"Dude, that's not even the problem!"
Sam wiped his sweat; he completely understood what Lin Lixin wanted to do.
But there seems to be a very serious problem here.
"Authorization fees, my foot! There's absolutely no legal provision on how to handle this type of authorization."
Generally speaking, this game sales model theoretically allows the use of the mechanical reproduction royalties stipulated by the copyright office.
For every copy of the game sold, a fee must be paid to the copyright holder.
However, video games are not subject to this provision, and publishers may use this opportunity to demand exorbitant profits and share of the revenue.
"One or two songs are fine, but according to your idea, our music library should be as extensive as possible, right? Charging for every song would just be like sucking us dry."
Just thinking about the potential legal troubles this work might cause in the future made Sam's temples throb.
The risk is too high, and the trouble is too great.
"Um--
Lin Lixin frowned slightly.
He encountered far more problems than he had anticipated when developing a rhythm game.
These problems don't even originate from the development process itself.
Currently, rhythm game licensing is entirely in a gray area; legal provisions only apply to content related to physical records, radio broadcasts, and live performances.
Interactive entertainment software, as a new product of the digital age, is completely unprotected and unaffected by law.
Unless the copyright holders are fools, they will inevitably be tempted to take a bite out of GAMENOVA, this traffic monster.
Just dealing with them would take who knows how long, which is really not worth it.
But can NMB rely solely on itself?
That definitely won't work.
Even with high production capacity, there's still the issue of a fixed style, and listening to the same things repeatedly will inevitably lead to aesthetic fatigue.
"Huh?"
Thinking of this, Lin Lixin suddenly had a flash of inspiration, "There's absolutely no need for us to negotiate ourselves; we should wait for the copyright holders to come to us."
"Huh? You're going to directly infringe on their copyright and steal their songs??"
Sam was startled and jumped up from his chair.
"No, no—"
Lin Lixin then realized that his words might have been somewhat ambiguous, and quickly explained, "I meant, we should showcase the game's potential commercial value, so that copyright holders will proactively approach us to discuss joining the franchise, or even—pay to join the game."
In this way, it is the copyright holders who will have a headache because they are unclear about the legal provisions.
"Video games and music are completely different fields—the conversion rate of our game sales to record sales won't be very ideal."
The albums " Dream of Flight " and " Castlevania " achieved such phenomenal sales entirely due to their exceptional quality.
Add to that the game's overwhelming advertising and its brainwashing-like repetitive playback, as well as the novelty of the CD medium and its perfect compatibility with NovaXeno.
These objective factors are all indispensable.
"You're right, but this time our player audience already includes music lovers."
Lin Lixin chuckled, finally relieved that this trouble was over. "However, we do need to find a suitable person to set the stage."
A game developer with a punk-inspired style that never follows the rules unsurprisingly found a rock band with the same style—or even more exaggerated style—as its collaborator.
Minneapolis.
[The Replacements]
Lin Lixin looked at the crooked sign hanging in front of the door of a damp basement, hesitated for a long time, and then knocked on the door.
"Gah--"
Well, their door wasn't closed properly at all.
As the door was pushed open, a strong smell of alcohol mixed with the dampness of the basement rushed out, immediately hitting Lin Lixin hard, and he was almost blasted out.
Suppressing the strong smell of alcohol, Lin Lixin barely managed to take a step, only to step directly onto an arm that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.
Lin Lixin silently withdrew his foot.
He realized he had just been hit hard, yet the owner of the arm hadn't uttered a sound.
There is no other reason.
Lin Lixin followed the arm and saw the man lying sprawled on the sofa against the wall, holding a guitar and an empty wine bottle in his other hand.
This is Slim, the new guitarist for The Replacements, who just took the job last year.
As for the original guitarist----
He was naturally dismissed because of his serious alcoholism and addiction problems.
This phenomenal rock band, which changed its name due to being banned from performing because of alcoholism, fired its guitarist because of alcoholism, and is about to be blacklisted by MTV for alcoholism in the future, embodies the term "punk" in a very postmodern way.
"That's so hardcore!"
Lin Lixin got to know this band because of Marvel's " Guardians of the Galaxy 3 ".
The song "I Will I Be" featured in the movie is a work by this extremely chaotic band.
Although this song did not make it onto the commercial charts due to various issues, it is still played on university radio stations across the America and even remains at number one.
This is an alternative rock and garage punk track specifically targeting young people.
"I said—" Lin Lixin kicked the guitarist Slim, but found that he had no intention of waking up, so he helplessly continued to walk deeper into the area.
Paul, the all-around king who is the leader, lead singer, guitarist, lyricist, and composer, lay on a long bench some distance inside, holding a well-made guitar that looked expensive.
"Hello? Is anyone still alive here? I'm here to buy the license for your album."
"Um----?
Paul rubbed his eyes, struggling to sit up straight while holding his head, "Purchase the copyright—?"
His mind was still a bit sluggish; it was hard for him not to be after recent events.
They just got a new guitarist, were just banned from performing because of alcoholism, and were just discarded by major labels like trash.
For someone to come to them to buy copyrights at a time like this, they must be a genius, no less than them.
Lin Lixin pulled a business card from his pocket and casually introduced himself, "I make video games, and I'm hoping to buy the copyright to your work and include it in my game."
"Oh----"
Paul was too exhausted to even look at the elegant business card. He casually took it and tossed it aside. "No problem, hiccup. How much are you planning to offer?"
"As for the price of the entire album 'Let It Be'—um—how about $50,000?"
"Taking away the young master?!"
Paul suddenly sprang up from the bench like a spring, his previously drowsy eyes widening instantly.
"Uh... isn't that enough?"
"Fifty thousand? US dollars?! How many installments are needed?"
Paul's brain has completely lost its ability to think.
It's not that it's not enough, it's that it's too high, far too high!
Given their current situation, even five thousand dollars would be a good deal.
However, Lin Lixin added another zero to the price.
"Cash payment in one lump sum. If you're willing, we can sign the contract today."
Paul immediately rattled off a string of slang and profanities that even Lin Lixin couldn't understand with his limited vocabulary.
He suddenly went berserk, grabbing a bottle and smashing it against the wall.
Bassist Tommy and the others then awoke in a daze.