So after years and years of rumor and a decade in which music from the band has been among the world’s most heavily traded sounds on file-sharing networks, The Beatles are now on iTunes, and while we’ve no word yet on whether the catalog will be made available via any other services, we’re pretty sure EMI’s sundry creditors will be happy at the (remaining) Fab Four’s move to reach digital detente and get their content online today. Though you have to ask if it will be enough to keep up EMI’s payments and keep Warner out.
“I am particularly glad to no longer be asked when the Beatles are coming to iTunes,” said Ringo Starr. “At last, if you want it—you can get it now—The Beatles from Liverpool to now! Peace and Love, Ringo.”
“We love the Beatles and are honored and thrilled to welcome them to iTunes,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “It has been a long and winding road to get here. Thanks to the Beatles and EMI, we are now realizing a dream we’ve had since we launched iTunes ten years ago.”
Digital moves fast. As noted here, Apple has already have seen its price model undercut by Amazon which is offering the original physical box set at just $154.99 (less than iTunes), or £129.99 in the UK (£4.99 more than charged by iTunes).
Will the move mean music from the band will hit the charts?
Official Charts Company managing director Martin Talbot (who runs the firm which runs the UK charts) seems to think so: “This is amazing news for music fans in the lead up to Christmas. Beatles fans – and fans of music of all ages – have wanted The Beatles’ classic repertoire to be available for download since digital music became a reality six years ago. The recent success of their remastered ‘Red’ and ‘Blue’ greatest hits CDs showed that there is still lots of demand for their timeless music, 40 years after their split.
“As a result of this massive historical step, we are certain that their music will make a big impact on the Official Singles Chart – starting off this coming Sunday – over the coming days and weeks. Along with the rest of the country, we will be tracking it closely. ”
It has been a long, long journey to get music from the band to iTunes, 2009 saw Sky News briefly run — and then remove — a report in which Yoko Ono was quoted saying that Beatles downloads would be announced for iTunes then.
One thing that remains absent from what is available here of course is that Yellow Submarine — the movie — still isn’t available. However, Apple is streaming the band’s 1964 performance at the Washington Coliseum in its entirety on the Apple site.
Apple’s full PR detailing the debut of the band onto the world’s leading digital music service follows:
The Beatles Now on iTunes
All 13 Legendary Beatles Studio Albums & Special Digital Box SetLONDON and CUPERTINO, California—November 16, 2010—Apple Corps, EMI and Apple® today announced that the Beatles, the most influential and beloved rock band in music history, are now available for the first time on the iTunes Store® (www.itunes.com). Starting today, the group’s 13 legendary remastered studio albums with iTunes LPs, the two-volume “Past Masters” compilation and the classic “Red” and “Blue” collections are available for purchase and download on iTunes® worldwide as either albums or individual songs. Fans can also get a special digital “Beatles Box Set” featuring the “Live at the Washington Coliseum, 1964” concert film, a worldwide iTunes exclusive which captures the Beatles’ very first US concert.
“We’re really excited to bring the Beatles’ music to iTunes,” said Sir Paul McCartney. “It’s fantastic to see the songs we originally released on vinyl receive as much love in the digital world as they did the first time around.”
“I am particularly glad to no longer be asked when the Beatles are coming to iTunes,” said Ringo Starr. “At last, if you want it—you can get it now—The Beatles from Liverpool to now! Peace and Love, Ringo.”
“We love the Beatles and are honored and thrilled to welcome them to iTunes,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “It has been a long and winding road to get here. Thanks to the Beatles and EMI, we are now realizing a dream we’ve had since we launched iTunes ten years ago.”
“In the joyful spirit of Give Peace A Chance, I think it is so appropriate that we are doing this on John’s 70th birthday year,” said Yoko Ono Lennon.
“The Beatles on iTunes—Bravo!” said Olivia Harrison.
“The Beatles and iTunes have both been true innovators in their fields,” said EMI Group CEO Roger Faxon. “It’s a privilege for everybody at EMI to work with Steve Jobs and with Apple Corps’ Jeff Jones and their teams in marking a great milestone in the development of digital music.”
Each of the Beatles’ 13 legendary remastered studio albums, including “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” “Revolver,” “The Beatles [The White Album]” and “Abbey Road” include iTunes LPs, which create an immersive album experience with a beautiful design and expanded visual features including a unique mini-documentary about the creation of each album. The two-volume “Past Masters” compilation and the classic “Red” and “Blue” collections are also available.
Single albums are available for purchase and download for $12.99 each, double albums for $19.99 each and individual songs for $1.29 each.
The special digital “Beatles Box Set” ($149) contains the 13 remastered studio albums with iTunes LPs and all mini-documentaries, “Past Masters,” and the “Live at the Washington Coliseum, 1964” concert film, a worldwide iTunes exclusive which captures the Beatles’ very first US concert in its entirety. In addition, Beatles fans can stream and view the “Live at the Washington Coliseum, 1964” concert film from iTunes for free for the remainder of this calendar year.
Apple Corps Ltd. was founded by The Beatles in 1968 to look after the group’s own affairs. The London-based company has administered the catalogue of The Beatles releases of the 1960s that have sold to date more than 600 million records, tapes and CDs. Since the 1990s, Apple has piloted new Beatles projects that have become benchmarks for pioneering accomplishment and which have included The Beatles Anthology projects, the 29-million selling album The Beatles 1, The Beatles LOVE show and CD and the 09/09/09 release of The Beatles Remastered catalogue and The Beatles Rock Band game. Further information on The Beatles’ projects can be found at www.thebeatles.com.
EMI Music is one of the world’s leading music companies, representing artists spanning all musical tastes and genres. Its record labels include Angel, Astralwerks, Blue Note, Capitol, Capitol Latin, Capitol Nashville, EMI Classics, EMI CMG, EMI Records, EMI Records Nashville, Manhattan, Parlophone and Virgin.
Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork, and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple is reinventing the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced its magical iPad which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices.
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