MTV has guaranteed a minimum royalties payment of $10 million to Beatles rightsholders for its The Beatles: Rock Band game, which comes out next week – but if it sells as expected, the payments will top $40 million.”The royalty rates on this are not even comparable to anything that has been done before,” Sony/ATV Music Publishing chairman Martin Bandier tells the Los Angeles Times. MTV is clearly counting on the Fab Four’s console-owning fanbase being willing to shell out for the game, which includes custom-designed instruments.Meanwhile, MTV has launched a new initiative called Rock Band Bar Nights, to support bars holding Rock Band Nights. Participating pubs get a free five-song playable demo of the Beatles game.And in not-necessarily-related news, Apple has confirmed that it will hold a music-focused “special event” on 9th September, the same day as The Beatles: Rock Band goes on sale – not to mention the band’s remastered back catalogue on CD. It could be co-incidence, but expect plenty of chatter about a Beatles iTunes deal in the days ahead.(If Apple launches a Yellow Submarine iPod touch next Wednesday, remember, you heard it here first).