Music Band Manager

Review

Music is a universal joy. There are so many styles to fall in love with throughout the course of our lives, to make us smile, dance, reflect and even dream. These songs or harmonies that become stuck between our two ears for days without missing a beat are played by talented individuals or bands. Have you ever asked yourself how long it took these artists to become famous before performing all around the world at the biggest events? Well, now you have a chance to experience it yourself by creating your own group in Music band Manager!

Music Band Manager is casual management / simulation game where you take control of a group of four musicians and attempt to bring them fame and fortune.

At the start of the game, you’ll have to choose what type of music your band will play. Will it be a Pop, Rock, Hip-hop or Techno?  Whatever style you choose it would just mean that your musicians will have better skill points towards that genre of music at the start of the game. Don’t worry, you’ll be able to train them in the other genres, too.   Straight after that, you’ll proceed to a short tutorial which is well done.

From here it’s totally up to you. The main screen will give you the ability to see the profile of your musicians. You can upgrade their instruments and microphones (for your front man/woman), and give them other items which can help to create better songs faster, increase revenue and other options. You’ll be able to write songs, rehearse, record and sell your songs, and each of them will have sub-options. For example, you’ll be able to choose what type of music each of your musicians will play in a specific training session to help them to increase their knowledge of that style of music. You’ll be able to choose to record with different studios; some will be cheaper, but they’ll produce a record with lower sound quality than more expensive studios. Hiring managers will help bring more fans and opportunities to your group, such as interviews on radio, tv and much more. Each time your manager asks you to do something, you’ll be prompted with three possible responses. Depending on your response, you might gain money, more fans or even additional points towards writing a song with a specific theme which might result in a big hit! Later on in the game, you’ll be able to put together an album, and with a bit of luck it might be rated in the top 200 on the charts!

The second screen is a map showing the cities in which your band can play and how much money they’ll earn per gig. Your first map is Western Europe, which has around 20 venues on the map. However, you’ll only be able to play at one venue until you gain more fame, which will unlock the next venue. Some venues will require that your group has knowledge of a certain genre of music before you can play there, so don’t forget to train your musicians in all styles of music.  Then book your calendar and make money! When all locations are unlocked and you have the right amount of money and fans, you can move your band to another part of the world to increase your revenue and popularity. You’ll need to do this 7 times to reach America. The good news is that your band will be able to go back to the previous region via a tour. Another way to make money is to accept random jobs, but you could risk not being paid.

What you need to make sure of is that you accumulate enough money every 7 days to avoid bankruptcy.

The graphics are nice and colourful and the interface is very easy to use. I was hoping for more variety in terms of the soundtrack, though; there are only a few sounds playing over and over again. As soon as you figure out how to remain in the black each week, it becomes a bit repetitive.