Catalog album sales are up 5.4 percent in 2011, thanks in part to a long-awaited 2010 deal allowing digital distribution of The Beatles’ albums for the first time.
Google and Amazon had also pitched to secure The Beatles rights for their own digital music stores, according to industry sources.
Ever since the iTunes Music Store opened for business back in 2003, the question of when the Beatles catalog would be available has remained unanswered. Sir Paul McCartney blames label for Beatles iTunes delay.
Paul McCartney has told NME.COM that he wants The Beatles songs to be available as downloads. The Fab Four’s work has long been absent from official download services, but the bassist and songwriter said he and the band are keen for them to be available online — and blamed record label EMI for the delay. “We were having problems with iTunes — well not iTunes, EMI was the problem — with downloading, which we’d like to do because that’s how a lot of people get their music,” explained McCartney. However, the legend suggested the band have managed to get round… Read more »
The publishing rights to most of the Beatles’ biggest hits are owned by one entity, a joint venture between the late Michael Jackson and the music arm of Sony Corp called Sony/ATV. Sony/ATV also owns the rights to songs written by Bob Dylan, Neil Diamond, Taylor Swift and, oh yes, the Jonas Brothers. But Sony/ATV does not handle the recordings of Beatles songs. Two other companies do that, so whether you’ll ever download “Come Together” off of iTunes has nothing to do with M.J.’s death. Jackson was, according to reports, mired in some truly epic financial drama. Even the value… Read more »
LONDON — The original Beatles catalog has been digitally remastered for the first time and will go on sale in CD format Sept. 9, the band’s record label and company announced Tuesday. The release will coincide with the launch of “The Beatles : Rock Band” video game, the British quartet’s first major leap into the world of digital music. The catalog will not be available online for the foreseeable future, although the digital remastering is widely seen as bringing that process one step closer. “Discussions regarding the digital distribution of the catalog will continue,” a statement issued on behalf of… Read more »
Could the Jonas Brothers become the next Beatles ? Or merely the new Monkees ? The chart-topping teen idols, who elicit piercing shrieks from their young fans wherever they go, are starring in a Disney Channel series inspired by the Beatles’ movies as well as the zany American made-for-TV group the Monkees The Jonas siblings — Kevin, 21, Joe, 19, and Nick, 16 — will appear as themselves in the barely fictional comedy series “Jonas,” premiering on the cable channel in May. The squeaky clean brothers, beloved by the young daughters of President-elect Barack Obama, play members of a popular… Read more »
VATICAN CITY — Vatican media are praising the Beatles’ musical legacy and sounding philosophical about John Lennon ‘s boast that the British band was more popular than Jesus. Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano recalls that Lennon’s comment outraged many when he made it in 1966. But it says in its Saturday edition that the remark can be written off now as the bragging of a young man wrestling with unexpected success. The newspaper as well as Vatican Radio last week noted the 40th anniversary of the Beatles’ “White Album.” It said the album demonstrated how creative the Beatles were, compared with… Read more »
Katy Perry’s “I Kissed a Girl” led Billboard’s Hot 100 singles chart for a seventh week on Thursday, tying the Beatles to become the longest-running No. 1 in the rock era for the singer’s Capitol Records label. The Fab Four ruled for seven weeks in 1964 with “I Want to Hold Your Hand.” Perry was previously tied at No. 2 with the Knack’s 1979 song “My Sharona.” If Perry’s song can hang on for three more weeks, it will tie rapper Flo Rida’s “Low” as the second longest-running No. 1 of 2008. But challenges loom from R&B singer Chris Brown’s… Read more »
Apple and the company that owns the rights to the majority of the band’s music catalogue have denied the current string of reports claiming music from The Beatles will appear soon on iTunes. Reports claiming music from the band will show up online soon – clearly emanating from within Paul McCartney’s inner circle – have been circulating for the past week. Last night, an Apple representative dismissed the claims, telling Billboard: “This is not news nor is it a scoop.” More denial, too, from Sony/ATV Music Publishing, a joint venture between Michael Jackson and Sony which owns the rights to… Read more »
