The Beatles may not have existed a band for almost 40 years now, but their music is still in demand and still speaks to each new generation as if they own the music themselves. Unfortunately, due to peculiar legal battles and an unwillingness to embrace new technology, the Beatles’ back catalog has never been available in digital form. But a new video game may change this trend for good.

The Beatles are surely the best band in the world ever, yes? If you don’t agree then first of all shame on you, and secondly, you may want to stop reading now as this article is pure, unadulterated fanboyism.

I adore The Beatles. As if you hadn’t already guessed by the previous paragraph, but as a fan, it’s not enough to just sit back and listen to their back catalog every few months, I want other people to becomes fans as well. And for that to happen, the group, or at least the two surviving members of it, are going to have to embrace technology in order to get their material in the hands of the younger generation.

The Beatles and their label, Apple Corps, have so far been unwilling to go digital. A lot of that has to do with the long-running legal battle between Apple Corps and Apple Inc (Steve Jobs et al) over the name Apple. But that war has now thankfully ended, and that could lead to The Beatles back catalog appearing on iTunes in the near future.

Further adding weight to those hopes is the news that Apple Corps, MTV, and Harmonix have reached an agreement that will see a new video game released in the same mold as the hugely popular Rock Band, but featuring just Beatles songs. It’s thought that the game will take the form of a journey through The Beatles back catalog, starting with Please, Please Me and ending with Abbey Road.

Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney, Yoko Ono, and Olivia Harrison will all be involved with the game, while Giles Martin, the son of Sir George and the producer of the recent mash-up album, Love, will be giving his input.

The game doesn’t guarantee an iTunes deal by any means, but it does at least show some willingness, by the people involved in bringing the body of work that is The Beatles back catalog to fruition, to embrace new technologies and put those songs out there in digital formats.

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Entry was posted on Thursday, October 30th, 2008 at 11:54 pm under Music, Opinion.

Read more entries by Dave Parrack.
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