Guitar Hero getting Universal tunes

Kotick talks up music partnership

Chatting about the upcoming Activision-Vivendi merger, Bobby Kotick (present Activision boss), has said that the merger will do more than help Activision get their hands on World of Warcraft.

The deal will also give Guitar Hero access to the Universal Music portfolio, the record label part of the wider Vivendi group. This could offer lashings of new content for the game, and will also give the music firm access to new audiences.

"Guitar Hero takes you as an artist to a whole different place in the popular culture right now. Your relevance and importance to 17-year-olds is going to change in a way that you could never get any other way. And, you know, my five-year-old is walking around singing Smoke on the Water. And so, and I think (artists are) starting to recognize that. It’s changed their touring opportunities. It’s changed the downloads. It’s changed their album sales," Kotick said in a new interview.

"The age appeal is something we’ve never seen before - seven-year-olds who have no idea who Aerosmith is are playing the band’s music on Guitar Hero."

By Luke Guttridge