Led Zeppelin and licensing

[Dustin_Echoes]

I thought the following article was very interesting. While not directly related to Zeppelin in music games, I think it provides some interesting insight into the difficulty and cost of licensing Zeppelin.

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment...,6146243.story

[hmxhenry]

Very cool article. I moved this to History Of Rock since it's more directly tied to licensing overall and how restrictions have changed over time.

The phrase "dogged persistence" in the article is a really, really good one.

[arcusx]

The phrase "dogged persistence" in the article is a really, really good one.

I take it this and $$ is why Led Zeppelin isn't in the RB catalog yet (he says hopefully)

[killer_roach]

There have been some estimates in the past that the total value of the Led Zeppelin catalog is in excess of $1 billion... granted, video game rights would only be a small fraction of that, but a small fraction of $1 billion is still a gobsmackingly large amount of money.

[meck77]

thats a really good article thanks for posting it. Doesnt give you alot of hope to ever see Led Zeppelin in RB, especially now that its not as lucrative as 5 years ago.
Oh well plenty of good music to choose from and plenty more coming hopefully

[Quaszar]

In the last 2 months we have had Led Zeppelin music on the show 'Revolution'. the movie 'Argo' and an appearance by the surviving members of LZ on David Letterman. Oh and a cd/dvd release of 'Celebration Day'. Coincidence or SMART advertising? You really can't blame HMX for not paying the huge licensing fee (plus whatever other obstacles there might be) for LZ music to be released in the game, especially in the waning moments of the RB franchise....

[killer_roach]

In the last 2 months we have had Led Zeppelin music on the show 'Revolution'. the movie 'Argo' and an appearance by the surviving members of LZ on David Letterman. Oh and a cd/dvd release of 'Celebration Day'.

Allegedly one of the first of the recent wave of LZ licensing, a few seconds of "Black Dog" used in a Cadillac CTS commercial, had an eight-figure price tag to it. Seems like they have their price, and it's outlandishly high.

[FujiSkunk]

Good article, but it misses one of the best Zeppelin "gets" in movie history: when Jack Black got permission to use "The Immigrant Song" in School of Rock. The process Black went through was exactly as described: dogged persistence and humility. At one point the crew filmed Black and the cast, including all the kids, begging Zeppelin for the song. That clip is included on the School of Rock DVD.

[Backbeat60-62]

Seems like they have their price, and it's outlandishly high.

Can't blame Harmonix for it! But we did get "Dead End Friends" on disc!

Quaszar: Led Zeppelin members each received Kennedy Center Honors this past week from President Obama. It is the highest award that can be given in the U.S. for those who influenced American culture from a lifetime of contribution through the arts.

[HardRockerBrazil]

(I'm feeling seriously tempted to bump this thread...)

Good article, but it misses one of the best Zeppelin "gets" in movie history: when Jack Black got permission to use "The Immigrant Song" in School of Rock. The process Black went through was exactly as described: dogged persistence and humility. At one point the crew filmed Black and the cast, including all the kids, begging Zeppelin for the song. That clip is included on the School of Rock DVD.

Exactly. That was, speaking in Tropese, a Crowning Moment of Heartwarming if I ever saw one.
I'm not sure how it applies to games, though, because it's a completely different thing (especially these days when they don't stop at the ending point), but I've always advocated that Led should be in RB (and now in Rocksmith too, as it's a competent music game as well).

Remember when Jimmy talked to Blabbermouth regarding the use of his music in games? I looked into it and found out some ways to work around each of his arguments, so I suppose he can be at least aware that it's worth it to have Led in games (dogged persistence), without forgetting his standing in the history of music (humility). I mean, Rock Band has in its archives a whole host of classics from the history of rock, and without Zeppelin, it feels like it's missing something (there's a few others too, but the topic of conversation here is Zeppelin).

And the funniest thing is, Jack White has the same position as Jimmy, and yet we have the White Stripes, the Raconteurs AND the Dead Weather playable in the RB series. I don't know if it's a commercial decision, if he's catering to his gameplaying fanbase, or if he just doesn't care, but not liking the game doesn't mean your music should be off limits.

I'm not saying that I do want the entire Zeppelin back catalog in the game, but at least a Celebration Day-based pack would cut it just fine, like was done for AC/DC before: the biggest classics in a single, stand-alone Track Pack. I mean, how much could it have been to license AC/DC, considering it was a one-time deal? And 16 songs (in the case of Celebration Day) in a $20 pack would give proportionately more revenue (AC/DC Live had 18), especially considering there are still hardcore fans of the game out there (myself included, admittedly) - if the news of tracks from a legendary act that conceded after enough insistence spread out, it could generate some positive buzz to help the sales.

I'm no marketing specialist though, I'm just saying. As much as it may be foolhardy of me, I'll keep waiting for Led to come around, and the RB Music Store better not shut down until then. xD

In the last 2 months we have had Led Zeppelin music on the show 'Revolution'. the movie 'Argo' and an appearance by the surviving members of LZ on David Letterman. Oh and a cd/dvd release of 'Celebration Day'. Coincidence or SMART advertising? You really can't blame HMX for not paying the huge licensing fee (plus whatever other obstacles there might be) for LZ music to be released in the game, especially in the waning moments of the RB franchise....

Waning moments? Well, the game may be past its prime, but there are still new artists coming to the game (like the Toadies this week). Plus, HMX made the smart decision of treating RB like a music platform instead of just a stockpile of games to be churned out every six months, which is what led to Guitar Hero's demise thanks to Bob Kotick's greed and foolishness. So as long as they don't go down the Activision route, RB should have a few more good years (plus, the new DLC every week helps extend its longevity).

Can't blame Harmonix for it! But we did get "Dead End Friends" on disc!

And there's "New Fang" on the Music Store too.