| zexen_lowe said: I don't know if they should pay Activision, but at least the record labels shouldn't demand royalties, the increased publicity the game gives to the songs pays for itself. Go ask Dragonforce |
The executive did raise that point, and while I'm loathe to see record labels gouge other people even more (personal rant omitted), I do have to disagree about not demanding royalties. While it's true that having your music in such a game only benefits you in the long run, something in me rebels at the thought of giving away your property without getting some direct compensation in return (hypocritically, this only applies for me in areas where not doing so is not traditional: I was happier when radio stations didn't have to pay royalties, because they never had to pay them before...).
More to the point, few games are Guitar Hero, or even Rock Band. Most rhythm games are going to be more along the lines of Rock Revolution in popularity, i.e. they won't spread far beyond a small niche. In those cases, giving away your music would probably not pay for itself. And if you only let Guitar Hero/Rock Band get away with using your music sans royalties, you're favoring Goliath and punishing David.
Personally, I say keep the status quo, but whatever you do, Record Executives, do NOT kill this goose, please. For all of us.
