“Beatles fans will probably have to wait until next year before they can buy the Fab Four’s tunes from online retailers such as Apple Inc.’s iTunes Store, George Harrison’s widow said on Friday,” Dean Goodman reports for Reuters.
“A recent settlement to a lengthy trademark dispute between Apple and the Beatles’ company, Apple Corps Ltd., has cleared the way for the band to distribute its catalog in cyberspace,” Goodman reports. “But Olivia Harrison told Reuters, ‘We just have a few things to work out elsewhere.’
“Specifically, all the Beatles CDs have been remastered — good news for fans who have long complained about the poor sound quality — and the organization wants to get the artwork ready for the physical packages,” Goodman reports. “Asked if the catalog would be available online by the end of next year, she said, ‘Oh God, yeah. Hope so … I don’t know if it would be the end of this year, but it would be nice. Imminent, let’s put it that way.’”
Goodman reports, “Paul McCartney, who has adopted an aggressive digital marketing strategy for the release next week of his solo album, ‘Memory Almost Full,’ told trade publication Billboard last month that an online deal for the Beatles catalog was ‘virtually settled.’ But he, too, shied away from saying that anything would happen in the short term.”
Full article here.
They should rename them “The Snails.” Sheesh, at least have The Beatles’ catalog available online by Christmas 2007!
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