Rock Band has been able to slip it’s way into gamers good graces thanks to it’s simple yet addictive gameplay and the seemingly endless library of music in which the game could tap into, thanks to deals Harmonix has struck with just about every recording studio. However, Harmonix may soon lose one of those studios.

According to a report on Billboard’s website, Warner Music and MTV have yet to reach any kind of agreement on a new deal regarding royalty payments, and while there is still content from Warner Music Group coming to Rock Band in the immediate future, the Warner well could dry up by as early as June if a deal is not reached.

This is just the latest chapter in a long story of money-grabbing moves that WMG has made while under leadership of CEO Edgar Bronfman. Last summer Bronfman more or less threatened to boycott the entire video game industry unless publishers were willing to renegotiate their royalty payments. WMG also began the practice of removing all YouTube videos that had WMG-licensed music in late 2008 — including any clips from the television series The Golden Girls because the theme song to the series, “Thank You For Being a Friend”, is licensed by WMG.

WMG may also have an ace up its sleeve that could give them the leverage in the negotiations. After all, WMG could threaten to sign some kind of exclusive licensing agreement with Guitar Hero publisher Activision. Hell, Metallica (another WMG group) is getting their own game from Activision so it’s safe to assume that the two sides are happy with whatever deal they have struck, which should be enough for WMG to more-or-less hold MTV and Harmonix hostage. Combine that with the fact that MTV would stand to lose music from bands like AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Disturbed, The Doors, Evanescence, Jimi Hendrix, Megadeth, Metallica, Motley Crue, Pantera, Pixies, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Slipknot, Staind, and Van Halen (amongst others), and you can see how MTV would be very, very nervous.

Here’s the thing, though: Warner Music Group needs MTV and Rock Band more than Rock Band needs WMG. Record sales are still in decline, radio airplay is all but reserved for the biggest artists and Rock Band provides one of the few avenues that new acts can build up a following. You would think that WMG would understand this, since DragonForce, a band which owes much of its success to games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero, is signed to Roadrunner Records, whose parent company is Warner Music Group.

In the end, this is one of those situations where we probably won’t see any kind of deal until the 11th hour. MTV and WMG will continue to stare each other down, waiting for the other to blink. In the end, I expect WMG to buckle because while Activision’s Guitar Hero may drive more revenue in total (including hardware), Rock Band practically monopolizes the downloadable music scene.

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