Warner Music chief executive Edgar Bronfman.

AUG. 7, 2008 • Warner Music chief executive Edgar Bronfman said that video game publishers should expect to pay more to license popular music in the future for titles like Guitar Hero. “The amount being paid to the music industry, even though their games are entirely dependent on the content we own and control, is far too small,” Bronfman said.

Impact: Success will always bring in people that want a larger piece of the pie.  Previously the music industry was fairly content with the idea that games like Guitar Hero were able to drive interest in individual artists and thus potentially increase actual music sales.  However, as the record industry continues to struggle, they obviously will look to the stellar sales of music-based game products.  According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), music sales revenue (physical and digital) were down a combined 29% from 1999 to 2007.  As a simple matter of survival, the music industry definitely needs to get its hooks into any new potential revenue source.