Entire Beatles catalog in lossless, here we come!!

Reply

BBC wouldn't punk us would they...?

Reply

This should be intresting....Hopefully Mr S. Jobs pulls something else out at the same time! (unfortunate they announced it on 1st April, brings supicions!)

Reply

It may be April Fools, but remember it's the anniversary of Apple's founding too!

Reply

Quote: BBC wouldn't punk us would they...?

I think they pulled off one of the best hoaxes in TV history some time back.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/1/newsid_2819000/2819261.stm

Apart from that, my hunch is that it'll be the Beatles on iTMS.

Reply

"Under the terms of the arrangement, Apple Inc took full control of the Apple brand and licensed certain trademarks back to the Beatles' record company Apple Corps for continued use."

I don't remember reading that anywhere!!!!

Exciting but feels fishy.

Reply

@Greenline: it's true!

http://www.tuaw.com/2007/02/05/apple-inc-and-apple-corps-ltd-finally-settle-trademark-dispute/

Reply

Beatles on iTunes? John and George are no longer with us, so that means the live performance might just be from... Ringo Starr. Yay.

Reply

Fake. Fake fake fake. Where is this event? Why announce it the day before, on a non-business day? Why is only the BBC reporting this? Why announce on Monday when the iTunes Store is updated on Tuesday?

This could be true but I don't know. Smells of quite the fish to me.

Reply

I can't see how it would be the Beatles catalog. Sir Paul has just announced his signing with Starbucks and Ringo isn't much of a draw by himself. Also, doesn't Michael Jackson own 50% rights to the Beatles catalog now? Seems to me that's why there was a fallout after their collaboration in the 80s (Paul introduced Michael to the idea of buying publishing rights and Michael promplty bought the rights to the Beatles catalog by outbidding Paul).

I'd wager more on other british EMI acts that are still around such as: Pink Floyd, David Bowie, Depeche Mode or the Rolling Stones. I don't think all those catalogs are complete either.

I also don't think it would be an April fools joke because it would be a really really lame one. Apple and EMI are going to announce something Monday... maybe the Beatles... April Fools? i don't think so.

Reply

Although the BBC can be fairly foolish at times, I'd doubt this is an April Fool's joke. Anything involving third parties can be a little sensitive: if this had been made up, one can just imagine furious Microsoft fanboys complaining that the BBC had given Apple some very valuable free publicity.

Reply

It's actually MacWorld.co.uk that first reported the story. BBC picked it up afterwards.

-=|Mgkwho

Reply

DRM Free music is say!

Reply

I believe BBC radio also had a spoof news broadcast stating that Big Ben would be replaced with a digital clock once.

"I'd wager more on other british EMI acts that are still around such as: Pink Floyd, David Bowie, Depeche Mode or the Rolling Stones. I don't think all those catalogs are complete either."

But why have a press conference for artists already in the store? If it's not the Beatles, it has to be big otherwise it wouldn't warrant a whole press conference (unless it's an April Fools joke of course).

Reply

When I were a lad in Britain

Reply

From AppleInsider:

"Though speculation would suggest such an event may involve an announcement regarding The Beatles' music catalog and iTunes, Macworld UK cites sources who warn that Monday's announcement is unrelated to that matter."

Reply

Screw the Beatles: give me some 720p content for Apple TV.

Reply

"But why have a press conference for artists already in the store? If it's not the Beatles, it has to be big otherwise it wouldn't warrant a whole press conference (unless it's an April Fools joke of course)."

If EMI was letting Apple sell their music without DRM, that would be worth a press conference.

Reply

Looks like EMI is going to be selling their music without DRM.

From the WSJ:

"In a major reversal of the music industry's longstanding antipiracy strategy, EMI Group PLC is set to announce Monday that it plans to sell significant amounts of its catalog without anticopying software, according to people familiar with the matter.

The London-based music company is to make its announcement in a press conference that will feature Apple Inc. Chief Executive Steve Jobs. EMI is to sell songs without the software -- known as digital rights management, or DRM -- through Apple's iTunes Store and possibly through other online outlets, too."

From here: http://tinyurl.com/2bp6g8 [preview only, you need to be a subscriber to see the full article]

Reply

How about Radiohead? They're currently not available on iTunes. A friend of mine runs a major music e-commerce company which offers online sales services linked directly to the chart compliation and royalty systems. He recently had a meeting at the Radiohead offices in Oxford, but no agreement was reached...

Reply