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Beatles Exclusively on iTunes?

hamholio said:
I don't think either of those albums exhibit that -- the first four British albums in stereo do, but they've never been available on CD in stereo, just mono. Rubber Soul has a few songs that don't work well in headphones (eg Girl) but Revolver is mixed well!
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Correction, They are ALL mixed well. the Separation was done on purpose, and frankly it is brilliant, and I dont find it Annoying in the slightest. (unless i am using one of those cassette adaptors in my car and it has developed a problem and only puts the left side through both speakers. yes, thats happened to me)

I honestly can't wrap my head around anyone complaining about the way those were mixed. I wish more albums these days were recorded with more experimentation on this level. i would make a huge stink if anyone Remixed those albums, and I certainly wouldnt buy them. hey why not just re-record them? george and john are dead, but we could have clapton do georges parts, and john's son Sean do his! bet we could get it to sound "Better"
 
swingerofbirch said:
Beatles are not my generation so I don't know a lot about them..but weren't they into free spirits and happiness and what not? Why are they all about suing and being greedy now?

Edit: which of them are even alive anymore to profit? Or is this the doing of their heirs?
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"Paul and Bingo are still alive. John and Keith are dead." :)

They're "suing and being greedy" because they earned it. Their songs and likenesses are valuable, and they are entitled to revenues gained from them.
 
swingerofbirch said:
Beatles are not my generation so I don't know a lot about them..but weren't they into free spirits and happiness and what not? Why are they all about suing and being greedy now?

Edit: which of them are even alive anymore to profit? Or is this the doing of their heirs?
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Half the band are still alive- Ringo and Paul Macartney are still going strong. Maccas never out of the news over here!

Fmolly
 
A is jump said:
Correction, They are ALL mixed well. the Separation was done on purpose, and frankly it is brilliant, and I dont find it Annoying in the slightest. (unless i am using one of those cassette adaptors in my car and it has developed a problem and only puts the left side through both speakers. yes, thats happened to me)

I honestly can't wrap my head around anyone complaining about the way those were mixed. I wish more albums these days were recorded with more experimentation on this level. i would make a huge stink if anyone Remixed those albums, and I certainly wouldnt buy them. hey why not just re-record them? george and john are dead, but we could have clapton do georges parts, and john's son Sean do his! bet we could get it to sound "Better"
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If you think the stereo mixes are good, you NEED to find a copy of the mono mixes. They are much better, and much more in keeping with the original vision of the songs. The Beatles (and Martin/Emerick/others) largely ignored the stereo mixes until the late 60s' because it wasn't a popular format. In some cases, the mono mixes are drastically different than the stereo. And THAT was the way the songs were originally intended.

The word "remix" has taken on a bad connotation lately. The songs shouldn't be "rearranged" (as is the common understanding of "remix"), but the actual elements need re-balancing, mostly in the area of placement in the stereo field (as others have pointed out). Plus the actual sonic quality of the CDs is poor, and the mixes, as they stand today, need to be remastered in higher quality digital.
 
Edge100 said:
If you think the stereo mixes are good, you NEED to find a copy of the mono mixes. They are much better, and much more in keeping with the original vision of the songs. The Beatles (and Martin/Emerick/others) largely ignored the stereo mixes until the late 60s' because it wasn't a popular format. In some cases, the mono mixes are drastically different than the stereo. And THAT was the way the songs were originally intended.

The word "remix" has taken on a bad connotation lately. The songs shouldn't be "rearranged" (as is the common understanding of "remix"), but the actual elements need re-balancing, mostly in the area of placement in the stereo field (as others have pointed out). Plus the actual sonic quality of the CDs is poor, and the mixes, as they stand today, need to be remastered in higher quality digital.
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I agree and disagree.
agree that the mono mixes are better. but leave the stereo ones alone. they can remaster them if they want... but I dont think the actual mixes should be messed with. I certainly dont trust Sir Paul to be sitting in front of the mixing console saying to George martin "hey, can we turn up the sap?" if all the beatles were alive, maybe. but I'd rather them release the albums with both Stereo and mono mixes on them. like Beach boys did with Pet sounds (and its still only 12.99)
 
i would like this. i enjoy the beatles and would love to be more easily able to explore their music, and while i might not purchase them all through iTunes getting the previews would be very helpful. :)
 
