Survey Reveals Americans Consider Gifts that Offer an Experience Such as Musical Instruments a Top Pick this Holiday Season

New NAMM-Commissioned Survey Findings Reflect Growing Consumer Trend

CARLSBAD, Calif., Nov. 16, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a new holiday retail survey commissioned by the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), more than one-third of Americans prefer to give loved ones gifts that offer meaningful, life-enriching experiences.

Perhaps telling of which experiences consumers may likely share with their families this year, the survey also found that 58 percent of those surveyed regretted not learning to play a musical instrument.

"The only way a retailer is going to drag a consumer away from their PC or mobile phone this holiday season is by offering a compelling experience, one they don't want to miss," said Robin Lewis, CEO, The Robin Report and co-author of The New Rules of Retail. "Whether it's Lululemon's yoga classes, cooking classes at Macy's or music lessons at their hometown music store, these are life-enriching experiences that consumers cannot get online."

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The hard rock community was in a state of mourning as artists and fans rushed to pay tribute to iconic elder statesman Ronnie James Dio, born to an Italian-American family in New Hampshire as Ronald James Padavona, who died on Sunday at the age of 67 from stomach cancer.

In this behind the scenes video for Ascaron's Sacred 2: Fallen Angel, Blind Guardian vocalist Hansi Kürsch explains how a German heavy metal band gets into a video game.

Apparently the answer is to give up hope altogether. Hansi reveals that Blind Guardian had been trying to get into a video game - any video game - since the early 90's, and had given up hope for being featured in a video game at all. That's when German video game developer Ascaron came calling. Video follows break..

Metallica's upcoming ninth studio album Death Magnetic hits Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock in its entirety this Friday, the same day the album goes on sale.

Better still the Guitar Hero downloadable album will include two exclusive renditions of Suicide & Redemption with extended solos by James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett. And to wrap up the good news, Activision says the album will be fully forward compatible with Guitar Hero World Tour, which is quite a trick considering the additional instruments in the new game.

“We’ve been working very closely with Metallica and we’re extremely excited to offer Death Magnetic not only in its entirety, but also with the exclusive recordings of ‘Suicide & Redemption’ as downloadable content to Guitar Hero fans,” said Tim Riley, Vice President of Music Affairs for Activision Blizzard. “We’re proud to be setting a new precedent for our two industries, making an entire new album available in two different mediums simultaneously.”

Death Magnetic will hit the 360 for 1,440 Microsoft Points and the Playstation Network for $17.99 on Sept. 12.

Read the full press release after the break..

ENGLISH SPEED METAL BAND DRAGONFORCE TO DEBUT NEW SINGLE AS PART OF DOWNLOADABLE TRACK PACK FOR GUITAR HEROR III: LEGENDS OF ROCK

SANTA MONICA, CA - August 19, 2008 - Known for their out-of-control riffs, fast paced songs and twin guitar solos, DragonForce will ascend the virtualstage once again to unleash "Heroes of Our Time" - the debut single off their new album Ultra Beatdown - in a three-song track pack for Activision Publishing, Inc.'s (Nasdaq: ATVI) Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock.  The DragonForce track pack will be available on August 21, 2008 giving gamers the unique opportunity to download and play "Heroes of Our Time" in advance of the album release.

Last.fm users in the U.S., Britain, and Germany can search for an artist and stream a song for free, or pay to download an MP3.