The Beatles And Rock Band Creators Come Together

[Refugee 7]

Game enthusiasts will soon be able to play The Beatles tunes in a new video game.

MTV Games, creator of the hit game Rock Band, and Apple Corps, which owns the rights to The Beatles' music catalogue, announced Thursday that they plan to create a title that will feature only music from the Fab Four. The deal marks the first time that The Beatles' music will play on video games.

MTV Games parent Viacom (VIAB) and Apple Corps have not released details about the timing, price, platforms, or specific songs or albums.

Rock Band 2 is available on the Nintendo Wii, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 consoles. MTV Games and Apple Corps said that surviving Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, along with Yoko Ono Lennon, Olivia Harrison, and Beatles producer Giles Martin, would provide input for the game.

The companies called the effort "an unprecedented, experiential progression through, and celebration of, the music and artistry of The Beatles."

Aerosmith, AC/DC, and Metallica, have also licensed their music for video games such as Activision's Guitar Hero: Aerosmith.

The deal represents a major coup for Viacom, since The Beatles have not licensed their work for download sales through iTunes or other online music stores.

Rock Band 2 has begun to catch up with Guitar Hero World Tour for the title of most popular video game. Contenders typically simulate playing musical notes along with popular songs.

The addition of The Beatles' music could broaden interest in video games and game consoles among baby boomers and broaden the band's reach to younger generations.

[nurktwin 2,143]

there are some things in that article that are highly questionable. 1st of all, apple records never owned the beatles catalog, the beatles never even owned them. the remaining beatles had a chance to buy it all, if the would have outbid michael jackson for 150 million bucks. but paul and yoko didn't bid!!! what a fuckin mistake. they easily could have bid 300 million. now mike owns them and he's going so broke that he sold 1/2 of the beatles to survive on his own.

[martin03345 167]

Doesn't George though own all of the songs he wrote with the Beatles or is that still that with Mike with the Lennon/McCartney catalog as well?

[Echosoftom 3]

I thought Michael Jackson owned it. But then I was sure I read that he got hard up for money and sold the publishing rights. This was all I could find. Interesting....

March 10, 2008 2:02 PM PDT

Michael Jackson's company denies Beatles coming to iTunes

The company that owns the rights to a vast majority of The Beatles music catalog has questioned reports that the fab four have cut a deal with Steve Jobs.

Sony/ATV Music Publishing, the joint venture owned by Sony and singer Michael Jackson, has thrown cold water on newspaper stories out of London that The Beatles catalog would soon be available on iTunes. A spokeswoman for Sony/ATV Music Publishing told CNET News.com that the reports are "untrue."

Sony/ATV is a pretty good source. While EMI Group owns the recording rights to The Beatles catalog, Sony and Jackson own the rights to the vast majority of the catalog's publishing rights. Had a deal been cut, Sony/ATV would "absolutely be informed," the Sony/ATV spokeswoman said.

Stories about the Fab Four heading to iTunes crop up every few months, it seems, and rumors and unconfirmed reports have been circulating for years. This time, the story appeared to have legs as it was reported by three large British newspapers. They all cited unnamed sources.

Under media scrutiny, the stories began showing cracks on Sunday. One of the newspapers reported that Apple was willing to pay the Beatles about $600 million. The blog Silicon Alley Insider noted that Apple, which grosses about 33 cents for every song sale, would have to sell 1.8 billion Beatles songs to break even.

A high-level music industry source said an agreement between The Beatles and Apple could still get inked in 2008. They emphasized, however, that the British papers were wrong to say the deal was finalized.

Representatives for EMI and Apple declined to comment for the story.

One has to wonder why these rumors and unconfirmed reports continue to crop up. Is it a case of wishful thinking on the part of Beatles fans or Apple?

The availability of The Beatles, the best-selling band of all time, on iTunes would send the most dramatic signal to date that digital downloads are an integral part of mainstream music, said Susan Kevorkian, a music analyst with research group IDC. "It's important for iTunes and online music services in general because it legitimizes IP-based music services," Kevorkian said. "It also points to the fact that digital music services are maturing when important groups that have been high-profile holdouts come onboard."

In the last several years, Madonna, Led Zeppelin, and Metallica--artists who once spurned Internet sales of their music--reversed themselves and embraced iTunes.

Earlier Monday, Chris Castle, a music lawyer and former record label executive predicted that a Web-based Beatlemania would be big for iTunes and Beatles fans alike.

He said The Beatles could release formerly unreleased music "that they might have lying around," and the offering could also include some kind of video element. Even though The Beatles broke up nearly 40 years ago, Castle said Apple Corps, the band's media company, would find a way to "dress up the offering" so that it would create excitement even among longtime Beatles fans.

Jeff Jones, the new head of Apple Corps, "is known as a catalog genius," Castle said. "If there is anybody that can figure out how to make this work it's him. I would expect to see some pleasant surprises from Jeff."

Castle said that what fans likely won't find with a Beatles offering on iTunes is a discount. "This is a band that has sold music at premium prices for four decades," Castle said. "They've never been discounted. I would be shocked to see any competition on price. Think about it. The Beatles have kept (their brand) precious and popular for a long time. They've done this by knowing how to treat their fans and knowing what didn't work for them."

The Beatles were unlikely candidates to join iTunes. Apple Corps had a series of trademark disputes with Apple Inc. going back to 1976 when Beatle guitarist George Harrison saw an ad for the then Apple Computer. The band thought the new company had infringed on their trademark and sued. The case was settled out of court.

There were other legal skirmishes along the way but last year, Paul McCartney told reporters in Great Britain that he thought a deal with Apple CEO Steve Jobs was close to being finalized.

If and when The Beatles arrive at iTunes, there'll be plenty of people who will ask, "Why all the fuss?" The music has been available for free on peer-to-peer sites for years.

According to Castle, The Beatles were an unprecedented combination of talent and timing, and even after all this time, still possess an enormous following of people who will be willing to pay. "You had the musical genius, business genius, and extraordinary popularity that crossed all genres and formats," Castle said. "You've never had that before or since."

[PumpkinBumpkin 1]

I don't like the idea of such beautiful songs being in a video game.

[surfnburn 5]

I'm waiting for a Yellow Submarine game...lol

I guess they're trying to get a younger audience; kids spend all their time playing video games.

[Yer so bad 4]

Yes, it´s better an idea of a Yellow submarine game. The FabFour songs are toooooo much important, majestic, deep and touching dor only a simple video game.

[pettyfreak94 1]

I don't like it when people know all of these classic songs because they have been on Guitar Hero or Rock Band.

I agree with you, PumpkinBumpkin!

[martin03345 167]

Lennon and George must be rolling over in their graves right now

[Nylle 0]

Why is using a song in a video game so much different than using it in a movie or a Cirque de Soleil show? I don't think this is such a crime. The crime (as Nurk said) is that they let the rights get away in the first place. I think this is a good way to introduce the Beatles' music to the younger generation.

[Marion 1,411]

I agree with Ellyn and I don't see why they don't put the music up on iTunes. Let the people choose what format they want. If they'd rather have cds they can still buy them but if MP3's are ok with the consumer, let it be their choice.