Viacom: Rock Band attracts more talent

According to Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman (Via Edge Online), Rock Band has an easier time of attracting musicians than its competitor, Guitar Hero. Dauman said that he believes artists see that Viacom has a "music orientation" (the company owns MTV, you see), adding that the company has "the opportunity to attract talent to [Rock Band] in a way that our competitors have greater difficulty doing." Dauman cited the upcoming Beatles game in particular, saying that the deal to create the game "is something that we probably got because we're Viacom--we're MTV Networks."

The Edge Online piece states that Rock Band has officially surpassed the 500 song mark with the release of the most recent No Doubt tracks, which compares rather favorably with approximately 150 songs available for Guitar Hero: World Tour. As for Viacom's future in the video game industry, Dauman said that the company likely won't be making any more "big acquisitions" like its purchase of Harmonix in 2008.

Finally, Dauman dropped a few more details on the Beatles game, saying that "it will just blow you away." He added that the game will feature "never-before-heard dialog" from the group's recording sessions.