Video/DVD News
Are Labels Charging Enough for Videogame Music?
With more than $1 billion in sales and 50 million tracks downloaded between them—on a base of only about 350 songs—the “Guitar Hero" and “Rock Band" videogame franchises emerged this year as serious moneymakers for the music industry. But are they bringing in enough per track?
During a quarterly earnings call in August, Warner Music Group chairman/CEO Edgar Bronfman Jr. said he wants more money from music games like Activision's “Guitar Hero" or he'll stop licensing music. Activision CEO Bobby Kotick fired back in an interview, suggesting that labels should pay his company for promoting their music.
Next year's big-money showdown is between “Guitar Hero" and MTV Games and EA's “Rock Band," but there's plenty of action on the undercard. Among the other titles competing for music industry support and gamers' dollars are Nintendo's “Wii Music," Disney's “Ultimate Band," Acclaim's “Rockfree" and XS Games' “PopStar Guitar."
