In Disneyland Paris, we have seen their version of the attraction close down in favor of an Iron Man coaster to replace it for the Park’s Avengers Campus. In Disney World, due to contracting rights with Universal Orlando Resort, we will not be able to see the coaster get the same treatment, but now, it seems Universal Music Group has a new contract that could stand in the way of the attraction.
Disney had to sign a licensing deal with the band when creating the ride, a contract that is rumored to be coming to an end shortly. Although nothing has been said, the gift shop at the end of the attraction no longer has any Aerosmith merchandise, so the contract may very well already be up. Once the contract ends, Disney would either have to resign from a deal, now with Universal Music Group, to keep the attraction themed to the band.
Note that Universal Music Group is owned by the French media conglomerate Vivendi, with Chinese tech company Tencent owning a small stake. Universal Orlando Resort is owned by Comcast’s NBCUniversal.
Rolling Stone reported that Universal would have full control of the entire music catalog starting this year.
As a result of the new partnership, UMG will become home to Aerosmith’s entire recorded music catalog in 2022, as well as future music releases, merchandise and audio-visual content.
Credit: Disney
It will be interesting to see if the company will want to redesign and keep the attraction or if they will choose to retheme it all together. With Universal Music Group owning the rights to the music group, perhaps we could also see more Aerosmith at Universal Orlando Resort if they choose to move towards a licensing deal with UMG. Roller coaster Rip Ride Rockit could benefit by adding music as another option for Guests to listen to. Again, as Universal Music Group is a separate entity from Universal Orlando Resort, this would need to be its own separate deal.
At the moment, we will have to wait and see if any changes are announced with the coaster, which we will surely see by next year if anything is expected to be altered.
Do you think Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith needs to go? Let us know in the comments below!