Kotick: Warner Comments On Game Music Royalties Not 'Respectful'

Activision's firing back at Warner Music, whose CEO recently asserted that the video game industry doesn't pay enough to the music industry in song royalties for games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band. Activision CEO Bobby Kotick took issue with Warner Music CEO Edgar Bronfman's comments that "the amount being paid to the music industry, even though their games are entirely dependent on the content we own and control, is far too small." "I think his view was ... that [Warner Music] should be compensated the way they might for a performance on iTunes,” Kotick said to the Financial Times. Kotick told the Financial Times that Bronfman's comments were "one-sided," and not "respectful of how much we’ve done to bring new audiences into the market," suggesting that Bronfman's undervaluing the impact of games on the music industry. Tension between the two parties is significant, as Warner Music maintains relationships with many of the bands involved in Activision's Guitar Hero franchise -- for example, it currently publishes the music of Metallica, who will be debuting its next album, Death Magnetic, as DLC for Guitar Hero III. A Guitar Hero III pack including Warner-published bands such as Linkin Park and The Used has also debuted.