According to a new press release, popular video game Rock Band 2 has officially hit $1 billion dollars in revenue and sold 40 million tracks via the game. The success of the game pays credence to the many who predicted that the game would become a significant source of new revenue for artists and the game, and it's competitor - Guitar Hero: World Tour - have been embraced by musicians like Mission of Burma, Metallica, Rise Against, Dead Kennedys, Pixies, Foo Fighters, Pearl Jam and many others.

Unlike the popular iTunes music store however, there appears to be less opportunity for small or independent bands to make their music available through downloads in the game. It remains to be seen if more acts than the current 269 different artists will be appearing soon.