What? They're already in the game as DLC. At least three songs that I remember.
EDIT: It's actually four songs.
There are over 4,000 DLC songs.
Sorry, I meant NEW DLC. I already know about the tracks from The Woods. That alone was enough to tell me that nothing outside their Sub Pop catalog was getting released, though now that the new album is out there's at least a bigger collection of songs to choose from. (Oh, also, just remembered: those tracks were all released via Rock Band Network originally, right? Is RBN still a thing, and will it still be a thing when RB4 releases?)
And yeah, 4,000 DLC songs, and I'm pretty sure I have all the ones I'm interested in already. Anyone new to the series has a potential cornucopia of tracks, true, but if Harmonix isn't planning on putting out a comprehensive array of new tracks as DLC then there's not much for people who had the old games.
I mean, if anyone can figure this out, it's Harmonix; they've been in the music licensing game longer than anyone. I'm just very pessimistic based on the PAX East panel they had two years ago where they showed just how difficult it is to license music for these games, and how they had all these awesome ideas and bands on their wishlists that just never materialized. I assume those problems have only gotten more difficult, now that Rock Band's had a few fallow years and Harmonix no longer has the financial backing of a Viacom.
I also suspect that record labels big and small will be more reluctant in general because Rock Band doesn't offer much in the way of marketing benefits to their artists, or doesn't fit neatly into promotion plans. I mean, how many more people became aware of Neko Case because of the one Rock Band DLC song she got? I'd love to believe it was a lot, but the fact that we never got any more tells me otherwise.
That said, I still have my old drums and guitars and mics. If Harmonix can pull this off, I will once again be trying to figure out ways to soundproof my apartment to pre-empt noise complaints! I really, really want Rock Band to work again, especially if it caters more to my musical tastes.