Warner Music Wants More Cash From Music Games

The success of games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero hangs in large part on their track lists, and Warner Music Group thinks video games should pay more for those songs. "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," Warner Music CEO Edgar Bronfman told Reuters. The firm has a major stake thanks to its relationship with many of the notable bands featured in the Guitar Hero and Rock Band series - for example, Warner Music Group currently publishes Metallica's music, and a Guitar Hero III pack including Warner-published bands such as Linkin Park and The Used has also debuted. The selection of licensed music on offer helps determine competitive advantage in the eyes of consumers in the increasingly popular music game genre, and higher licensing fees could add a new element to the battle of the bands. According to Reuters, Bronfman compared the rise of the music video game to the advent of similar game-changers like MTV or iTunes that altered the paradigm enough to warrant new perspectives for the record labels.