As Riot Games and Virgin Music Group release the extended edition of Arcane League of Legends: Season 2 Original Soundtrack, revisit our interview with global head of music & events, Maria Egan...
Riot Games’ global head of music & events, Maria Egan, has spoken about a “generational shift” in culture following their soundtrack success.
A global partnership with Virgin Music (excluding China) on the soundtrack for season two of animated Netflix series Arcane delivered more than 500 million streams across the album’s tracks in the first few weeks of release.
“We knew it was special, Arcane had built the fandom from the first season,” said LA-based Egan. “That’s the privilege of working for Riot, there’s a rabid audience waiting for you to deliver something amazing that can raise expectations.”
The series debuted on Netflix in 2021 and held the No.1 global spot for three weeks, as well as reaching the Top 10 in more than 87 countries. Arcane is based on the hugely popular League Of Legends e-sports multiplayer online game.
Released in late November, the season two soundtrack includes new recordings by Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda and Emily Armstrong, Twenty One Pilots, Freya Ridings, Woodkid, Ashnikko, plus Stray Kids, Young Miko and Tom Morello.
“We’re operating a little bit more like an indie label now,” said Egan of the expanded music team of 20. “We brought in some music marketing expertise. We’re just more of a robust team.”
As well as Virgin, Riot Games works with Fuga for distribution of its in-house score compositions, for which BMG is the publishing partner.
The second season soundtrack debuted at No.2 on the compilation chart in the UK with 7,147 sales (Official Charts Company). It went on to increase sales for two consecutive weeks with physical editions boosting consumption. Consumption to date in the UK is 49,650 units.
Ma Meilleure Ennemie, a French language track by Stromae and Pomme, has been the standout success so far from the soundtrack, peaking at No.1 on Spotify in France, Belgium, Poland and the UK. It has also cracked the British singles chart Top 20.
Egan said that the surprise impact of the song, as well as the popularity of gaming with Gen-Z and Gen Alpha, means that labels will put a greater focus on increasingly sophisticated licensing partnerships.
“That balance is going to shift as they realise that one of the biggest songs on this soundtrack is a French love song – nobody would have pitched that to me as game music,” she said. “So we’re reinventing and retelling the story about what kind of media can exist around games. I think that this is a generational shift; rather than thinking of games as a subculture, [we should be] thinking of games as the dominant layer of mainstream culture.”
We knew it was special, Arcane had built the fandom from the first season
Maria Egan
Based on research by MIDiA, gamers typically spend 11.3 hours per week listening to music, while average consumers spend 7.8 hours.
For Arcane, multiple singles have been coordinated around key events, such as Linkin Park playing the League Of Legends Worlds 2024 Finals Opening Ceremony at The O2.
Egan said Virgin is “uniquely set up to be able to handle the complexity of a release like this”.
“Virgin has been amazing,” she said. “Cindy [James, GM, Virgin Music North America] working with Brooke [Rascoff, head of music marketing, Riot Games] and the team on our side, it’s been a huge effort but it’s paying off. It’s beyond a soundtrack release.”
As well as DSP partnerships, Virgin has been crucial for global radio airplay. The LP includes acts from the US, UK, France, Belgium, South Korea, Puerto Rico and Hong Kong.
“We wanted a global spread of artists, so it just made sense to look for a partner that had the capabilities globally and in different territories,” said Egan.
“The Arcane soundtrack created by the Riot Games team was curated with a diverse group of talented artists from different countries representing different musical styles, languages and genres, that would appeal to the global fans of the show,” Jacqueline Saturn, president, Virgin Music Group North America, and EVP, global artist relations, told Music Week.
“The massive success of the show, along with the incredible artist roster, and the Riot composer team who collaborated with them on the fantastic songs on this soundtrack, have created amazing opportunities for the Virgin Music global marketing and commercial teams to drive local engagement around the world.”
Imagine Dragons’ 2021 Arcane theme track Enemy (feat. JID) has more than three billion global streams. Their track Warrior became an e-sports anthem for League Of Legends in 2014.
“Dragons have had a long relationship with League,” said Egan. “Dan [Reynolds] is a huge player of the game.”
The season one soundtrack and score have amassed more than 5.6 billion global streams since release in November 2021. Arcane’s artist profile has 33.4m monthly Spotify listeners.
A deluxe digital edition of the season two soundtrack with new tracks is out in March.
“A lot of the artists are seeing the biggest streaming success they’ve ever had,” said Egan of the soundtrack’s global reach for new songs. “They sat down with us and they really designed the moment,” she added. “And they’re seeing new fans coming into their ecosystems.”
PHOTO: (L-R) Michael Cantor, Senior Vice President Business Affairs and Development; Brooke Rascoff, Head of Music Marketing, Riot Games; Cindy James, General Manager, Virgin Music Group North America; Maria Egan, Global Head of Music & Events, Riot Games; Jacqueline Saturn, President Virgin Music Group North American and EVP of Global Artist Relations; Danny Silverman, Head of Music Legal Affairs, Riot Games; Gene Whitney, Global Head of Music Business Affairs and Operations, Riot Games. (Photo by Rich Polk)
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