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Activision Boss Fires Back at Warner Music

Kris Graft's picture

By Kris Graft

August 15, 2008

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Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick has taken Warner Music cheif Edgar Bronfman to task for saying game companies don't give music labels enough licensing fees for titles like Guitar Hero.

“I think his view was ... that [Warner Music] should be compensated the way they might for a performance on iTunes,” Kotick told the Financial Times. “But this is an entirely different business that is very technically complex. We’re going to favor those publishers that recognise and appreciate how much we can add value to their artists.”

During a Warner Music earnings call last week, Bronfman called licensing fees for videogame music "paltry."

Kotick told the Financial Times that the fellow exec's comments were "one-sided" and not “respectful of how much we’ve done to bring new audiences into the market."

Kotick's statements echo those of industry analyst Michael Pachter who told Edge last week that Bronfman "misses the point that there is significant value added by Activision, and his comments reflect his lack of understanding about the business."

Pachter said at the time, "[Bronfman's] flip comment disregards that the songs downloaded on Guitar Hero are not songs--they are videogame files with an embedded sound track."

Warner Music currently licenses songs to Harmonix's Rock Band and Activision's Guitar Hero franchises.

Ultimate Tomato's picture

Of course there are. I can't stand Aerosmith either but not everyone's tastes are the same as yours or mine. People typically identify with the music of their generation, but any taste is entirely subjective. I grew up in the 80s and still enjoy a lot of that music. In 20 years you'll probably still like what you're listening to now and hate whatever is new. I agree with Pachter's comments though, Bronfman is clearly ignorant on this subject.

lifeat30fps's picture

Is there anyone that really wants to buy lame 80s metal tracks to just listen to? At least with the games, they become a challenge (besides the challenge of listening to them all the way through). And a game revolving around Aerosmith? At least it indicates that they completely understand that the game pimps them out like nothing else.

Brian
www.brianwoods.com