Lady Gaga to Debut New Songs on Farmville

Apparently, any corner of the Internet is free game for music promotion these days. Facebook users accustomed to hearing drizzling midi banjo when they log into Zynga's Farmville game will be in for a surprise this month -- Lady Gaga will be debuting new tracks from her record Born This...

By Niki D'Andrea

May 11, 2011

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Apparently, any corner of the Internet is free game for music promotion these days. Facebook users accustomed to hearing drizzling midi banjo when they log into Zynga's Farmville game will be in for a surprise this month -- Lady Gaga will be debuting new tracks from her record Born This Way, exclusively for Farmville.

Gaga isn't the first music artist to offer up exclusive tunes through Internet video game applications. Dr. Dre released a track from his album Detox on Zynga's Mafia Wars game, and numerous bands have lent their recordings to console video games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero.

But Gaga's Farmville debut is certainly the biggest music premiere any Zynga application's seen so far.

Gaga's sold more than 15 million albums worldwide. When any of Farmville's 62 million active users log in to the game on May 17, they'll be able to explore a new, playable world called GagaVille, where they can stream new songs from Born This Way after completing certain tasks in the game.

It might sound like a strange union, but it makes sense from a marketing and commercial standpoint. And when you're talking about Lady Gaga, doing things like feeding imaginary horses and harvesting digital trees to a throbbing club dance beat doesn't seem so unusual. At least Farmville users can't slaughter their cows for meat dresses.

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Niki D'Andrea has covered subjects including drug culture, women's basketball, pirate radio stations, Scottsdale staycations, and fine wine. She has worked at both New Times and Phoenix Magazine, and is now a freelancer.

Contact: Niki D'Andrea