According to the Wall Street Journal, MTV-EA-Harmonix is set to announce later today that they've negotiated a deal which will allow them to offer Beatles music in their Rock Band games.Yes. The Beatles.
In the world of music games, this is a big deal. Arguably the most popular and iconic band of all time, The Beatles are an enormous prize for the Rock Band franchise. One which presents an unprecedented opportunity to connect their games to an entirely new demographic/ generation of people.
But while its a big deal within the context of music games, its an even bigger deal when you look at the big picture. To showcase that bigger picture, a brief exercise.
Open up your friendly neighborhood iTunes music store and search for "The Beatles". There are 3 things you should notice rather quickly:
- Beatles cover bands are terrible.
- "Shes Got a Butt Bigger Than The Beatles" by Cledus T. Judd is the single worst song ever made. And...
- There is no actual Beatles music. Because The Beatles publisher has refused for *years* to release their music to Apple's service.
Lets recap. The Beatles, ie the biggest music sensation in history, have signed on with Rock Band, but not with iTunes. With a video game... but not most popular digital music distribution platform of our time. And they are not even the first notable group to follow this trend. ACDC, another wildly popular iTunes holdout, also has music in Rock Band.
If you read this blog, you know that I've been touting these games as a very possible future for music distribution for some time now. But I have to admit, I never thought that we'd see The Beatles in Rock Band before iTunes.
I can't wait to hear the rational (or the dollar amount) associated with this deal in the official press release later today. But if you're still skeptical about where this stuff is heading, I have a bridge in Alaska to sell you =)
Move over iTunes indeed.
UPDATE:
The deal has now been officially announced, with the press release available for your reading pleasure. As it turns out, the Beatles music will actually be part of an entirely new game, though its not clear at this point whether or not their tracks will also be available for download via Rock Band.
A quote from the Jeff Jones (CEO of Apple Corp, who control the rights to The Beatles music):
“Introducing the genius of The Beatles to a whole new generation of music lovers through original and inspired ways is extremely exciting to us at Apple Corps,” stated Jeff Jones, CEO, Apple Corps. “We are truly pleased to be working with the innovative forces at MTV and Harmonix as they embody our mutual passions for music and creativity.”
“Many of us have been part of a generation that has long enjoyed an enduring love affair with The Beatles and now we’re looking to extend that love affair for future generations to enjoy,” said Van Toffler.” “Our inspiration for this project comes from a keen sense of history and a place of utmost reverence and respect for the band, their music and their heritage.”
Simple awesomesauce.
Image from the theenglishteacheronline.com
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