It would appear that MTV managed to secure the rights to the
songs of The Beatles because Activision came on a little superior during the deal making.
Reuters would have us believe that Activision's CEO, Bobby Kotick, might not have been too flexible when it came to who was going to pay for the songs inclusion.
The agency quotes Beatles music publisher Sony/ATV CEO Martin Bandier as saying, "It (the deal) was presented as if they (Activision) were doing the music business a favour.
"It's true you can choose other types of music, and somewhere along the line someone's going to do it for free for the exposure ... When it comes to the Beatles, the leverage changes. We're very happy with the terms of our arrangement with MTV."
The business BS term, "the leverage changes" actually means, "It's The Beatles you idiot... do you have any idea who much they still sell??"
Source: Reuters