Wednesday, February 25, 2009

The Music Industry Hates Guitar Hero?

Over the past three years, play-along titles Guitar Hero and Rock Band have raked in more than $2.3 billion, breathed new life into old bands, and helped popularize new ones. Meanwhile, album sales fell 19 percent this past holiday season, so shouldn't the music industry should be grateful for the new source of exposure?

Well, apparently they aren’t - they're whining over licensing fees. After Warner Music Group CEO Edgar Bronfman complained publicly about the “paltry” money it receives for the use of its songs, publisher MTV Games has apparently decided to boycott Warner artists. This Wired article suggests that instead of insisting on higher fees for licensing their songs, record labels should be angling for creative participation. What about converting their entire catalog to a format playable through these games and offering downloads for a fee?

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