Normally I’m scarce around here on Wednesdays, but this is too juicy to pass up. Rolling Stone is reporting that No Doubt is very, very unhappy about the way their likenesses are being used in Band Hero.
Sound familiar?
That’s right, much like Courtney Love and the surviving members of Nirvana with Kurt Cobain’s likeness, No Doubt has discovered that their virtual selves can be used to sing all sorts of songs that are most definitely not No Doubt tunes.
But this one is looking more nasty than even to Cobain debacle. From the article:
When the band brought their concerns to Activision, they allege the company “refused to correct its actions.” “An Activision executive asserted that [changing the game] would be ‘too expensive’ and would jeopardize their revenue,” according to the complaint.
Ruh roh.
Rolling Stone has a full statement from the band, which includes this spicy quote:
Without the band’s knowledge or approval Activision turned the group into virtual karaoke players by having them perform over 60 additional songs by other musical groups.
See the whole article for more details. I’ve contacted Activision for a comment, and I’ll let you know if I hear back.
UPDATE: Activision just sent over a statement:
Some of the world’s most popular and iconic artists have been featured in Guitar Hero as playable characters, and we are proud to count No Doubt among them. Activision has a written agreement to use No Doubt in Band Hero – an agreement signed by No Doubt after extensive negotiations with its representatives, who collectively have decades of experience in the entertainment industry. Pursuant to that agreement, Activision worked with No Doubt and the band’s management in developing Band Hero. As a result, Activision believes it is within its legal rights with respect to the use and portrayal of the band members in the game and that this lawsuit is without merit. Activision is exploring its own legal options with respect to No Doubt’s obligations under the agreement.
The thing that interests me is the phrase about No Doubt’s representatives having “decades of experience.” The implication there seems to be that the use was in the contract, and that No Doubt’s representatives ought to have seen it.
[Read, thanks to DJ Pooka for the HOT TIP]
Ok – I’ll confess something here – the original post came from Murph over on the RockBand forums – I forgot to mention that in my original mail, and remembered just after I sent the emial in – so all credit goes to him….
No surprise here. Activision has displayed absolute disdain for the artists they portray. This pretty much guarantees U2 will go with Harmonix, who have way more class (and make a far superior game).
When I play a Fall Out Boy song using Gwen Stefani as the lead singer, I start to feel different about No Doubt and less likely to ever purchase their music in the future, so I totally see their point. You know, because of how I can relate to the way my video game likeness is portrayed in a game celebrating music. “This demeans No Doubt, and now I don’t think I can like them anymore” is usually my first thought when this happens. As a die hard fan of both bands, I just cannot wrap my brain around why this is occuring. “Gwen doesn’t even know how to sing that song,” I can’t help but think to myself. It really ruins the overall experience. Allowing band members to perform songs by ::gasp!!:: another band in a video game meant to be fun, is so distateful and classless. Overall it ruins the legacy of influential artists like No Doubt who in no way should have known to ask important questions like “how will my likeness be used?” because really, these games haven’t been around for very long and are in no way ubiquitous.