British games retailer GAME has been doing some music maths. They’ve taken songs and soundtracks from computer games and checked their popularity on Spotify. Then, using estimates based on public information, they’ve calculated the money the song has earned in fees.
Legends Never Die from League of Legends has been played nearly 220,000,000 times which is enough to earn £745,000 in fees. I’m not sure I’ve ever heard it.
| Rank | Song | Game | Composer | Spotify Plays | Spotify Revenue (£) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Legends Never Die | League of Legends | League of Legends | 219,321,249 | £745,692.25 |
| 2 | RISE | League of Legends | League of Legends | 130,419,274 | £443,425.53 |
| 3 | Phoenix | League of Legends | League of Legends | 78,515,685 | £266,953.33 |
| 4 | MEGALOVANIA | Undertale | Toby Fox | 74,578,300 | £253,566.22 |
| 5 | Sweden | Minecraft | C418 | 73,670,964 | £250,481.28 |
| 6 | Vigil | Call of Duty | Jack Wall | 61,441,053 | £208,899.58 |
| 7 | Minecraft | Minecraft | C418 | 35,130,804 | £119,444.73 |
| 8 | The Choice | Minecraft | Gustavo Santaolalla | 34,732,318 | £118,089.88 |
| 9 | Rip and Tear | Doom | Mick Gordon | 34,009,205 | £115,613.30 |
| 10 | BFG Division | Doom | Mick Gordon | 32,433,217 | £110,272.94 |
As you can see, League of Legends dominates, pushed by the likes of Minecraft with Doom and Assassin’s Creed lurking nearby.
Who’s the talent behind these successes? Well, Game looked at the composers, and it’s nice to see Toby Fox of Undertale in second place after Riot.
| Rank | Composer | Games | Monthly Listeners |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riot Games Music Team | League of Legends | 5,619,727 |
| 2 | Toby Fox | Undertale | 1,743,656 |
| 3 | Marcin Przybyłowicz | The Witcher / Cyberpunk 2077 | 1,443,982 |
| 4 | C418 | Minecraft | 1,290,666 |
| 5 | Brian Tyler | Assassin’s Creed / Call of Duty | 1,244,606 |
| 6 | Bear McCreary | God of War | 1,141,000 |
| 7 | Mick Gordon | Doom / Need For Speed | 1,139,274 |
| 8 | Gustavo Santaolalla | The Last of Us | 1,077,454 |
| 9 | Sega Sound Team | Sonic / Afterburner | 874,292 |
| 10 | Jeremy Soule | The Elder Scrolls / Harry Potter | 823,644 |
Lastly, the list of names associated with computer game music is pretty interesting. There’s an infographic for that too!
If Spotify isn’t your jam then perhaps these simply stunning The Last of Us records will be more to your taste. They are gorgeous.
Quick Links
- Game’s music research.
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