Beatles not coming to iTunes on September 9th?
updated 03:40 pm EDT, Tue September 8, 2009
Event timing a coincidence, says source
Apple will not announce availability of The Beatles' back catalog come September 9th, says a source claimed to be familiar with the band's plans. The company is planning a special music-themed event for Wednesday, at which it is generally expected that new iPods and an updated version of iTunes will be unveiled. A few analysts have speculated on announcements related to the Apple TV and iTunes video sales.
The date will separately mark the release of remastered Beatles albums on CD, and the launch of The Beatles: Rock Band for game consoles. It had been thought that Apple could use the day to fill a significant gap in the iTunes Store; any addition of Beatles music will have to wait though, the source insists. It may be likely that publishers want to avoid cannibalizing sales, as iTunes copies of the Beatles' albums would likely cost less than their physical counterparts.
Apple has had a long and often unpleasant history with the Beatles. Legal disputes began back in 1978, when the company was sued for trademark infringement by Apple Corps, the Beatles' private record label. Subsequent suits in 1989 and 2003 revolved around breaches of a 1981 settlement, banning Apple from entering the music business. In February 2007, the two parties finally announced an agreement that would see Apple own all trademarks, but license some back to Apple Corps.
Surely
09/08, 04:03pm reply
it is something Beatles-related, if not making the back catalog available on iTunes.
And what are they waiting for anyway? The longer they diddle around, the longer people pirate Beatles music.
climacs
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Sep 2001
Beatles on CD first
09/08, 04:14pm reply
Make sense the Beatles catalog will not be on iTunes yet. The same day there will be a CD release of remastered Beatles albums, which would conflict with an iTunes deployment. I imagine The Beatles will be on iTunes after the CD sales have simmered down.
anthology123
Dedicated MacNNer
Joined: Nov 2000
@climacs
09/08, 04:40pm reply
At this point, who hasn't pirated the collection or ripped it from CD. :) Sad to say.. The longer they wait to put it on iTunes, the more pirating will commence.
eldarkus
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Feb 2004
It's the Beatles' loss...
09/08, 04:42pm reply
I'm not going to say they're greedy, but there's only two left and they're not getting any younger, so what the h*** are they waiting for.
iphonerulez
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Nov 2008
a few issues
09/08, 06:34pm reply
The main thing is that Paul (apparently) wanted to wait until the music was digitally remastered, instead of putting out the old (1988?) masters, which aren't that great of sound. They've been working on the remasters for several years now.
Due out tomorrow, they should sound great.
Before that they had to settle the Apple vs. Apple issues.
I personally don't care about the Beatles on iTunes, as I will buy and rip the CDs. I also would assume that within 2 months after the CD releases they will put them on iTunes (if they don't do it tomorrow, of course).
elroth
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Jul 2006
i forgot
09/08, 07:02pm (1 reply) reply
Actually, the biggest obstacle has been the disagreement between EMI and the Beatles over how much in royalties the band would get from online sales.
This was in the news (and confirmed) about a year ago, and I haven't heard anything about it being settled. So it could take a while if they can't agree to settle.
elroth
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Jul 2006