Video games introduced me to the Chemical Brothers - now teens find music through Fortnite

In the 90s and 00s, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater and Guitar Hero were prime outlets for music discovery. In 2022, it's League of Legends and Fifa that are shaping taste

I would love to tell you that I was first introduced to dance music in underground Berlin clubs, where mysterious resident DJs blew my teenage mind performing indescribable magic with beats and synth lines. But that would be a lie. My first introduction to dance music came in the form of a futuristic 90s racing game called WipEout. Playing obsessively at a friend's house, I was introduced to the Chemical Brothers and Orbital, who both graced the soundtrack; not long after, the admirably chaotic sim Crazy Taxi introduced me to the Offspring, and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater had me grinding around to Bad Religion. I first heard Garbage on the soundtrack of an obscure PlayStation 2 DJ game, 2003's Amplitude, made by a Boston developer called Harmonix - the same developer that would later go on to create the insanely popular Guitar Hero series. Those games sold 25m copies, and I know I wasn't the only student who unearthed a previously undiscovered love for cheesy dad-rock while tilting a plastic guitar to the heavens during Boston's More Than a Feeling.

Although I may be showing my age with these piping hot cultural references, video games are still a primary outlet for discovering music - especially among kids and teens, a full 90% of whom game regularly. In many ways, we're in a golden era for gaming as a discovery tool. You might find a new favourite band in CHVRCHES after hearing their moody theme for expensive arthouse game Death Stranding, or discover Lil Nas X from his anthem for the League of Legends 2022 world championships.