The Beatles on iTunes – almost but not quite
By Dave Parrack
The Beatles back catalog is coming to iTunes, maybe, one day, we hope. But negotiations are said to have stalled. Paul McCartney revealed the news at a press conference for his new album, Electric Arguments, released under the name, The Fireman.
The Beatles are still a very relevant band, even today, almost 40 years after they split up. But their music hasn’t yet made it on to Apple iTunes and consequently been available to legally download due to a long-running legal battle between Apple Corps (The Beatles’ company) and Apple Inc (Steve Jobs and company) over the right to use the name Apple.
October saw The Beatles announce a deal with MTV and Harmonix which will see a new Rock Band-style game using the music of The Beatles developed and released. Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney, Yoko Ono, and Olivia Harrison are all set to be involved.
It was hoped that this willingness to finally delve in to the digital distribution market would lead to a fast appearance on iTunes, but while negotiations have clearly been taking place, The Beatles back catalog is still nowhere to be seen.
McCartney told the BBC:
We’d like to do it, we are very for it, we’ve been pushing it. But there are a couple of sticking points, I understand.
EMI want something we’re not prepared to give ‘em. It’s between EMI and The Beatles I think – what else is new?
Last word I got back was it’s stalled at the moment. But I really hope it will happen because I think it should.
The problem comes because while Apple Corps decides how The Beatles back catalog is used, EMI owns the rights to the music, and so has to agree to any deal. EMI may have agreed to the terms of the deal which will see a virtual fab four make it on to the PS3 and Xbox 360, but iTunes is still missing the best British band of all time.
An EMI spokesperson said:
We have been working hard to secure agreement with Apple Corps to make the Beatles’ legendary recording catalog available to fans in digital form.
Unfortunately the various parties involved have been unable to reach agreement but we really hope everyone can make progress soon.
This makes no sense at all, as the vast majority of artists are now available to buy on Apple iTunes. The fact that The Beatles aren’t there, which must be affecting the uptake of new fans listening to and discovering their music makes me, as a proud Brit, sad. Especially when the other major artists not on iTunes are AC/DC, Kid Rock and Garth Brooks… hardly my choice of worthy bedfellows.
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Stumble It!
November 26th, 2008
While it would be nice to have The Beatles on I-Tunes. Chances are is you are a Beatles fan, you already have a CD or two and probably already ripped your CD into your I-POD or your favorite MP3 player.
The only thing The Beatles are missing out on is exposure to newer and younger listeners, many of whom will never buy a CD.
Still a CD can be a better deal than a digital download. I have seen the CD by the Beatles called # 1 Hits sell for $12 and contains 27 songs. Thats less than 50 cents a song.
Its not just the Beatles that are missing out on a younger audience, there is also AC/DC and Tool that still refuses to sell digital download.