Death of Michael Jackson won’t affect The Beatles: Rock Band soundtrack

9 July 2009

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Posted by:Josh

Michael Jackson’s death will NOT affect the soundtrack of songs on The Beatles: Rock Band according to Harmonix, who spoke with IGN.

This is a very good thing because the game is set for release on September 9th (only two months from now) and legal wrangling could’ve massively delayed the game.

Why would it be delayed, you ask? What do The Beatles have to do with Michael Jackson? You ask.

Well one of the shrewdest business moves of The King of Pop was his purchase of the ATV catalog in 1985, which included over 200 classic songs from The Beatles; And he retained 50% ownership when Sony merged with the label in 1995. Jackson thus owned every Beatles song up until their split in 1970 (as well as a ton of other stuff from the Sony/ATV label including Elvis Presley, Eminem, Bob Dylan, Akon, Linda Perry, Bjork, Taylor Swift, Shakira, Beck, Willie Nelson and early Jonas Brothers prior to their 2007 signing with Disney’s Hollywood Records). The Sony/ATV catalog’s worth is estimated at $1.5 billion, and is largely how Michael Jackson was able to retain a steady cashflow (despite his mountains of debt).

Via IGN