Manager: METALLICA Wanted Sales-Based Royalties Before Licensing Music To Video Games
According to The Wall Street Journal, METALLICA licensed two of its best known songs — "One" and "Enter Sandman" — for use in the Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock and Rock Band video games, respectively. Marc Reiter, who works for Q Prime, the firm that manages METALLICA, says the band was previously approached to license its music to games, including Guitar Hero, but never agreed because makers only offered flat fees, instead of royalties based on sales.
With Rock Band and Guitar Hero III, the game makers finally agreed to grant royalties. Reiter says METALLICA is happy about the decision since a couple of them play Guitar Hero, as do their families and fans. "We felt we were remiss in not being in there," he says.