From March 2010 until September 2014, authoring groups could submit their own tracks for peer review through the Rock Band Network.
[7] The sudden release, along with a survey posted by Harmonix a few days later, hinted at the possibility of a new Rock Band game for eighth generation consoles.
[8] Harmonix later confirmed Rock Band 4 on March 5, 2015, and the game was released on October 6, 2015, on Xbox One and PlayStation 4.
Harmonix initially reported in March 2018 that Xbox 360 users would not be able to recover their RBN content via the Xbox 360's download history due to technical issues, with Harmonix recommending that users back up their RBN song libraries to an external storage device; however, Harmonix subsequently reported in June 2018 that Xbox 360 users are now able to re-download their RBN content as needed.
From September 18, 2012, until October 6, 2015, all songs released prior to Rock Band 3's launch were reduced to US$1.00/€0.75/£0.59;[17] however, with the integration of Rock Band 4's new features, Freestyle Guitar Solos and Dynamic Drum Fills, into legacy tracks, the price of all legacy DLC reverted to its original price point of US$1.99/€1.49/£0.99.
From May 4, 2010, to December 29, 2020, new songs were usually released on Tuesdays across all participating consoles - this cadence shifted to Thursdays starting January 7, 2021.
All songs released via downloadable content prior to October 6, 2015, are playable in Rock Band 3, and support its new Pro Drum mode.
In addition, all applicable songs released via downloadable content feature backing vocals when played in Rock Band 4, but no longer include keyboard or Pro Keyboard support, due to those features being removed in Rock Band 4.
Periodically, Harmonix delists songs from the Rock Band Music Store due to license expiration.
Harmonix announced that they will attempt to renew their license agreements, promising to give players advance notice if certain songs cannot be relicensed and must be delisted.