If Reuters is to be believed, then Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick's earlier comments that music labels should pay to get their records in rhythm games might be the reason why Sony/ATV and EMI chose to license the Beatles music to Activision's rival, MTV.
"It was presented as if [Activision was] doing the music business a favor," said Sony/ATV CEO Martin Bandier. "It's true you can choose other types of music, and somewhere along the line someone's going to do it for free for the exposure ... When it comes to The Beatles, the leverage changes. We're very happy with the terms of our arrangement with MTV."
Not much has been revealed about the Beatles game yet, but Variety reports that MTV "will be able to select 45 songs from the Beatles catalog recorded during their 1962-69 tenure within EMI for inclusion in the game." Variety also claims that the limited song selection is due to huge licensing fees required.
