Beatles getting a LOT of money for new MTV game

That's probably not a surprise, but Variety's crack music reporter Phil Gallo got details on just how MTV managed to get the much sought after rights to translate the most popular band of all time into a videogame. Here's the relevant excerpt from his story:

Sony/ATV handles the music publishing of the vast majority of songs written by Lennon and McCartney.

The music publisher was the last to sign the [Beatles videogame] deal, and while no financial figures were released, [CEO Martin] Bandier said Sony/ATV asked for as much as possible.

"There have been mutterings from artists and songwriters that they are not being offered their fair share in videogames, but the gamemakers have the leverage," he said. "In the world of rock, there are thousands of tracks that will work, but when you get into the world of unique artists, that leverage shifts, tremendously, to the artists and songwriters.

"We signed a deal that would be considered very rich by the videogame company but fair for the artists. It will have online implications that will be enormous."

With the Beatles inking a deal for a videogame, it leaves one key holdout from the classic rock era, Led Zeppelin. The British hard rock quartet, rumored to be reforming without lead singer Robert Plant, was one of the first acts approached when "Guitar Hero" was in prototype form. Then, and now, they have rejected uses of their songs in games.

The Rolling Stones moved their post-1970 catalog to Universal Music Group earlier this year, and the music conglom said digital was a priority, suggesting a dedicated game is likely.

Given that Universal Music Group and Activision are both part of the same happy Vivendi family, how much do you want to bet that means we'll be seeing "Guitar Hero: Rolling Stones" in the not too distant future?

Which brings up one interesting question: Why are the Beatles getting their own unique game and not "Rock Band: Beatles Edition?" One possibility is that the Beatles are so (self?) important that they demand/deserve their own game in which their music doesn't mix with other artists.

The other possibility is that, since Activision surely went after these rights hard, Apple Corp. (administrator of the Beatles catalog) decided it didn't want to be accused of taking sides in the "Rock Band" - "Guitar Hero" war, so it just sidestepped the whole mess.

Full story: MTV cues up Beatles videogame