When MTV Networks dropped $175 million in cash to snatch up game developer Harmonix Music Systems, they weren't just looking to break into the gaming industry.

They were hoping to revolutionize the music industry as well.

To MTV, Rock Band isn't just a game; it's a new way to experience music, a way for people to interact with their favorite songs like never before. The cable network is touting the game as the next step in the evolution of music that brought us radio, CDs and even MTV itself.

"This is like the mind-blowingness of The Buggles showing up on MTV," said Paul DeGooyer, MTV's senior vice president of home entertainment, music and games. "Playing (Rock Band) is really a new way to experience music at a time when music is at a substantial risk of becoming a lifestyle accessory. It really does let you climb inside the music you love and experience it in a new way.

"I think it has tremendous promise for the music industry."

And MTV is making sure it's not a wasted opportunity. While the game will come packed with an eclectic selection of music from four decades, it also will become a way to sell new songs directly to gamers through an online service.

MTV and Harmonix have plans to release new music weekly for the game, eventually pushing the game's library into the thousands. And DeGooyer says that musicians, both established and up-and-coming, are lining up to get their music into the game. Some artists may even forgo the traditional route of MTV or radio and premiere new songs directly on Rock Band.

"There are a couple of things we've committed to, one of them with Metallica for example," he said. "They've reserved the right to give us their first single from their new album for the game."

In other cases, musicians might release music to the game to tie in with a new record or tour, he said.

Musicians have been fans of Harmonix's games almost since their original Guitar Hero hit stores. With MTV backing them, musicians are getting more hands-on time with the game earlier in the process.

The Grateful Dead's Mickey Hart, drummer and quite an audiophile, even had his hand in some of the design work. "We presented the game to the Grateful Dead, and Mickey Hart, the drummer, had some suggestions about the audio and about what could be implemented and we used some of that," DeGooyer said.

DeGooyer said he helped show off the game to musicians at Abbey Road Studios, setting up Rock Band in famed Studio Three where Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon was tracked.

"Everyone who was working in the studio, from engineers to musicians, stopped by to try it out," he said.