More Speculation for Tomorrow: Beatles on iTunes

[acslater017]

The clocks and their arms aren't in anyway comparable.

OK, but since when does Apple include graphics indicating four different time zones? That, in combination with the "Another Day" thing seems pretty darn coincidental.

Sure, the arms are not the same...but I mean come on, it's not like they can put up a big green Apple!

 

[Stevamundo]

If it's the Beatles then this ranks right up there with the incredibly stupid "magical" iPad comment.

I wholeheartedly agree.

 

[Corndog5595]

Jobs: Hey, we just got a contract signed that allows us to sell Beatles music on iTunes!
Head of Web Design: Cool…?
Jobs: Clearly this is huge news...
Head of Web Design: Clearly.
Jobs: …so could you please make some kind of fancy announcement landing page or something?
Head of Web Design (Out Loud): Sure.
Head of Web Design (Internal): This man is truly insane.

 

[Zimmy68]

Agree, how is them striking a deal with Beatles impact my life in any way?
Am I not able to buy the Beatles on CD right now?

 

[JCCL]

Talk about a lame announcement....

 

[radiohed]

I am a huge Fan of the Beatles music and have had their music on my iTunes for years. I was listening to them on vinyl in the 60's, so don't find the Beatles on iTunes to be the least bit exciting. I hope Apple has more than this or I won't find their announcement hard to forget.

 

[OllyW]

Good. Hopefully the GPU is also faster. Geforce 320M is fine but better performance is always welcomed.

Wow, there's going to be a Beatles graphics card too?

 

[Sam Yikin]

Plus you didn't bold, bolding is important.

Everything seem to be pointing to the Beatles on iTunes.

I would just ask everyone to keep some perspective here- the Beatles are @#$%^ing huge. They were the second-highest selling artist of the 2000s (source). This is THIRTY-FOURTY YEARS AFTER THEY BROKE UP. They are the most popular band in the history of the world. iTunes is the biggest single music retailer in the US (maybe world, I'm not sure.) They would be a perfect fit.

Keep in mind that even though you may not like the Beatles, you may already own all of their albums (as I do), you may own as much Beatles as you want to; other people don't. People that aren't very familiar with them but would buy a few songs, people who have been waiting for them to be available online, etc. The Beatles have never been featured in a "convenience buy" form before- with the immense popularity of a number of their songs, it is easy to see why this could make a huge impact.

For those saying that the Beatles on iTunes would not qualify as "unforgettable," remember to look at this history of this. Apple and the Beatles (through their business side, Apple Corps) were engaged in heated legal battles throughout much of Apple Inc's history. In fact, one of the most recent battles was around the launch of the iTunes Store (source.) This made it seem impossible that the Beatles would ever be on iTunes- even entertaining this possibility shows how far this has come. Those that have watched how these battles have developed, and have watched rumors about this for years now, know how much this would mean in the context of this contentious history.

As for the size/seeming importance of this announcement, this seems perfect. A keynote address dedicated to this would be somewhat ridiculous, and would warrant justified criticism of Apple manipulating and controlling the press. There are no other events around this time of year that this could be added into. A website/iTunes homepage teaser of this seems pitch-perfect. Also, look at the time- it's very unusual for Apple to to business before more of the company is awake! It does seem like a good time to flip a switch on a server cluster, though...

Also, the subtle teasing in the clocks and song titles is interesting, keep in mind that Apple wants to display actual times on those clocks- George's arms don't line up with any time zone in the world. The others do have striking similarities.

How's that?

 

[Corndog5595]

Talk about a lame speculation....

Fixed. Hopefully it isn't an announcement.

 

[Sam Yikin]

Fixed. Hopefully it isn't an announcement.

It's pretty much confirmed now.

 

[GJN]

Beatles? Ho hum.

 

[jettredmont]

You are using a lot of labor and you don't the album art on your iPhone / iPod by ripping CDs.

Really?

1. Insert CD in side of iMac.
2. Wait until it ejects.
3. Tell iTunes to fetch album art.

Sheesh. Doesn't seem much more labor intensive than finding the Beatles in the (increasingly cluttered) iTunes Store, clicking 'buy' and waiting for them to download.

The advantage, of course, being that the CD gets ripped at whatever quality I want, and I don't buy again what I already bought twice (cassette and/or LP, then CD).