A is jump said:
I agree and disagree.
agree that the mono mixes are better. but leave the stereo ones alone. they can remaster them if they want... but I dont think the actual mixes should be messed with. I certainly dont trust Sir Paul to be sitting in front of the mixing console saying to George martin "hey, can we turn up the sap?" if all the beatles were alive, maybe. but I'd rather them release the albums with both Stereo and mono mixes on them. like Beach boys did with Pet sounds (and its still only 12.99)
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Sounds like a plan. Agreed, Paul shouldn't be left alone at the console! The result is: Let it Be...Naked.

But remastering is critical. As is easy access to what was originally intended: mono.
 
I love the idea. A yellow 80GB iPod with the full Beatles collection (or black with the yellow dial). A huge score for Apple in the war with MS.

I'd never buy any Beatles music myself for personal reasons, but, I'd still be glad to see Apple score this coup.

(on the idea of the custom iPod, why don't they still offer the U2 version with the discount on the full U2 collection?...)
 
A is jump said:
agree that the mono mixes are better. but leave the stereo ones alone.
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I hope the Beatles catalog will include both versions. For example, the mono version of Blue Jay Way was much different than the stereo version, so I'll have to get both.
 
swingerofbirch said:
Beatles are not my generation so I don't know a lot about them..but weren't they into free spirits and happiness and what not? Why are they all about suing and being greedy now?

Edit: which of them are even alive anymore to profit? Or is this the doing of their heirs?
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Two are alive and they have wives and kids and in one case grandkids. As a parent I would love to pass on what I created and/or earned to my son. Most parents would love to do this for their families if possible, whether it is a huge amount or a small amount. Again when you have created any business, large or small, it is the owners legal right and obligation to protect it and prosper. That is capitalism.

I work representing photographers and license the work they create and rarely sell it outright. This way my artists who create the work, can benefit from reusage sort of like a royalty.

It is so easy to go after the bands, actors and artists once they hit it big, but they would not make all of that money if there was not an audience for it.
 
Doctor Q said:
I hope the Beatles catalog will include both versions. For example, the mono version of Blue Jay Way was much different than the stereo version, so I'll have to get both.
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Again like the LOVE Album, they should also include a separate DVD mixed 5.1. disc. If you have not heard it that way, you will be astounded at how fresh it all sounds...
 
DavidLeblond said:
They SOUND like they play the same thing, I can assure you they don't. Take one of those songs and listen to it in Mono and you'll be able to tell the difference most of the time.
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Some albums I swear just have a few ms delay between channels... I miss the days of Queen using balance as a musical instrument.
 
Ouch, You ALWAYS Give Me Your Money....

Squonk said:
Now that would be expensive!!!

I like the idea of The Beatles catalog being available on iTunes, but for me, I'd be most interested in getting CD's of the remastered music so I can rip at my preferred bit rate. :)

Is this all part of Paul's plan to stay solvent through his divorce? :rolleyes:
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BREAKEVEN: is 25 MILLIONS TRACKS DOWNLOADED!!!
OUCH!
The Beatles are OLD and HISTORY.
They will NEVER break even on this contract.

They'd BETTER sell an Beatles IPOD, maybe 10 different ones.
They will only breakeven on hardware.
 
MikeAtari said:
BREAKEVEN: is 25 MILLIONS TRACKS DOWNLOADED!!!
OUCH!
The Beatles are OLD and HISTORY.
They will NEVER break even on this contract.
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You're just wrong. Not everyone who buys music online is a 14 year-old. There are millions of baby-boomers with credit cards and lots of disposible income. And plenty of 14 year-olds will be downloading Beatles music, too.
 
MikeAtari said:
BREAKEVEN: is 25 MILLIONS TRACKS DOWNLOADED!!!
OUCH!
The Beatles are OLD and HISTORY.
They will NEVER break even on this contract.

