Activision: Guitar Hero Boosts Music Sales 200-300%

Inclusion in the Guitar Hero series boosts real-world sales of a song by an average of 200 to 300%, according to Zach Horowitz, President and COO of the Universal Music Group during Activision Blizzard's Analyst Day event.

Universal has come down on Activision Blizzard's side in its public argument with record label Warner Music, which claimed it deserved more money for inclusion of its tracks in rhythm music games including Guitar Hero. Universal is the world's biggest record label with sales more than doubling those of Warner.

Horowitz added for emphasis that "My Name is Jonas," a Weezer track appearing in Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, saw a real-world sales increase of a staggering 1,000% in the weeks following the game's release. How Universal arrived at those statistics is unclear, but Universal clearly sees a business opportunity in the rhythm-music genre that Warner may still be hesitant to acknowledge.