Maria Egan from Riot Games accepted Variety Hitmakers’ first-ever Interactive Music in Media Award will take place on Saturday afternoon, celebrating the company’s achievements in bridging the worlds of gaming and music.
Egan, head of global music at Riot Games, has spent the past few years engaging the global gaming community by working with musicians, managers and record labels to bring bespoke songs to the worlds of “League of Legends” and “Valorant.” Counting collaborations with Stray Kids, Imagine Dragons and Lil Nas
JJ Italiano, Head of Global Music Curation and Discovery at Spotify, introduced Egan by listing Riot’s accomplishments, including its recent work with GEM and Anyma for the League of Legends World Championship in China.
“At Riot Games, as you can see, music is more than just wallpaper,” Egan told the Hitmakers audience. “We say it’s the heartbeat of our communities. And games and music are at an exciting intersection, and there are many innovative ways for artists to engage. But at Riot, I think we especially value the timeless magic of songs. They galvanize our communities across language, time, continents, they tell our stories, they expand our worlds.
“And the incredible songwriters and artists who have worked with us over the last 15 years and many of you in this room, you are essential collaborators in what we call the big G of our games,” she continued. “And what that means for us is that there is this unique ecosystem, the esports, the music, the entertainment, the fandom around our games, which makes it one of the largest and most vibrant gaming communities in the world. And like JJ said, we know that our players love music deeply, and so our goal more than anything is to build partnerships that help your music reach our global audience in new ways. We sometimes say that where there’s music, there’s music. new memories. And so we want our players to become your fans and keep your songs in their hearts for the rest of their lives.
