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Beatles on iTunes in 2008
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I don't know. On the other hand, the longer they hold out, the bigger it is when they finally do join.
forafireescape
macrumors 6502a
dernhelm
macrumors 68000
EMI/Parlophone owns the recorded masters. ATV/Sony own the publishing rights. McCartney only receives songwriters royalties for Lennon/McCartney songs. He gets nothing for any Beatles songs written by George Harrison or Ringo Starr.
What this means, in essence, is that Paul, Ringo, Yoko Ono, and the estate of George Harrison do not, in any way, control when or if a Beatles song is used; hence the 1980's Nike ads that used 'Revolution', or the 'Come Together' AT&T (?) ads. The only receive royalties for having written the songs. By extension, the use of a Beatles-recorded cover song (like 'Twist and Shout', for instance) is also controlled by EMI, since they own the master; ATV/Sony get nothing in this case because it's not a Beatles-written song. And the Beatles themselves get nothing for the same reason.
This all stems from sale of Northern Songs (Dick James' publishing company, which originally held the publishing rights to Lennon/McCartney songs). John and Paul each owned a 15% share of Northern Songs, but the bulk of the company was sold off to ATV in 1969, with John and Paul following suit shortly thereafter. ATV auctioned the rights off in 1985; Michael Jackson was the successful bidder. Jacko later sold part of his rights to Sony to help pay off his debt.
So, the long and short of it is that Paul has no control over the publishing rights. He simply gets paid when the songs are used. The decision to issue the songs on iTunes would, as far as I can tell, come from two people: first, EMI must approve the use of the masters (which have, in all likelihood, been remastered from the originals); second, Apple (Records) must permit the use of the Beatles name and likeness (i.e. photos of the group members, the famous BeaTles logo, etc).
I wonder if this also means that decent remastering has taken place.
The current CDs were issued back in 1987 or 1988, and have some inconsistencies regarding the mixes issued. Remember that all UK singles were issued as mono only.
The first four albums were issued in mono, despite stereo masters existing for all four, although to be exact, the stereo masters of the first two just had vocals on one channel and everything else on the other, as the standard EMI practice at this time was to record to two-track in this fashion allowing the vocals to be re-recorded for foreign language issues.
Help and Rubber Soul were both remixed for stereo using current equipment, and feature obvious digital echo effects in places. The rest of the UK original albums were in stereo bearing the same stereo mixes as original. Mono mixes of these stereo albums have yet to appear on CD.
Magical Mystery Tour is complicated, as it was issued as an LP in the US at first, comprising of the UK EP set with current B-sides on the second side of the LP. Some of the mixes on the CD are different to those on the original US issue. Likewise the Past Masters compilations that tie up all remaining A and B sides, EP tracks and other oddities also contain some odd mixes, with several really bizarre stereo mixes of singles, which were not original issues; some of these mixes were prepared originally for the 1966 LP A Collection of Beatles Oldies.
Mono mixes of the tracks from the singles and EPs have appeared since on the CDs of the single and EP boxed sets.
It would be ideal if we got both the mono and stereo versions, with any other significant mixes available (for example there are two well known stereo mixes of Strawberry Fields Forever).
The current CDs were issued back in 1987 or 1988, and have some inconsistencies regarding the mixes issued. Remember that all UK singles were issued as mono only.
The first four albums were issued in mono, despite stereo masters existing for all four, although to be exact, the stereo masters of the first two just had vocals on one channel and everything else on the other, as the standard EMI practice at this time was to record to two-track in this fashion allowing the vocals to be re-recorded for foreign language issues.
Help and Rubber Soul were both remixed for stereo using current equipment, and feature obvious digital echo effects in places. The rest of the UK original albums were in stereo bearing the same stereo mixes as original. Mono mixes of these stereo albums have yet to appear on CD.
