ASCAP demands license for Guitar Hero

ASCAP has already sought royalties every time a ringtone is played in public, and now it’s demanding a licensing fee from venues which house Guitar Hero arcade units. For the love of God.

ASCAP (the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) is the epitome of an organization which goes beyond all common sense in its fight for what it thinks is right.

In June we reported how ASCAP was attempting to glean money whenever a ringtone is played in public, which would be every time someone’s phone rang. Thankfully, when this came to court, ASCAP lost, and common sense was restored.

Now, according to TechDirt, ASCAP is demanding a licensing fee from a venue which allows people to play Guitar Hero via an arcade unit of the popular video game.

This is another ludicrous overreach of ASCAP’s powers, as surely the whole point of a video game is that the entertainment is obtained from playing, not listening to it. And lest we forget that the artists, songwriters, and composers featured in Guitar Hero games have already licensed their music and consequently been paid fairly for it.

Maybe we should run a contest to determine what the ASCAP acronym actually stands for. I can sure think of a few that would get me fired.

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• Guitar Hero III sells 1.4 million copies in under a week
• Wasting your money: Guitar Hero III hits Verizon phones
• ASCAP now chasing ringtone royalties – For the love of God
• New York court sides with consumers against ASCAP over ringtones
• Guitar Hero III songs see massive digital sales increase