Classic FM Hall of Fame Campaign Is Resounding Success

As a popular TV show once said, dedication is what you need.  And a killer gaming rig, but we digress.  After many long months of hard campaigning, the dedication of many gamers has paid off, as, for the first time, several pieces of video game music have made it into the venerable Classic FM Hall of Fame.  You may remember, several months ago, that we highlighted the worthy campaign to garner more recognition for video game music and it would seem that it has been an overwhelming success, surprising even supporters themselves.

Not content with merely sidling in like a bashful newcomer, Aerith’s Theme has marched straight into an eye-popping number 16 slot, and Jeremy Soule’s Skyrim theme enters at 238, much to the chagrin of many Classic FM regulars, judging by the comments on the site.  Fortunately, many more reasoned heads have defended the placement of Uematsu’s Aerith’s piece in particular, generally expressing happiness that video game music is finally getting the recognition it deserves and that musical tastes are evolving to include newer media.

While many posters may not have necessarily agreed with the choice of music (several GL writers included, who voted for Jeremy Soule’s Oblivion, or Inon Zur’s Fallout 3 theme), many recognise that, in a way, the choice of music was somewhat less relevant as it became more of a figurehead for the campaign in general, representing video game music as it made its first steps into more mainstream recognition.

Long may this heady success continue and we hope, here at GLHQ, that video game music continues to make inroads into mainstream consciousness. The passion, hard work, and outstanding talent in the industry deserve it.  While gaming may be a young art form in many eyes, it has matured considerably in recent years to the point that it deserves the respect afforded to other media (and not just as far as music goes).  This may be one small step, but we hope that it will be the first of many more.  To all the people who supported the campaign, we tip our hat to you and ask that you spare a respectful nod for those who started, ran with, and championed this campaign through to victory – it may not seem like much to some, but they have not only helped make a little piece of history, they have won respect and recognition for our hobby – invaluable.

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