Jump to navigation
Advertisement

Jackson death won't affect Beatles RB News

Xbox 360 PlayStation 3 Wii
News by Robert Purchese

9 July, 2009

Harmonix has said that Michael Jackson's death will not affect the release of The Beatles: Rock Band.

Furthermore, the developer told IGN there is no chance the track list will be compromised.

Michael Jackson owned the bulk of The Beatles catalogue. He acquired the rights to around 267 songs when he bought publisher ATV Songs in 1985 for USD 47.5m, according to Reuters. Jackson famously outbid Paul McCartney to do so.

The late, great singer merged ATV with Sony Music 10 years later, granting him 50 per cent of the new label, which is now worth around USD 1 billion.

But what the Jackson Estate owns of that today is unknown, as the recently-deceased singer used his stake as well as copyrights to his own songs to secure massive bank loans amounting to USD 270m in 2002.

He needed the money to pay off astronomical debts, which the Wall Street Journal reported last month to be as high as USD 500m.

But, back on topic: The Beatles: Rock Band is due out on 9th September for PS3, Wii and Xbox 360. Our gamepages below will tell you more.

Advertisement

Are you excited about The Beatles: Rock Band on PlayStation 3/Wii/Xbox 360?
View Eurogamer readers most anticipated games

Thanks!

Want to comment on this article? Log in, or register!

Comments: 1-21 of 21 in total

Poster
Comment Low-scoring comments hidden. Log in to see them!
covfan
09/07/09 @ 08:53
#1
+22
You buried this comment
Comment below viewing threshold
Show
My first thought was "How would Jackson's death affect a game?" then I remembered Jackson was a very clever man when he bought the rights to the Beatles back catalogue. Also he annoyed Paul McCartney which is always a bonus
rotmm
09/07/09 @ 09:10
#2
+7
You buried this comment
Comment below viewing threshold
Show
@covfan, "I remembered Jackson was a very clever man when he bought the rights to the Beatles back catalogue."

Paul McCartney was also a very clever man, as it was he that taught MJ how the real money to be made in music was in music rights ownership. Jackson took that particular message very much to heart, which must have annoyed McCartney even more. Mega-Combo-Bonus.
Redeye
09/07/09 @ 09:12
#3
+8
You buried this comment
Comment below viewing threshold
Show
Absolutely anything that pisses off Paul "I'm the Beatles now!" McCartney = epic win.
dunny
09/07/09 @ 09:20
#4
0
You buried this comment
Comment below viewing threshold
Show
When i read the title of this article i jumped to the conclusion that it was because the Paul McCartney/Michael Jackson duet 'the girl is mine' was on the tracklist! Then i realised Paul McCartney solo does not equal the Beatles....
kangarootoo
09/07/09 @ 09:26
#5
0
You buried this comment
Comment below viewing threshold
Show
"Paul McCartney was also a very clever man, as it was he that taught MJ how the real money to be made in music was in music rights ownership"

I think MJ probably learned that lesson well before metting PM. He was probably 15 or something :)
Toothball
09/07/09 @ 09:44
#6
0
You buried this comment
Comment below viewing threshold
Show
Yeah, I was wondering what the connection was. That would probably have been quite aggravating if this had stalled Beatles: Rock Band at all.
Sunyavadin
09/07/09 @ 10:49
#7
-4
You buried this comment
Comment below viewing threshold
Show
Pffft. I have no respect for any subhuman scum like these who use ownership of music, ESPECIALLY music that was not performed by them, to make money. Now Jackson is dead, ALL his music should be FREE to EVERYONE. (Everyone who wants it - personally I'm not a fan and never was)

Anything else, such as the company owning the rights pushing to extend them for years, making billions off them, is just wrong.

Anyway, sorry about that - I just get very worked up about the sort of exploitation of musicians that the music industry is built on. Jackson epitomises this, having been used in such a way by his parents all his youth.
rotmm
09/07/09 @ 11:07
#8
+4
You buried this comment
Comment below viewing threshold
Show
Paul McCartney ownes the rights to over 25K songs. Yet somehow Jackson owning the rights to the Beatles catalogue is seen as somehow unfair.

Strange how people view things.
j,taurus
09/07/09 @ 11:13
#9
-3
You buried this comment
Comment below viewing threshold
Show
R.I.P MJ
m0thr4
09/07/09 @ 11:44
#10
+2
You buried this comment
Comment below viewing threshold
Show
"Pffft. I have no respect for any subhuman scum like these who use ownership of music, ESPECIALLY music that was not performed by them, to make money. Now Jackson is dead, ALL his music should be FREE to EVERYONE. (Everyone who wants it - personally I'm not a fan and never was) "

I can tell you don't invest your money in anything. That's your choice but presumably, when you die, you're giving everything you own to The People, as you suggest Michael Jackson should?

Otherwise you're a fucking hypocrite.

At the end of the day, it's all just making stuff and then selling it. If you find that offensive, maybe you should seek out a nice communist country to settle down in.
Edited 1 times, most recently on 09/07/09 @ 12:45
skillian
09/07/09 @ 14:23
#11
0
You buried this comment
Comment below viewing threshold
Show
At the end of the day, it's all just making stuff and then selling it. If you find that offensive, maybe you should seek out a nice communist country to settle down in.

