Video game fans will soon be able to form their own version of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.
MTV is expected to announce today that it is developing a Beatles-branded version of its hit game “Rock Band,” sources familiar with the situation said.
MTV declined comment, but the company, a unit of Viacom, issued a media advisory late yesterday in conjunction with Apple Corps. Ltd, The Beatles label, hyping an “exclusive agreement to develop an unprecedented global music project.”
The move, which has been rumored for months, would mark the first major digital-entertainment-relat- ed related venture from the notoriously tech-wary representatives of the Fab Four’s estate – a group that includes surviving members Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, as well as Olivia Harrison and Yoko Ono Lennon.
To date, the legendary group has yet to sell music from their catalog through Apple Inc.’s iTunes or any download retail; likewise the band’s catalog remains conspicuously absent for purchase as ringtones, or streaming through various subscription and ad supported services.
However Apple Corps – under new CEO Jeff Jones – has become increasingly flexible about licensing the band’s music, making it available for use in everything from “American Idol” to a Vegas revue called “Love.”
The deal also represents a coup for MTV and Electronic Arts, the game’s Distributor.