Viacom have already promised a minimum of $10 million to rights-holders, but if the hyped music game actually explodes as big wigs hope it does, then that’s even more.
The royalty rates are ”not even comparable” to anything before. A lot of people are getting paid for the likenesses and songs of The Beatles. A standard edition of the game revealed last week.
”The royalty rates on this are not even comparable to anything that has been done before,” said Martin Bandier, chairman of Sony/ATV Music Publishing, reports the LA Times.
Who is getting paid for The Beatles: Rock Band? Well there are 45 songs in the game for one, which the majority are controlled by Sony/ATV Music Publishing and Michael Jackson’s estate. Apple Corps and EMI Music control the remaining songs. Each want a big pie slice.
Recently a value edition has popped up through online retailers that bundles the game with standard Rock Band instruments. That’s down from Viacom’s idea to release the pricey $250 limited edition with replica instruments from The Beatles.
Viacom is betting big with The Beatles as Rock Band itself has been losing them money, and the peripherals have proven to be more difficult to shift than they expected. Then there’s the decline of the music game genre… Will you be rocking with The Beatles, videogamer?
The Beatles: Rock Band is being released on Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii this September 9th.
Source: GameSpot
