Steve Schnur, the worldwide Executive of Music and Marketing at Electronic Arts, talks about the process of putting together the sound track for NBA Live 07.

NBA LIVE 07 has an unprecedented new soundtrack of 23 world tracks – including 9 debuts. The eclectic soundtrack features such breakout artists as Gnarls Barkley, Bossman and Robert Randolph and The Family Band, along with unique collaborations that include Jurassic 5 featuring Dave Matthews, and Sergio Mendes and The Black Eyed Peas. The NBA LIVE 07 soundtrack includes the following tracks: “Crazy” by Gnarls Barkley, “Hand Clap” by Bossman, “Thrill of It” by Robert Randolph and The Family Band, “Work it Out” by Jurassic 5 featuring Dave Matthews and “Mas Que Nada” by Sergio Mendes and The Black Eyed Peas.

The complete in-game soundtrack for NBA LIVE 07 includes:

ARTIST
SONG

Army Of The Pharaohs
Gorillas

Bossman **
Hand Clap

Braza **
Son Do Braza

Citty **
Them Ballers

Damizza feat Butch Cassidy **
In 2’s

Feezy 350 feat. Shauna K**
Mr. DJ

Ghislain Poirier
Mic Diplomat

Gnarls Barkley
Crazy

Jurassic 5 featuring Dave Matthews **
Work It Out

Lady Sovereign
A Little Bit of Shh (Adrock Remix)

Lupe Fiasco
Kick Push

Dead Prez Presents M-1
Til We Get There

Mark Ronson feat Alex Greenwald
Just

Murs & 9th Wonder
L.A.

Pigeon John
Higher

Raptile **
Neva Eva

Redrama
I Don’t Know What To Tell You

Rhymefest
Some Of These Days

Robert Randolph & The Family Band **
Thrill Of It

Sergio Mendes & The Black Eyed Peas
Mas Que Nada

Talib Kweli
Listen

Ten Days Till **
Get Them Hands Hi

The Coup
My Favorite Mutiny

** Indicates song will debut in NBA LIVE 07 before being released to retail.

What makes this edition of the NBA LIVE soundtrack so special?

We think we’ve outdone ourselves with this edition’s mix of new music. We’ve got amazing breakout artists like Lady Sovereign, Lupe Fiasco, Rhymefest, and Gnarls Barkley. We’ve got street legends like Talib Kweli, The Coup, Pigeon John, and M1 of Dead Prez. We’ve got stellar collaborations like Sergio Mendes with The Black Eyed Peas, and Jurassic 5 featuring Dave Matthews Band. And because the NBA’s new European league now makes the game as international as hip-hop itself, we’ve got explosive new acts from the US, UK, Germany, Finland, Canada and Brazil. The songs themselves include block-rockers, club anthems, a tasty wallop of soul + funk, and some very cool covers and remix surprises. Our goal was to further define the global cultural phenomenon of hip-hop – and help shape its future – via one of the hottest sports videogame franchises on the street today.

How were you able to anticipate the popularity of a track like Gnarls Barkley’s Crazy six months ago when putting together this soundtrack?

That’s the kind of foresight – and synergy – that EA Trax team prides itself on. We’ve been working on this soundtrack for more than six months with labels, publishers, artists, the NBA, MTV, EA’s game developers and marketing departments, all to ensure that the music chosen for this latest edition invariably becomes the soundtrack for the upcoming season. Most of all, we want fans to always discover great new acts like Gnarls Barkley through the experience of NBA Live.

Please describe the selection process of choosing songs for NBA LIVE?

Picking the music for any EA game – in essence, creating the audio personality – is an intensely focused process. Game music – whether songs or an original score – must enhance the experience, taking both the music and gameplay to another level. And as always, any EA game with a year in the title must move the music forward. With NBA Live ’07, we knew we wanted the soundtrack to reflect the changing trends and bold innovations of hip hop while exposing some great new international artists that we feel will be a major part of the genre’s future. We think we’ve succeeded beyond all expectations.

This year nine songs will debut on NBA LIVE 07. What is the attraction for an artist to debut a song on a videogame like NBA LIVE 07?

Artists and labels know that NBA Live is the industry’s hottest – and most exclusive – launching pad for innovative new street music. It’s an unprecedented opportunity to instantly get new tracks into the hands, ears and minds of millions of gamers and music fans alike. What better way to debut a hot song than have it quickly move beyond the game to arenas and live broadcasts across America? That’s the beauty – and the power – of NBA Live.

As Worldwide Executive of Music and Marketing for Electronic Arts, Steve Schnur is responsible for the pursuit, creation and continuous development of the global vision for music in EA games. In only five years, Schnur’s unprecedented innovations in bringing together the worlds of music and gaming led The Washington Post to call him “The Clive Davis of the videogame industry.” He has brought established stars, breakthrough new artists and award-winning composers to such top-selling EA franchises as MADDEN NFL, FIFA, NEED FOR SPEED, HARRY POTTER, MEDAL OF HONOR, THE SIMS and more, changing the industry’s perception of video games from simple ‘licensing opportunities’ to their now-essential role in artists’ careers. His EA TRAX initiative resulted in the first RIAA certified Platinum video game soundtrack with NBA LIVE 2003, and established the collaborative partnership with legendary hip-hop lifestyle company Def Jam to produce the landmark DEF JAM VENDETTA. In 2004, Schnur spearheaded the creation of Next Level Music, EA’s groundbreaking joint venture with Cherry Lane Publishing. In 2005, he created EA Recordings, a digital record label focused on the distribution of EA’s enormous collection of scores and songs.