Viacom: Rock Band attracts more talent

by Richard Mitchell { Dec 10th 2008 at 5:45PM }

According to Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman (Via Edge Online), Rock Band has an easier time of attracting musicians than its competitor, Guitar Hero. Dauman said that he believes artists see that Viacom has a "music orientation" (the company owns MTV, you see), adding that the company has "the opportunity to attract talent to [Rock Band] in a way that our competitors have greater difficulty doing." Dauman cited the upcoming Beatles game in particular, saying that the deal to create the game "is something that we probably got because we're Viacom--we're MTV Networks."

The Edge Online piece states that Rock Band has officially surpassed the 500 song mark with the release of the most recent No Doubt tracks, which compares rather favorably with approximately 150 songs available for Guitar Hero: World Tour. As for Viacom's future in the video game industry, Dauman said that the company likely won't be making any more "big acquisitions" like its purchase of Harmonix in 2008.

Finally, Dauman dropped a few more details on the Beatles game, saying that "it will just blow you away." He added that the game will feature "never-before-heard dialog" from the group's recording sessions.

Tags: ea, electronic-arts, harmonix, mtv, mtv-games, rock-band, rock-band-2, viacom

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Mazrael @ Dec 10th 2008 6:02PM

now bring on the real metal & optional shape guitars.. I'll have a Jackson (it's part of the Fender guitar company).. I'll get RB2 in the new year..

jorojoserojas @ Dec 10th 2008 6:18PM

If I were a musician, and I knew that Harmonix was trusted by the Beatles, I'd side with them.

If I were a pop star, I'd go with whoever paid me more. ^_^

Deezul @ Dec 10th 2008 9:18PM

Not a big fan of Megadeth, but I think they were right when they called other bands dinosaurs. It's not like the Beatles or their estates are hurting for money. They're doing it to expand their fan base and give their current fans more ways to enjoy their music. Rock Band has done probably what they set out to do - my sons want to learn to play real instruments, and it's piqued my interest in getting back into playing something as well. And my sons are hearing and enjoying music from companies I never thought they'd have any interest in. So hopefully bands like Led Zeppelin will see an easy way to expand their fan base.

-slycooper_rocker- (lorddshadow the amazing) psn: shahanasalam @ Dec 10th 2008 10:45PM

zeppelin ftw! but obviously some songs wouldn't be good for it (as in songs like black dog and the lemon song...) and heavy hitters like kashmir and stairway would be too long but a song like immigrant song would be a perfect fit for gh/rb.

Danny @ Dec 10th 2008 9:33PM

So I guess Viacom is trying to say that Metallica, Aerosmith, Ted Nugent, Billy Corgan, and all the other people in the GH games aren't talented?

lol

-slycooper_rocker- (lorddshadow the amazing) psn: shahanasalam @ Dec 10th 2008 10:48PM

don't forget hendrix, the eagles, buckethead, micheal jackson, and van halen.

Glf3 @ Dec 10th 2008 9:40PM

Deezul, I seriously doubt that Led Zeppelin will ever do a RB or GH track pack. Think about it...Led isn't the kind of band to advertise their music. Harmonix or Viacom would have to pay them a lot of money to let them use their music. The only time I've ever heard Led out of something other than a radio is in that Cadillac commercial and a few select movies. And if I remember correctly I heard somewhere that they wouldn't let their music be on a rhythm video game. It just isn't them. Led my favorite band of all time. Even how I'd love to see them in a game it will never happen.

Deezul @ Dec 10th 2008 10:21PM

Honestly, you know who I think is being the ass? Robert Plant. Hell, Jimmy Page did the song "Come With Me" with P-Diddy for the Godzilla soundtrack... Heck, if it's not about the money, donate all the profits to a charity - you give the fans what the want, you help out charities, and you can say with a straight face you didn't license your songs for money for yourself.

HazyCloud @ Dec 11th 2008 9:57AM

Apparently Zep management said they were worried about handing over their masters and it wasn't about money. I'll side with Deezul and say it's probably Plant. Oh well, we still need Pink Floyd. I wonder how hard that would be with only 3 members left? (Waters, Gilmour and Mason) Who am I kidding? We'll never see Floyd in RB or GH.