----------------------------------------------------- NOVEMBER 17, 2000 ----------------------------------------------------- Source: Wall Street Journal Can Video Games Make Music Stars? Jon Anderson, the 56 year-old lead singer of the art-rock group Yes, says the lead track from the group's latest album now plays over the credits of Homeworld, a space-fighter game produced by Sierra On-Line Inc. of Seattle. The band even named its tune after the game. Yes, which put out its first album in1968, barely gets any radio play these days and rarely appears on MTV. Homeworld allows it to reach beyond its core baby-boomer following to the Gen X and Gen Y crowds who grew up on video games, Mr. Anderson says. But Yes' first game project didn't go so smoothly. Mr. Anderson says it took him more than a year to get his managers to sign any deal with a video-game company. It also took twice as long as expected for Sierra to iron out a contract to obtian licensing rights because of complicated licensing rules. Sierra understood that it needed a master license from Yes's record company to include the group's song on its game. But it didn't realize that it also needed a license from the music publisher to distribute the game containing the song. Because each of the six band members contributed to the song's lyrics and composition, Sierra had to contend with three different music publishers representing various band members. "We didn't realize it was Pandora's box," Sierra's vice president of marketing, recalls. Close Window YesInThePress.com For site comments, problems, corrections, or additions, contact YesinthePress@aol.com