The Beatles: Rock Band the "Rock Band" concept to Apple Corps, the music production company created by the Beatles, and its key shareholders Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and Yoko Ono. Initial meetings were arranged with the shareholders using an early prototype of the game to garner their interest in the title. One stipulation that the Apple Corps shareholders required of Harmonix was that the game feature songs spanning the band's entire career. Harmonix subsequently created a more complete demonstration that used examples of music and artwork that they envisioned for the game. The five-song demo, which included an early build for "Here Comes the
The Beatles: Rock Band John Drake, PR spokesperson for Harmonix, stated that Apple Corps "respected and appreciated what Harmonix does creatively for rhythm games" as part of the success of the deal. Eversheds, the legal firm working for Apple Corps. for both "The Beatles: Rock Band" and the abandoned remake of "Yellow Submarine" by Disney, stated that it took six months to complete the complex agreements and paperwork over the copyrights, trademarks, and publishing issues. Viacom's deal with The Beatles' property owners includes royalties with a guaranteed minimum of $10 million and upwards of $40 million based on initial sales projections, an amount that