Beatles reaching 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, says 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 move would also be crucial to translating the Beatles' songs into a non-CD digital format, which has yet to take place. The group's Sir Paul McCartney has predicted a 2008 launch but has said that contracts and the final setup stages themselves have prevented a quick launch; the surviving band members and the estates of George Harrison and John Lennon are said to want an ideal release.

Apple Corps chief Jeff Jones has been more "active" than late founding member Neil Aspinall was in moving the digital conversion process, the paper says.

The Times article doesn't explain the motivation that would lead to a release of some songs as game-ready pieces rather than traditional music, though Sony/ATV head Martin Bandier notes that permission to play Beatles covers during American Idol has spurred a renewed interest in the music through alternate channels, including as soundtracks and through cellphone carriers.

"...permission to play Beatles covers during American Idol has spurred a renewed interest in the music through alternate channels, including as soundtracks and through cellphone carriers."

And P2P? LOL.

http://blog.wired.com/music/2008/06/beatles-eye-vid.html


What the fuck ... everybody likes Blackbird!!!!!

"permission to play Beatles covers during American Idol"

Permission? I thought the compulsory licensing royalties that televsion pays to ASCAP/BMI forgoes the need to ask permission. And the copyright law states that once a work has been released, anyone who wants can play the song, as long as they pay the royalties.

Am I missing something, leflaw? Why did they need permission?

Maybe Beatles are not included in Blanket license. There is no "television", just a bunch of networks with their own deals.

Ron Gertz at Royalty Logic represents radio and TV in making direct deals with publishers and bypassing ascap/bmi blankets, which aren't cheap.

Its not a compulsory. Its a film sync.

Correct. If American Idol were a radio broadcast, they could get away with a compulsory license to do Beatles, but since it's TV, different rules apply.

Live television is a film sync?

I've done my own material on live television. Somehow this aspect was overlooked, cuz I never got a dime for it.

" cuz I never got a dime for it."

Then you're in good company.
Chances are the RIAA ARTISTS don't
see a dime in their pockets either

Yup. And you WON'T see a dime for it either

...unless you have a powerful lawyer/manager who is willing to be a little bit gruff with the broadcaster demanding they 'pay up'

...but, you probably signed your rights away for the performance when you did it.

Take a look at the story of reps of the Greatful Dead and others getting "gruff" with Wolfgang's Vault. (You still have links on your own website I think.)

Insiders know that the music industry has been a shady business (because of the unfairness of the big labels) since God knows when, but it remains sad that the general public still has gained only a comparative whiff of how bad they really are.

Karoake is a film sync!