Magical Mystery Tour is complicated, as it was issued as an LP in the US at first, comprising of the UK EP set with current B-sides on the second side of the LP. Some of the mixes on the CD are different to those on the original US issue. Likewise the Past Masters compilations that tie up all remaining A and B sides, EP tracks and other oddities also contain some odd mixes, with several really bizarre stereo mixes of singles, which were not original issues; some of these mixes were prepared originally for the 1966 LP A Collection of Beatles Oldies.
Mono mixes of the tracks from the singles and EPs have appeared since on the CDs of the single and EP boxed sets.
It would be ideal if we got both the mono and stereo versions, with any other significant mixes available (for example there are two well known stereo mixes of Strawberry Fields Forever).
beatles fans... =£$
when you think about it,
the younger generations such as myself previously have the knowledge and lack of morality to steal music through torrents and limewire..
generally if you would think that your average beatles fan might be a bit older, a bit wealthier and not as computer literate..
79p to them isn't alot to find that song they haven't heard for years..!
when you think about it,
the younger generations such as myself previously have the knowledge and lack of morality to steal music through torrents and limewire..
generally if you would think that your average beatles fan might be a bit older, a bit wealthier and not as computer literate..
79p to them isn't alot to find that song they haven't heard for years..!
Eric S.
macrumors 68040
Funny, just when I read this "Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds" came on my iPod. 🙂
According to Wikipedia, the Beatles' "1" album is the highest selling of this decade. Beatles fans may be aging, but we have lot of money to spend. 😀 Personally, I've already ripped all my Beatles CDs to my iPod so it won't make any difference, but I'm sure many people will download the songs.
Eric S.
macrumors 68040
And judging from the rumors a short time ago about his ranch going on the auction block, he may need the money. It certainly grates on me that every time I buy a Beatles tune I'm donating to that guy.
Eric S.
macrumors 68040
I don't think that's correct. Jackson bought ATV, which owned Northern Songs. Northern Songs was formed in 1963 and owned the rights to Lennon/McCartney starting from 1963 (*not* the earlier ones), as well as the early compositions of George and Ringo. ATV later merged with Sony, meaning that Jackson and Sony now each own 50%. Jackson has used this property as collateral on large bank loans in the past, and there have been reports that Sony may buy half of his remaining interest, leaving him with 25% of the Lennon/McCartney catalog. But I don't think that he has sold any of it as yet.
Eric S.
macrumors 68040
corywoolf
macrumors 65816
In high school there was a course I took on Media Literacy, which about three weeks of the course was devoted to learning about the Beatles and why they still matter. Most tweens probably don't care yet, but most suburban caucasian teens go through a phase of listening to the Beatles heavily. At least the teens into rock music. Even after they move onto something else, they still have at least a couple Beatles tunes in their library.
rockosmodurnlif
macrumors 65816
The Beatles would know about messy divorces.
I think the question he is asking and if he isn't I will, why does it matter if the Beatles are on iTunes? All these Beatles fans don't already own the CDs and anthologies?
If you read the posts in this thread backwards...
...they say "Paul is dead".
Anyways, I am one of those 2nd generation Beatles fans but never bought the CDs, so I'll be a purchaser when/if they appear on iTunes, especially Rubber Soul and Revolver.
...they say "Paul is dead".
Anyways, I am one of those 2nd generation Beatles fans but never bought the CDs, so I'll be a purchaser when/if they appear on iTunes, especially Rubber Soul and Revolver.
Eric S.
macrumors 68040
Why? McCartney is now the fourth and final Beatle to go through a divorce, but I don't think any of the others were dragged out through the courts.
Oh I doubt it. Even people who owned some or all of the original vinyl LPs probably never bought all of the CDs. Now if they have an iPod (maybe one their kids got them) they'll likely be interested in downloading what they don't have in digital form.
LimeiBook86
macrumors G3
This is very good news, but like others I'll believe it when I see it. 😀 I'm a big Beatles fan, but my Mom is a much larger one, and I'm sure she'd like to patch up her collection via newly released CDs or iTunes downloads. 🙂
while i agree in general with your sentiments, the concept album existed long before the beatles. even the beatles concept albums were hugely influenced by the beach boys' pet sounds