Paul McCartney Re-Releases Five Popular Albums as iPad Apps

MacRumors · Jul 16, 2014

Paul McCartney today announced the addition of five of his classic albums to the iOS App store as iPad apps, reports The Guardian. McCartney is following in the footsteps of other musicians such as Lady Gaga and Björk, who also used the tablet device to further the reach of their music.

McCartney's iPad apps feature some of the musician's most popular albums -- Band on the Run, McCartney, McCartney II, RAM and Wings over America. Each iPad app contains premium content such as remastered audio tracks, archival video footage, interviews, photos and more. They are priced at $7.99, which makes them attractive to music fans who may prefer the discounted iPad apps over the more expensive music-only album versions.

McCartney may be the most long-standing successful musicians to adopt the iPad, but Björk holds the title as one of the first musicians to effectively promote an album using Apple's iOS ecosystem. Björk made headlines in 2011 for her groundbreaking Biophilia iPad app that merged music from the album with mini-games and interactive art tools. The title was recently inducted as the first app in New York's Museum of Modern Art permanent collection. The app also has been used to develop the Biophilia Educational Programme, which is being used as curriculum in several European schools.

Article Link: Paul McCartney Re-Releases Five Popular Albums as iPad Apps

Lapidus · Jul 16, 2014

Finally.

No serious, iTunes should be capable of doing this without the need of a custom app.

DaveTheRave · Jul 16, 2014

I probably won't repurchase Band on the Run, but it is a classic. IMO everyone should have a copy in their music collection.

Benjamins · Jul 16, 2014

Lapidus said:
Finally.

No serious, iTunes should be capable of doing this without the need of a custom app.

actually iTunes is capable of doing this, it's called iTunes LP.

ginkobiloba · Jul 16, 2014

Benjamins said:
actually iTunes is capable of doing this, it's called iTunes LP.

I never understood why iTunesLP never made it to iOS. iPhones and iPads ARE the natural platform for this. It's really a missed opportunity.

kd5jos · Jul 16, 2014

Billy Idol

Billy Idols Cyberpunk album came with a floppy disc that had content. I wish they would rerelease that as an iTunes LP or one of these apps. Just my opinion...

H2SO4 · Jul 16, 2014

DaveTheRave said:
IMO everyone should have a copy in their music collection.

Because you think its good. What a ridiculous statement.

kolax · Jul 16, 2014

Bit of a gimmick.. It'll be enjoyable because it's interactive for a brief time then you'll go back to listening how you usually would.

Zimmy68 · Jul 16, 2014

Awaiting for a review.

I assume you can't offload the tracks to your iTunes library.
And you probably can't watch the video on AppleTV unless you mirror your iPad, which isn't ideal.

Captain Nougat · Jul 16, 2014

ginkobiloba said:
I never understood why iTunesLP never made it to iOS. iPhones and iPads ARE the natural platform for this. It's really a missed opportunity.

I'm hoping with iTunes Extras for movies being able to be viewed on AppleTV/iOS8, they can do something similar to do the same for iTunes LP.

Rafagon · Jul 16, 2014

DaveTheRave said:
I probably won't repurchase Band on the Run, but it is a classic. IMO everyone should have a copy in their music collection.

H2SO4 said:
Because you think it’s good. What a ridiculous statement.

Do you know the meaning of the acronym "IMO"?

Lapidus · Jul 16, 2014

Benjamins said:
actually iTunes is capable of doing this, it's called iTunes LP.

Not on iOS if i'm not mistaking.

ChrisA · Jul 16, 2014

Benjamins said:
actually iTunes is capable of doing this, it's called iTunes LP.

The App is an "end run" around the fixed pricing of the LP. He is charging $8 and he gets the KEEP 60% of that $8. If he re-released an LP he's get a tiny percent of the price with the record company keep most of the money.

Apples 30% cut from the app store is very good compared to a record company's cut. And the end user sees a discount too.

CrazyForApple · Jul 16, 2014

Paul's version of iTunes LP for iOS

Amazing Iceman · Jul 16, 2014

kd5jos said:
Billy Idols Cyberpunk album came with a floppy disc that had content. I wish they would rerelease that as an iTunes LP or one of these apps. Just my opinion...

Hahah! A floppy disc! At the time is was really good, tho.

----------

H2SO4 said:
Because you think its good. What a ridiculous statement.

Have you ever heard that album? If you haven't, then your comment is more ridiculous. If you had, then your music taste most likely sucks.

ginkobiloba · Jul 16, 2014

ChrisA said:
The App is an "end run" around the fixed pricing of the LP. He is charging $8 and he gets the KEEP 60% of that $8. If he re-released an LP he's get a tiny percent of the price with the record company keep most of the money.

Apples 30% cut from the app store is very good compared to a record company's cut. And the end user sees a discount too.

I think he owns his catalogue. So he is also getting 70% of his regular iTunes sales. You don't have to be on a record label to distribute your album on iTunes.

And the price on iTunes is not really fixed, Apple allows you to price it lower or higher within a certain margin ( no more tha 12.99$ for a 12 tracks+ album, and no less than 5$ , unless it's an EP ).

Glassed Silver · Jul 17, 2014

Cool, more stuff to break after some major OS updates. Yay /s

Glassed Silver:mac

attila · Jul 18, 2014

ginkobiloba said:
I never understood why iTunesLP never made it to iOS. iPhones and iPads ARE the natural platform for this. It's really a missed opportunity.

It is coming to iOS8 and Apple TV.

https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=19341480

roadbloc · Jul 18, 2014

Still riding on the back of Lennon.

ginkobiloba · Jul 19, 2014

attila said:
It is coming to iOS8 and Apple TV.

https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=19341480

But that's iTunes Extras , for HD Movies. I see no mention of upcoming iTunes LP ( wich is for music albums) for iOS. And I find that weird, as one is more likely to want to play with the extras while listening to a music album on their iPhone/iPod, than to watch extras for HD movies on an iPhone/iPod.

Digitalclips · Jul 19, 2014

Good for Paul. It's strange to think how long the Beatles held out against all things Apple, the label name issue aside, I'm meaning iTunes in general. Perhaps Paul wasn't the antagonist.

I wonder if Airplay will allow this to play via Apple TV to a large screen or will DRM prevent this. BTW, If it does AirParrot will anyway.

Bubba Satori · Jul 19, 2014

roadbloc said:
Still riding on the back of Lennon.

Shirley you can't be Sirius.

Paul McCartney Re-Releases Five Popular Albums as iPad Apps

macrumors bot

macrumors regular

macrumors 6502a

macrumors 6502a

macrumors 6502a

macrumors 6502

macrumors 603

macrumors G3

macrumors 68000

macrumors member

macrumors 6502a

macrumors regular

macrumors G5

macrumors 6502a

macrumors 603

macrumors 6502a

macrumors 68020

macrumors 6502a

macrumors G3

macrumors 6502a

macrumors 65816

Suspended

Our Staff