The Beatles: Rock Band royalties *at least* US$ 10 million

The Beatles: Rock Band - Image 1Am sure you were wondering – just like any other curious Beatles fan would be: how much exactly did Viacom had to shell out to get the rights for Beatles: Rock Band (PS3, Xbox 360, and Wii)? It was a pretty safe and logical guess to say that it’s nowhere cheap at all. Still, finding out the exact figure remains mind-blowing.

Am sure you were wondering – just like any other curious Beatles fan would be: how much exactly did Viacom had to shell out to get the rights for Beatles: Rock Band (PS3, Xbox 360, and Wii)? It was a pretty safe and logical guess to say that it’s nowhere cheap at all. Still, finding out the exact figure remains mind-blowing.

The Beatles: Rock Band - Image 1
Who, me? Cheap? Nevaahh…

The price: a cool US$ 10 million for the rights to the music. No, that’s not the development cost for the game. That’s just for licensing. And what’s more, that’s expected to reach to as high as US$ 40 million.

The licensing rights include, apart from the use of music in the game, the use of of the name, likenesses, life stores, etc. of the whole band. If the royalty rates do reach US$ 40 mill, though, Viacom shouldn’t be crying their hearts out because they’re sure to rake in the big bucks as well. And rightfully so, Martin Bandier (Sony music publishing chairman) characterizes these royalty rates as “not even comparable to anything that has been done before.”

The music business is, after all, still part of show business, and there’s no business like it. Beatles: Rock Band comes out internationally next week, September 9, 2009.


Related Articles:

Via Wired

Add a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *