“Apple Computer Inc., which on May 8 won a trademark dispute with the Beatles over its iTunes music store, said it wants to get rights to sell the digital version of the band’s songs through the online service. ‘We certainly will do everything we can to get them on iTunes,’ Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of iTunes, said in an interview yesterday. ‘The Beatles aren’t available in any digital format today but they are going to be one day. We certainly hope that happens on iTunes,'” Bloomberg reports.
“Apple Corps Ltd., which represents the Fab Four’s business interests and is owned by Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, John Lennon’s widow Yoko Ono and the estate of George Harrison, is remastering the entire Beatles catalog to make the songs available for downloading for the first time, Apple Corps’s managing director Neil Aspinall told a London court last month,” Bloomberg reports. “An agreement between Apple Corps and Cupertino, California- based Apple makes financial sense, say analysts. Moira Bellas, a spokeswoman for Apple Corps in London, said today she couldn’t immediately comment.”
“Opened by Apple Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs in April 2003, iTunes is the most popular Web site for digital downloads. The service has a catalog of more than 3 million titles, operates in 21 countries and has sold more than 1 billion songs at 99 cents each. The service has more than a 70 percent share of the market for music downloads, NPD said,” Bloomberg reports. “‘There’s a huge gold mine in the Beatles catalog,’ said Russ Crupnick, a music industry analyst at NPD. ‘There are tens of millions of people who have never bought anything from a digital store, and when they do the tendency is overwhelming to buy it from Apple Computer. When you think about a premier artist like the Beatles, it may drag some of those other people to buy.'”
Full article here.
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if they do it just to spite apple it would just lead to people ripping the cds or worse still for beatles – illegal downloads, they are soooo greedy im sure they’ll realise and come around.
“Can’t buy me love” says Steve Jobs
“Guess I’ll have to buy the White Album again…”
The Beatles corporate machine is just as greedy as any other. They constantly re-issue and re-package their wares ad nauseum. Now they’re finally remastering the library for digital download use. Whoopdeedooo. Didn’t they just do this for “One”?
I enjoy their music, but not their whiney protestations and greed. Ironic, considering their mantra back in the day.
Good luck.
The Queen B@tch Yuka Nono will never allow it.
She couldn’t care less about the Beatles music. All she cares about is the money.
To get the Beatles…
They will demand a high cut of the $.99 per song. They will also demand apple remove the apple logo from iTunes. Without that, no beatles on iTunes. Ball is in the beatle’s court now.
Just write Sir Paul a letter telling him join iTunes or you’ll download all Beatles from the inernet free, and burn 100 copies and hand them out free.
How about the Beatles at double the bit rate for 1.25/song? However it’s done, could be win/win/win for Apple/Apple/consumer.
Just invite them. If they don’t want part of the action, f— ’em.
I have most of their records and CDs anyway.
I think the odds are better than iLife will be ported to Windows before the Beatles go on iTunes. Yes, I know that iLife will never be ported, that’s the point. It ain’t going to happen in other words.
What’s the betting that Apple will offer to waive their court costs in order to get the Beatles on board?
Still, they wouldn’t be able to come to that sort of arrangement until the appeal is done with.
Ooh! Can’t wait to listen to the REMASTERED catalog in 128kb COMPRESSED format!!!—– NOT!
I don’t see the big deal of the Beatles being on iTunes anyway. Doesn’t everyone already own most of their catalog?
Sheesh, I skip Beatles songs on a regular basis on my iPod when it’s on shuffle.
Pay for them again? Naaaah.
Go buy them on CD or Vinyl and enjoy the Beatles un- iPod – compressed.
Matt: “Sheesh, I skip Beatles songs on a regular basis on my iPod when it’s on shuffle.”
Then why have them on there?
tumok: Exactly.
i heart macdude: Just rip you CDs (at whatever bit rate you want)
your CDs…
MW: Schools. How appropriate.
MegaMe,
I really don’t think that’s true. People make Yoko out to be this terrible person, but I don’t believe it. She didn’t break up the Beatles, they did a fine kjob of that themselves, than you. You can tell she worshipped the ground her husband walked on, and the other way around as well, so I don’t think she’d do anything to soil his legacy. Think about it, you never see any bad john Lennon dime-store crap anywhere. His website is pretty sharp too.
Priscilla Presley, on the other hand…
m
PS: Have to agree with you Tumok—millions of dollars spent remastering the most important rock catalog of all time, squashed down to 128 kbps? No f’ing way. 192 kbps AAC, sure.
JImmy: Good point, I suppose, but I’ve recently simplified my playlists and it’s filling the iPod randomly until I rework them.
This Intelitext stuff on MDN is a load of bullshit.
I’m giving up here if it carries on like this – some kind of advertising circus.
And where have all the intelligent contributors gone – like Shadowself et al..???
“A day in the life” of Steve Jobs…
Neil Aspinall: You never give me your money.
Steve Jobs: We can work it out.
Neil Aspinall: Tomorrow never knows.
Steve Jobs: It won’t be long.
——
MS Vista coder: I’m fixing a hole.
Bill Gates: Everybody’s got something to hide except me and my monkey.
Steve Jobs: Baby, you’re a rich man.
Bill Gates: I’ll get you.
Steve Jobs: Not a second time.
MS Vista coder: I’m so tired.
——
Rob Glaser: I’m a loser.
Steve Jobs: Carry that weight.
Rob Glaser: I’ll cry instead.
Michael Dell [to Jobs]: Got to get you into my life.
Steve Jobs: If I needed someone.
Michael Dell: Don’t pass me by.
Steve Jobs: It won’t be long.
Sony [to Jobs]: I’m happy just to dance with you.
Steve Jobs: Everybody’s trying to be my baby.
——
RIAA: You’ve really got a hold on me.
Steve Jobs: I don’t want to spoil the party.
RIAA: I should have known better.
Steve Jobs: Cry baby cry.
Napster: Help!
“The end.”
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Another option instead of waiving legal fees is to collect the fees through sales of Beatles music on iTunes – once the debt has been paid off, arrangements revert to normal.
I think the Beatles will make it to iTunes – there’s money to be made from digital sales and Apple Corps knows it – they just have to appear to be still swinging punches while the deal is sown up
‘The Beatles aren’t available in any digital format today but they are going to be one day.’ Bloomberg reports.
Funny, I thought CDs were digital.
Stupid!
iTunes seems to have done fairly well without the Beatles. I don’t see adding the Beatles to iTunes will cause a significant or lasting increase in sales. Even an occasional listen to Classic rock stations I hardly hear any Beatles tunes. They had their day. It’s over now, save for a minority of 1960’s sentimentalists.
The Beatles have already proved their greatness as composers and performers. Silly of us to expect them to be great human beings as well.