Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, iTS, Odds and ends
The Beatles: whatever
The mood in TUAW's secret underground bunker is electric as thoughts of tomorrow's media event float in our heads. New iPods? Probably. Something unexpected? Perhaps. The Beatles in iTunes? Who cares?Yeah, I said it. We have been covering the Beatles in the iTunes Store saga for over 3 years here at TUAW (3 years this month, actually. Clearly it is a sign from the Universe!), and I must admit I have never understood what all the fuss is about. Sure, I like the Beatles which is why I already own all their music, and I am sure most other Beatles fans do as well. Furthermore, the Beatles aren't some small, no name band. You can walk into any CD shop (new or used) or log onto any online purveyor of physical CDs and buy any number of Beatles albums which is why I find it so perplexing that every single rumor involving the iTunes Store and iPods always has something about the Beatles tacked on. It is as if the rumor sites don't think anyone will believe their wacky tales if there isn't a, 'Oh, and Steve's cousin's wife's best friend's college roommate has it on good authority that the Beatles are totally going to be on iTunes soon. Oh, and multi-touch Cinema Displays with built-in iSites are coming soon as well. Ringo loves his.'
Since when did the entire Mac community become obsessed with the Beatles?
Clearly, we all know that Steve is a fan which explains why their songs are often played at Apple events and show up in Apple screenshots, but I think you would be hard pressed to find someone who doesn't like at least one Beatles song (yes, this is where the contrarian out there comment about how they have a deep and abiding loathing for the Beatles. The comment form is right down there, fellows!).
Honestly, I have no idea why people have gotten themselves in such a froth over the possibility of the Beatles catalog becoming available on iTunes. If that is announced tomorrow it will the least exciting thing to come out of the event, unless of course this event turns out to be another iPod HiFi/Leather Case non-event.
I just hope we still won't be speculating about this when I'm 64 (you didn't expect this post could end without a lame Beatles joke, did you?).
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Reader Comments (Page 2 of 3)
Joseph said 3:40AM on 9-05-2007
All you need is love!
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Mark Thomas said 3:24AM on 9-05-2007
Beatles haters, being inherently naive, invariably love music that is derivative of the Beatles but are too ignorant to realize it. They're a lot like Windows users who love Windows more the more Mac-like Windows gets, but insist that they hate Macs.
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guide said 7:20AM on 9-05-2007
Q: Who the heck cares about the Beatles?
A: the generation that pioneered computerbusinesses from their garages…
When the iPod event will become a -mainly- Beatles event, this -for sure-will be the biggest Apple non-event ever!
Of course to the inmates and the Apple historians this is an interesting saga and a new -final?- addition to the "sosumi" chapter.
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Dezro said 3:30AM on 9-05-2007
It's a big deal because of the Apple Computer / Apple Records history.
You know, Sosumi?
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steve said 3:42AM on 9-05-2007
did this really need to be posted? i love the site btw...
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TC said 7:39AM on 9-05-2007
I'm just hoping Steve will say "One more thing..." and give us the Leopard release date...
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george bush said 4:11AM on 9-05-2007
i cant wait to see those new george forman grills tomorrow. gee-wiz, i sure am gonna grill me up some tasty beef. dont dis the beatles, youve been warned.
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Cristian said 6:39AM on 9-05-2007
Chris Welch has got it right.
It's all about the remasterings that have been announced and which are overdue about ... 15 years. The Beatles regular CDs sound awful if you compare them to the few remastered versions that came out (Yellow Submarine Songtrack for instance). Apple Records have been ignorant all these years because the Beatles sell anyway and most people share their couldn't-care-less attitude. I was hoping that Mr. Scott McNulty would know better, but I am sorry to see that he also doesn't care about how badly his Beatles' CDs very produced.
I can't blame him. This is the Unofficial Apple Inc. Weblog and not the Unofficial Apple Records Weblog, after all.
When the new versions come out, I won't be buying any from iTunes anyway. I'll buy the CDs. That's still the best way to own music.
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Mike said 6:40AM on 9-05-2007
I think Apple might be chasing the wrong demographic if they really are pursuing the Beatles this hard. I like the idea of a wifi based music sharing capability though, but what I'm really hoping for is new iPhone apps - shared with the new iPods, but today would be the perfect spot to introduce them.