They'd BETTER sell an Beatles IPOD, maybe 10 different ones.
They will only breakeven on hardware.
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You miss an important point. It is all about branding. I think that both Apples would do very well her thank you very much, but getting the Beatles would be a very huge coup for Apple and online music in general. iTunes and the like are still relatively small compared to CD and other music sales. You may be someone who has been on board for along time, but the HALO effect here would me immense. Sort of the the big increase in MAC users (from PCs) due to iPod sales.
 
savar said:
Good for Apple...bad for consumers.

People with a Zune or any other player for that matter won't be able to download Beetles songs legally.
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Yeah they will. iTunes works on any Windows or Mac system. They can listen to it on their computer, burn a CD, or even rip that CD back into a format that any player can play, with a minimal quality loss. Besides, anything that discourages consumers from buying a Zune is probably good for consumers :) .
 
bdj21ya said:
Yeah they will. iTunes works on any Windows or Mac system. They can listen to it on their computer, burn a CD, or even rip that CD back into a format that any player can play, with a minimal quality loss. Besides, anything that discourages consumers from buying a Zune is probably good for consumers :) .
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I think the main thing that discourages people from buying a ZUNE is the Zune...

anyway if this Beatles thing works with Apple, it will most likely be a limited time excklusivity 6 months to one year tops and then open to other online sellers.
 
nemaslov said:
I think the main thing that discourages people from buying a ZUNE is the Zune...

anyway if this Beatles thing works with Apple, it will most likely be a limited time excklusivity 6 months to one year tops and then open to other online sellers.
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Yes. Apple could give away The Beatles songs (i.e. take no money themselves) and STILL win because every Beatles song sold via iTunes is a song that (a) isn't sold from another store, thus depriving others from that revenue and (b) isn't usable on other players, without a process that is too involved for Joe Public.

Not to mention the HUGE optics of getting The Beatles who, like it or not, are the biggest act in pop music history. Even if the exclusivity contract was 1 year, that takes the wind out of others sails (pun intended), and provides the public a year to stock their playlists with Apple-branded Beatles tunes, after which the momentum is gone and sales via other online outlets is minimal.

This would be a BIG win for Apple.
 
IJ Reilly said:
My point is, the ping-pong effect, when it was used, was deliberate. It does sound strange now, but I remember when these albums came out people listened to them on headphones and thought the effect was cool.

I'm no Beatles historian by any means, but correct me if I'm wrong: weren't the first albums recorded in mono? The stereo versions were later, rather crude simulations of stereo, which is why they never made it to CD.
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Yes almost every release in the Beatles era was intended for mono. Stereo releases were made years later and the wide effect was partly due to the fact that these songs were mastered from 2 tracks and because the music was recorded to one track and the vocals to the other, well there was no really other way to get stereo...
 
Squonk said:
Oh there are soooo many good songs for the promo's:

Ticket to Ride
We can work it out
I want to hold your hand
Let it be
Please please me
You've got to hide your love away
Revolution **** My guess for an early promo!
You never give me your money
Don't pass me by

BRING IT!!! :D
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They should use Revolution to advertise the Nike + iPod kit :rolleyes:
 
NOV said:
Yes almost every release in the Beatles era was intended for mono. Stereo releases were made years later and the wide effect was partly due to the fact that these songs were mastered from 2 tracks and because the music was recorded to one track and the vocals to the other, well there was no really other way to get stereo...
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Not true.

The stereo mixes were contemporaneous with the mono releases...it's just that no one cared enough to put any thought into them.

Music is mastered from 2 track mixes (unless you're making surround masters, in which case you'd mix from 6 tracks or more). This hasnt changed to this day. Stereo was commerically available starting from the late 1950s, but almost no one had players that could handle it. So the mixes were done in mono, with stereo as an afterthought. For this reason, many of the mono mixes are superior to the stereo, although people now assume that the CD releases are the de facto standard, when in fact it was a conscious decision to release the stereo versions of every album from Help! onward.
 
If this works out and a Beatles iPod does come out with a commercial alongside I can almost guarantee you the song will be Revolution.

Just one persons opinion ;)


You say you want a revolution.
Well well you know.
We all want to change the world.


those are perfect words for Apple/Apple
 
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