For what it's worth, back when I cared about the Beatles' catalogue, I ripped everything to my iPod. Haven't played any of the songs in years, though. I seriously doubt that this will be a big seller for Apple not-Computers or for Apple Records. Certainly not the level they both seem to expect given the negotiations they've put each other through.

 

[Kv1029]

What does 9:15 10:10 3:00 and 11:25 have to do with anything

Obviously no relation.

 

[ten-oak-druid]

The Beatles could be part of the big day but not all of it. That would be over-hyped.

Maybe Apple bought Apple Music among other things?

 

[propynyl]

This may trump the Apple Hifi + iPod Socks event in lameness!

 

[backinblack875]

ok off topic....but why are there windows phone ads on the banners of MACrumors? do they not approve ads? WTF? lol

 

[DarthMoops]

All this speculation, you'll find out soon enough, cripes, I dunno..., just..., just...

...let it be.

 

[B-Dizzy]

Garth Brooks

I think they are announcing Garth Brooks being added to the catalog not the Beatles.

 

[Warbrain]

This may trump the Apple Hifi + iPod Socks event in lameness!

Nothing can top the Hifi. Nothing.

 

[colinwil]

Also, I bet not many of you even noticed that iTunes recently added the "Badfinger" Apple records catalog to iTunes. Badfinger's is in the store right now (as of late last month) which proves the Apple battle is over.

Hmmm - Post Card by Mary Hopkin's on there too - (p) 2010 Copyright Apple Corps Ltd.

There may be something in this

 

[KilljoyPBN]

This would be pretty lame.

Stones > Beatles

 

[JGowan]

If the hands on the clocks were the same positions as the Beatles, it would be somewhat believable, ... this is just grasping at straws.

 

[Sam Yikin]

I think people are overstating how big Apple is making this look. All Apple has said that an "unforgettable" announcement will be made at 7:00 tomorrow. As I explained above, calling it unforgettable makes sense in the context of the history of this story.

Anyone expecting iTunes streaming needs to remember that YOU (and this community) created this idea. Don't be let down by expectations that are completely fabricated and unreasonable (for this event).

 

[jettredmont]

There is a market for classic songs and old artists.

The week after Michael Jackson died, the top ten songs and top ten albums at the iTunes Store were all Michael Jackson's. Every single one.

Clearly, the mere presence of an artist at the iTunes Store will result in sales. A bit splashy announcement/event tends to drive additional sales.

In the case of Michael Jackson, it was very evident that not everyone who appreciated his work had all of the songs that they wanted.

Unless the remaining Beatles are planning on dying tomorrow, I don't think the situations are comparable.

In MJ's case, there wasn't an artificial "block" stopping people from buying it that was removed; people hadn't bought his music because they'd forgotten how much they had liked it back in the day, and when he was gone it was "cool"(ish) again to want to listen to it.

In the Beatles' case, people haven't bought the music on iTunes because they couldn't. But they could buy it anywhere else, and if they had any reason to they would have already. Yes, there will be a 30-second piece on the local news with "Yesterday" or "Revolution" playing in the background, and a few folks might bite because of that, but you won't have wall-to-wall Beatles music playing from every station on this news, and you won't have a grief driver legitimatizing such a buying spree.

Again, while anything is more than the $0 they are brining in right now, I don't think Jobs and the ex-Beatles-and-heirs group will be happy with the response they get. They waited too long.

 

[parker63]

Remember, big to Apple doesn't mean big to all of us. This is Apple's ego on full display.

This is pretty much spot on. The Beatles on iTunes can or might be irrelevant to almost each and every one of us.

It doesn't matter.

I think everyone knows or should know how important this has been and will be to Steve Jobs. It's personal for him, and has been for years. Of course he's going to crow about it, regardless of what anyone else thinks. The news of Beatles on iTunes is not going to come across in a passing press release. Steve will make it a show, because it is a personal triumph for him, after years of negotiation and work.

Now then: There's no knowing for sure that Beatles are coming to iTunes tomorrow. How many times in the past has this been speculated?? If they do, fine. If they don't, most of us don't care. The only thing I think everyone can agree upon is the hope that a Beatles announcement isn't the only thing we get tomorrow. If so, then yes, it will be a major letdown.