing feature will allow users to discover music, identify songs, and “like” their favorites while playing games.
Based on these likes, Roblox will create music charts, which it plans to roll out in early 2025, to highlight popular artists, musicians, and audio experiences.
Amanda Ferri, Vice President of Marketing at DistroKid, described the new features as a “major step forward for music discovery within one of the world’s largest immersive platforms and digital communities”.
Added Ferri: “Roblox is more than just a platform; it’s a space where creativity and engagement happen on a global scale. With millions of games and experiences, we’re excited to offer independent artists the option to have their music become part of the Roblox experience.”
“With millions of games and experiences, we’re excited to offer independent artists the option to have their music become part of the Roblox experience.”
Amanda Ferri, DistroKid
Greg Hartrell, Senior Director of Product, Creator Services and Creator Content at Roblox, said: “By fostering an environment where music and creativity thrive, we want Roblox to be at the forefront of the next wave of digital music discovery and engagement.”
“For artists, Roblox creates truly unique opportunities to deeply connect with a massive and engaged community and build up their fan base. By offering a variety of immersive and organic ways for users to discover music, both emerging and popular artists can deepen their connection with fans and create memorable moments that drive engagement on the platform.”
“we want Roblox to be at the forefront of the next wave of digital music discovery and engagement.”
Greg Hartrell, Roblox
Roblox has become increasingly intertwined with the music industry in recent years. All three major music companies — Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, and Sony Music — have been involved in in-game events, promotions, and partnerships on the platform. After investing in Roblox in 2021, Warner Music launched Rhythm City in 2023, which it describes as “a first-of-its-kind music-themed social roleplay experience” on Roblox.
Meanwhile, Universal Music launched a music hub called Beat Galaxy on Roblox in partnership with virtual world developer Supersocial in December 2023. In March, Universal and Republic Records introduced a new feature called Boombox on Roblox. This ad-supported music player allows labels to create playlists and integrate them into the gaming experience.
Sony Music also partnered with Roblox in 2021 to bring its artists to the metaverse.
By the end of this year, Roblox said it plans to expand its music offerings, providing a wider catalog of music from multiple genres including electronic, pop, dance, rock, country, and rap/hip hop.
DistroKid has previously claimed to be the “world’s largest distributor of independent music” and estimates that it distributes 30-40% of all new music in the world.
The company says that its platform is used by more than 2.5 million artists.
Three years ago, in August 2021, DistroKid accepted an investment from Insight Partners, which valued the distribution platform at USD $1.3 billion.
Following that transaction, Boston-based growth equity firm Silversmith Capital Partners, which led DistroKid’s first outside investment in 2018, retained “a meaningful ownership position” and remained on DistroKid’s board.
Spotify retained its minority stake in DistroKid when it received the Insight Partners investment; a few months later, SPOT offloaded two-thirds of its stake for $167 million.Music Business Worldwide
