Beatles on Guitar Hero before iTunes?
The Beatles are close to securing a deal that would see their first digital music releases through music games rather than direct downloads from iTunes or or similar stores, according to the Financial Times.
The UK business paper claims sources who say that the pop rock group may have deals "in a matter of weeks" that bring songs to Guitar Hero maker Activision as well as to Rock Band co-creator MTV Games. While no specifics are mentioned, the deal suggests a Beatles-themed title and alludes to the possibility of making Beatles songs available as downloadable content.
While no involved parties will publicly confirm or deny the talks, the alleged deal would require the approval of the Beatles' own Apple Corps, their parent label EMI, and Sony/ATV, the owner of most Beatles copyrights. However, any agreement would be valued at "several million" US dollars.
The UK business paper claims sources who say that the pop rock group may have deals "in a matter of weeks" that bring songs to Guitar Hero maker Activision as well as to Rock Band co-creator MTV Games. While no specifics are mentioned, the deal suggests a Beatles-themed title and alludes to the possibility of making Beatles songs available as downloadable content.
While no involved parties will publicly confirm or deny the talks, the alleged deal would require the approval of the Beatles' own Apple Corps, their parent label EMI, and Sony/ATV, the owner of most Beatles copyrights. However, any agreement would be valued at "several million" US dollars.
Comments
WTF happened to Apple's iTunes Plus product, anyway. Hardly any labels are available DRM-free in high quality. Obviously 128k music sounds like dirt and isn't worth buying.
Meanwhile, the Beatles downloads have been rumored for years, sort of like Beatles reunions were in the 1970s. Both rumors turned out to be a complete waste of time.