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Scott said 7:07AM on 9-05-2007
The next generations of music fans will be getting their music primarily from the iTunes store. They won't really understand "buying CDs". Anyone who likes the Beatles wants their music to be a part of that. Easy. Anyone who doesn't like the Beatles should want them there because they're probably the biggest and most historically relevant artist who isn't in iTunes, and most of us want iTunes to be a legitimate, REAL music store with a selection that covers the entire scope of music. Also, their music seems to be a natural fit with Apple's image and publicity campaigns.
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Dave! said 8:05AM on 9-05-2007
It's a big deal because the Beatles catalog is a big deal. Whether you like them or not (and if you don't, I think you must be an alien) the catalog is worth a lot of money--and legitimacy. They are seen as one of the last great hold-outs. To have their stuff available on iTunes, especially given the history between the Apples, would be a major coup. If you can't see that--and what it means--then you have really missed the boat.
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Gobo said 8:14AM on 9-05-2007
It's a very big deal because of two things, whether you dig the Beatles or not:
1) Adding the biggest-selling artists in history to the world's largest digital music store (and third-biggest music store of any kind) is rather important.
2) The Beatles have been released and compiled on CD many times, but the remaining Beatles and their producers have admitted that they botched the CD mastering (Sgt. Pepper was one of the first CDs released). The Beatles' catalog will soon be rereleased on CD now that it's been remastered properly and we can hear the music as it was supposed to be heard. Getting that music in high-quality iTunes Plus format is a holy grail of sorts for Beatles fans.
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Adam said 8:33AM on 9-05-2007
you know i heard they were going to be making a yellow touch screen ipod with the whole catalogue put on it along with rare never before released songs ALONG with a newly remastered version of the Let it be film AND a documentary that proves paul actually is dead!
seriously though, this is one of those things that I personally dont understand. Yes, it's great if the remastering is finished. Yes it's great that they finally have the full catalogue one of the biggest bands of all time... but I want a new iPod more than some beatles tracks.
Of course, if the catalogue does go up it mean Michael Jackson will be getting some more dough and maybe that will speed up the release of HIS new album. (yeah! i said it!)
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Juan said 9:44AM on 9-05-2007
The Beatles = the biggest musical event ever in the planet.
Would it be big deal if they are in itunes?
HEll yes...
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Whiplash said 9:43AM on 9-05-2007
The Beatles? How many times can you listen to (and buy!) the same 40 year old songs? They got their props, now in with the new!
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Hotbabe69 said 9:50AM on 9-05-2007
There is one thing people arn't mentioning near enough here, aside from the fact that there is a great collection of music missing from the store and im sure steve is a fan. but Money plays a major part in this, imagine collections of restored beatles videos, rare albums and pre releases from ringo and paul. it's profit that most people involved would be thinking about, ringo is looking the most publicity since the beatles, and pauls already making a decent comeback. although i also own most beatles albums already i would be happy to pay for any extra (or useen) video possibly even longer video's like imagine.
thanks for your time,
Hotbabe69
x
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Galley said 10:04AM on 9-05-2007
The Beatles are great, but The Monkees are my band.
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Ralph said 10:15AM on 9-05-2007
I care, and so does my money.
Why be a hater just because you don't like it? I can't stand most rap, but I'm happy it's available to anyone who wants to buy it at the iTS.
And a big ditto on comment #17, re/ remastering.
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Ralph said 10:19AM on 9-05-2007
And FWIW, those of you old enough to remember will recall that they were the last big holdout on CD releases as well. Essentially, the catalog was just "dumped" onto CD after all the legalities were sifted through. So those of us who are fans (and there are more than you think, apparently) welcome the re-release (which means a true remastering), and the opportunity to buy them via iTunes.
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William Beem said 10:23AM on 9-05-2007
I can understand why some folks don't care about the Beatles, particularly if they're in their 20's and don't have the memories of growing up to that music. That's fine, but there is still a market of folks who particularly like the Beatles and want the remastered collection.
Despite what this post says, I've found it's kind of hard to just walk into a store and get whatever Beatles album I want. Around here, Best Buy and Circuit City killed the local record shops. Neither of those stores keep more than a few token Beatles CD's on hand.
Another part of the issue was the solo works of the Beatles members. I've scooped up McCartney, Lennon, and Starr's solo albums, but I still want some of George Harrison's efforts. I presume that'll come soon enough now that the other members are here.
The truth is that I get all of my music from iTunes Store these days. I don't feel like buying a CD only to rip it and then store the CD somewhere. It's convenient, quick, and inexpensive to buy my music. I guess I'm the kind of person who buys into the experience that Apple provides with the iPod and iTunes, and I want to have my Beatles and AC/DC, too.
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