“Today will mark an auspicious day for the music business, and maybe the first big hint that the Beatles may finally be on the way to Apple’s iTunes,” Jim Goldman reports for CNBC.
“That’s a big leap of faith but hear me out: The Beatles’ label Apple Corps will join MTV for a splashy, London-based news announcement to unveil plans to bring the Beatles’ catalogue to the wildly popular Rock Band video game,” Goldman reports. “These two groups have been trying to hammer out details for months, and it appears they’ve finally come together (yes, pun intended.)”
“The reason this is so much bigger than merely MTV scoring the world’s most valuable music catalogue is that it signals a monumental shift by Apple Corps to begin to embrace digital distribution,” Goldman reports. “And that could mean a new opening for more discussions with Apple Inc. and its iTunes music service, since the Beatles are still so conspicuously absent from the world’s most popular music store.”
Goldman reports, “The Beatles going Rock Band shows a new flexibility by Apple Corps to exploit new technology. That has to be good for a potential deal with iTunes as well.”
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “88mph” for the heads up.]
who cares anymore really
Seriously I like the Beatles (no where near what I used to) but the older I get the more I see them as they are now: An over hyped band that the aging hippies still cling to. They were great in their time, now, meh.
I just sold all my Beatles CDs, plus 200 more. I received just $110:50 for them all. They’re all on my Mac. BTW, I do backup all my stuff.
Yawn… already own the albums I want from The Beatles. Too little, too late.
the beatles came to limewire ages ago
They weren’t available online, so I got them online.
Too late. Fukkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkem
Love their music, but they are idiots for not being on iTunes already. Either offer it legally or people will just get it from an other source.
Besides, who hasn’t already ripped their Beatles CDs by now.
Sorry Charlie, you are too late.
I inherited most of The Beatles albums from my Father when he passed away. Ripped onto iTunes.
Too little, too late.
The Beatles stopped being significant about 1970.
Dude, you didn’t abide.
On other less important matter at hand: I’m sorry Jobs ever liked The Beatles over The Stones, but at least we are better satisfied with the fruit logo. However, would it be too much to ask that they offered higher fidelity like the CD at least (or even better SACD) than the 128 kbps? I mean, I realise it’s not Apple’s call directly, but please Mr. Jobs, don’t let Paul get too greedy and issue versions after crippling versions on the digital front for years to come. I think at least that can be your call. I think iTunes has done alright without the Beatles so far, and maybe will continue to do so even if Amazon etc. fetch them up and go rub-a-dub-dub.
It’s actually not for Rock Band, but will be a separate game from the same developer. However, it will work with the Rock Band instruments and will likely be a very similar game.
I have a feeling McCartney and Starkey must’ve been taking secret advice from Yoko on this technology stuff for some reason . . .
How else to explain de absence of their mostly-overrated music from de iTunes. But hey, at least this is “A Beginning”. I mean, think about it, they could’ve been on iTunes “Eight Days A Week” if they had pulled their heads out of their asses. Maybe they needed a little more “Help!”, ’cause they were sure “Nowhere Man”. I thought they originally said to Steve that “We Can Work It Out”, but who knows — maybe they got “No Reply”. Either way, nowadays they’re mostly perceived as so “Yesterday”, like Seinfeld, that “I’ve Got A Feeling” that “Free As A Bird” is how most people have gotten their music in de last few years.
Not exactly a “Revolution” if you ask me.
Oh, and good luck with your next prenuptial agreement Paul — hope it’s better written than your last one (or your Wings catalogue)!
Yeh-heh-heh-hehehehesssss . . .
I’ve always liked the Beatles, but was never a huge fan. What I don’t understand is why people say, ‘oh, this doesn’t matter anymore’. That seems to be suggesting that because YOU have all the music, so does everybody else. New fans are born every day, and more people discover the music every day. Obviously, their music can never be as popular as it used to be, but they WERE the biggest band in the history of Western Civilization, and there are still plenty of people buying their music. The Beatles catalogue coming to iTunes certainly WOULD be a big deal. Not to everybody, but to many.
Get your special edition Beatles iPod here.
http://www1.bloomingdales.com/catalog/product/index.ognc?ID=136291&PseudoCat=se-xx-xx-xx.esn_results
Nobody cares anymore about The Beatles being on iTunes.
I really am sick about this “story”. MDN, when/if they ever do this, don’t bother to let us know. NO ONE CARES.
Shame on those who dismiss the Beatles. They are the greatest musical group of all time. They were the best performers, consummate musicians, and first rate lyricists and composers. Their influence on other musicians cannot be overestimated. They were together for a relatively short time, but their impact will still be felt long after we’re all dead, even you young punks.
To those who dismiss the Beatles, I ask who would you place above them?
If nothing else, landing the Beatles would add to the legitimacy of iTunes … as if that was really needed.
I haven’t had a need to buy Beatles tunes myself. I already have what I want. However, if investors would like to add a few bucks to my AAPL investment due to this anticipated event, they are more than welcome to do so.
I love these “question mark” headlines… The headline reads, “BEATLES FINALLY COMING TO ITUNES?” then you read and it says, The Beatles signed a deal with ANOTHER company… this MAY mean that sometime later, who knows when, or if it will even happen at all, that the Beatles MAY come to iTunes…
I always feel like, “Damn! they got me again with their fake news story… that’s so uncool that they started doing this year round rather than just on April 1st. I get skunked every time!”
And please, if your going to make up fake news stories that somehow connect this with that with no basis in reality, you might as well get creative, the possibilities are limitless.
Headline, “APPLE TO MAKE AUTOMOBILES?” Apple has had great success moving it’s OS X operating system to it’s iPhone, and now with all their success branching out with their new products, what’s to keep them from installing OS X in an Apple branded automobile! With Apple branching out to the music market, and now the mobile phone market, can the automobile market be next!
Man… Not the Beatles are coming to iTunes story again. Just talk about it when it happens. This is stupid at this point, even if it where true. One to many “cray wolf” kind of kills the interest, even if it where to happen.
Yet another Beatles story? I mean, who cares anymore. Will the Beatles save the music industry if they show up in Rock Band or in the iTunes store?
Don’t hold your breath!
… and, yeah, like JohnLee said above… You can hate on the Beatles, but I guarantee you that somewhere down the branches of the rock and roll tree, your favorite band/artist, was inspired by directly (Oasis, anyone) or inspired by a band that was inspired by, or inspired by a band that was inspired by a band that was inspired by the Beatles… They ARE the band that designed the template for rock and roll as we know it today… they changed the sound of Rock and Roll at least 3 if not 4 times in their career creating different paths of inspirations. They are the “trunk” of the branches of the tree of Rock and Roll. So, even if you hate The Beatles, your actually listening to them in their distant cousin, your favorite band.
But I get it, most of you are probably just hating on the hype… Like how PC people hate the Mac, not because they ever used a Mac, but just because they’re sick of reading about Macs in the news and hearing people say, Macs are awesome!
Do yourself a favor and actually LISTEN to The Beatles without prejudice and you might actually like them, just like you like your Mac. Or live in denial,… just like PC users.
They better be DRM free if they don’t want the backlash heard around the world.
+1 and amen. It’s true. Whether you think you like the Beatles or not, you do, indirectly, I guarantee it. Forget their ‘hits’ and listen to their albums-you might be surprised at how contemporary some of their songs still sound.
The thing that has Beatles fans excited is that (due to Apple Corp. having it’s head up its ass for 40 years) the majority of their material has never been remastered-these new reissues will be the first time you can actually get the music in a modern high fidelity format.