Led Zeppelin Avoids Music Games

Rock legend Led Zeppelin isn’t lending its music to either Guitar Hero or Rock Band, despite the promise of huge profits.

Guitar Hero may have Metallica’s song library for a band-branded release of the popular fret-burning franchise, but the members of 1970s rock legend Led Zeppelin have continually shot down offers from both Activision and MTV to be featured in any music game.

The financial reasoning behind remaining game-adverse is questionable. Irving Azoff, manager for Aerosmith, who got its own Guitar Hero game last month, explains the surge in music industry support for gaming because videogames can be “much more lucrative than anything you can do in the record business.” These partnerships with game publishers typically include upfront payments and future royalties from game sales.

It seems Zeppelin is content to ignore the dollar signs in order to protect the band’s personal property, namely the master records necessary for the development of games based on the sound of individual instruments.

“It ain’t about the money,” said Peter Mensch, Jimmy Page’s manager.

Source: Wall Street Journal via Game|Life