It's not just that simple though, which is why even in the USA, copyright only has a limited time before all work goes into the public domain.
HonestJoe
09/07/09 @ 14:26
#12
0
You buried this comment
Comment below viewing threshold
Show
Seeing as nobody seems to buy music anymore you'd think it wouldn't be worth all that much these days. Can't belive it was so cheap to pick up in 1985 either, a time when even Roland Rat could make money out of selling records. Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
monkeywithnoeyes
09/07/09 @ 14:40
#13
+2
You buried this comment
Comment below viewing threshold
Show
He was a clever man in securing the right to the Beatles legacy.. just a shame he wasn't clever with his own legacy.

It's really starting to annoy me how the press are getting on their high morals and making Michael jackson a saint now he's passed, when they spent the last decade trying to destroy him in the name of money. It's not for nothing that everybody and their dad labeled Jackson "wako jacko" rather than "the king of pop" for over the last decade.. to pretend different now just because he's dead leaves a bitter taste. Especially when offenders like "the sun" dedicate columes on "the leaches out to get him" and how they "always believed in him and his genius".

At the end of the day the guy was a great showman - the best in fact. And he had some amazing songs written for him. But he will always have a soiled legacy.. be it from his actions, or nievity. The fact that he paid a rported 14mill to settle out of court on child sex abuse claims doesnt help matters... dont forget this was a guy with ALOT of money, and the best advice that that money could afford... they advised him his best choice was the settle out of court for a reason.
Khanivor
09/07/09 @ 15:01
#14
+1
You buried this comment
Comment below viewing threshold
Show
Well that's Harmonix down in my estimation a wee bit, using Jacko's death to get some free PR.
patchbox360
09/07/09 @ 15:29
#15
0
You buried this comment
Comment below viewing threshold
Show
heehee
m0thr4
09/07/09 @ 15:58
#16
0
You buried this comment
Comment below viewing threshold
Show
@Skillian
It's not just that simple though, which is why even in the USA, copyright only has a limited time before all work goes into the public domain.

Limited time? It's actually 70 years after the death of the author. If it's a work of corporate authorship, then it's 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation, whichever expires first.
skillian
09/07/09 @ 17:04
#17
0
You buried this comment
Comment below viewing threshold
Show
So limited then, unlike personal property.
casmaksen
09/07/09 @ 17:47
#18
0
You buried this comment
Comment below viewing threshold
Show
This reminds of this classic clip of MJ talking bout Pwning SONY. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aW1T1DZdWrA Also check out the fanatical camera mans comments from 8min classic.





http://www.theugly.co.uk
Linkified
10/07/09 @ 00:03
#19
0
You buried this comment
Comment below viewing threshold
Show
Apple Music Corps. bought back alot of the Beattles work as Sony wanted to distance themselves from MJ after he admitted to sleeping with kids.
Edited 1 times, most recently on 10/07/09 @ 01:04
zedzee
10/07/09 @ 18:57
#20
+1
You buried this comment
Comment below viewing threshold
Show
This is how the article should've read:

"Harmonix has said that Michael Jackson's death will not affect the release of The Beatles: Rock Band.
Furthermore, the developer told IGN there is no chance the track list will be compromised.
The Beatles: Rock Band is due out on 9th September for PS3, Wii and Xbox 360. Our gamepages below will tell you more."

Did you see what EG did there?

Talk about padding...

On the subject of the article, it's a shame that The Beatles version of RB will not be affected by MJ's death. I could really do without hearing that awful 'noise' ever again; it's so overrated.

Over & Out.

Sunyavadin
11/07/09 @ 10:49
#21
0
You buried this comment
Comment below viewing threshold
Show
Paul McCartney ownes the rights to over 25K songs. Yet somehow Jackson owning the rights to the Beatles catalogue is seen as somehow unfair.
Strange how people view things.


Not at all. That's like saying hating George Bush precludes you from hating Osama Bin Laden. It's possible to dislike two people equally for similar reasons.

I can tell you don't invest your money in anything. That's your choice but presumably, when you die, you're giving everything you own to The People, as you suggest Michael Jackson should?
Otherwise you're a fucking hypocrite.
At the end of the day, it's all just making stuff and then selling it. If you find that offensive, maybe you should seek out a nice communist country to settle down in.


Everything I ever accomplish in life goes to helping the human species. All my research, the money I make above what I need to live off, and when I die, whatever I leave behind. There's nobody else needs it. I most CERTAINLY won't. Why the hell should I hold on to it like some crazy pharaoh convinced I can take it all with me? And why should someone else make a profit off my death? That's just sick.

It's not just that simple though, which is why even in the USA, copyright only has a limited time before all work goes into the public domain.

Quite right, a period the big publishers continue to push the government to have extended, something they sometimes succeed in. Which is utterly sickening.

It's really starting to annoy me how the press are getting on their high morals and making Michael jackson a saint now he's passed, when they spent the last decade trying to destroy him in the name of money. It's not for nothing that everybody and their dad labeled Jackson "wako jacko" rather than "the king of pop" for over the last decade.. to pretend different now just because he's dead leaves a bitter taste. Especially when offenders like "the sun" dedicate columes on "the leaches out to get him" and how they "always believed in him and his genius".

The guy was insane. There's no questioning that. And given his upbinging who wouldn't be? There's a reason he kept trying to live the childhood his family never allowed him to have. And once his madness really became obvious everyone turned on him. It's unfortunately human nature. The hypocrisy since his death is everyone who formerly criticised him to make some quick cash trying to make themselves look good in order to profit off his death too.

Limited time? It's actually 70 years after the death of the author. If it's a work of corporate authorship, then it's 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation, whichever expires first.

As I said - Sickening.

Comments: 1-21 of 21 in total

Want to comment on this article? Log in, or register!

X View gallery