daylies music: Brit Music Scene

Friday, September 11, 2009

Brit Music Scene

The Beatles Still Not On iTunes – Apple and EMI Talking

Posted: 10 Sep 2009 12:00 AM PDT

One of the biggest injustices in the British music scene right now is that The Beatles back catalog isn’t available to download or stream from legal sources. There are other bands who have also insisted their music remains exclusive to physical formats but The Beatles are the biggest name to have insisted on it.

It’s been rumored that The Beatles would be coming to iTunes soon for the last two years or so, ever since Apple (makers of the Mac and iPhone) and Apple Corps. (the company set up by The Beatles in the 1960s) settled a legal dispute over their names.

Yesterday saw Apple hold a music event focused on its iPod devices and it was assumed, with this being a big week for The Beatles thanks to the remastered album releases and The Beatles: Rock Band, that this could be the moment Beatles fans have been waiting for. But alas, it wasn’t to be.

EMI senior executive Ernesto Schmitt told The Financial Times that a deal wasn’t imminent but that his record company and Apple were continuing to talk. He said:

“Conversations between Apple and EMI are ongoing and we look forward to the day when we can make music available digitally. But it’s not tomorrow.”

I don’t really understand this delay. I can only assume EMI is pushing for a higher price to be charged for The Beatles back catalog, or for it to receive a higher percentage of the sale price. Because as is usually the case, money talks.

Meanwhile, most people who are desperate to get their hands on digital copies of The Beatles back catalog will just turn to less legal sources. In which case, Apple, EMI, and The Beatles all lose. Common sense has yet to permeate the music industry as much it should have.

[Photo Source: Amazon.co.uk]

Post from: Brit Music Scene