Those of you wishing that the musical catalog of the late Michael Jackson would work its way into a special edition Guitar Hero or Rock Band title have your dreams a little closer to coming true today as Sony has purchased the rights to Jackson's library of music. The company intends to license the tracks anywhere and everywhere as long as the price is right. Let the bidding war begin! The New York Times has the news.
“It’s not just a record deal,” said Rob Stringer, chairman of the Columbia/Epic Label Group, a Sony division. “We’re not just basing this on how many CDs we sell or how many downloads. There are also audio rights for theater, movies, computer games. I don’t know how an audio soundtrack will be used in 2017, but you’ve got to bet on Michael Jackson in any new platform.”
How much do you want to bet that both Electronic Arts and Activision are making frantic yet charming phone calls to Sony's music division just to casually say hello? A Michael Jackson music game isn't a matter of if, but when. There's too much potential money to be made by creating one. Whether or not it comes under the Rock Band or Guitar Hero name will probably end up being a matter of winning a bidding war. Either way, the game will come with a promotional frenzy ushering it into stores, sales will be incredible, and we'll look back on the whole thing somewhere down the line as the last great successful music game prior to the reinvention of the genre. After all, with a Beatles Rock Band title already done and a Michael Jackson edition inevitable, which artist or group is left that could top either?
