LONDON (Reuters) - The Beatles are preparing to sell their songs online after years of refusing to take part in the Internet music boom, according to testimony given by the head of their record company.
Neil Aspinall, a former Beatles road manager and managing director of Apple Corps, was a witness in the company's trademark lawsuit against Apple Computer (Research).
He said that the company was digitally remastering the entire Beatles catalogue, which would pave the way for selling the songs online.
"I think it would be wrong to offer downloads of the old masters when I am making new masters," he said in a written statement submitted to the High Court in London earlier this month.
"It would be better to wait and try to do them both simultaneously so that you then get the publicity of the new masters and the downloading, rather than just doing it ad hoc."
A spokeswoman for Apple Corps confirmed Aspinall's statement, and said that the company is preparing to make the Beatles catalogue available through online music services.
"There's no firm date on any of this at the moment. There are a lot of projects that Apple are working on at the moment," she said on Thursday.
The Beatles have been high-profile holdouts from the booming online music sector, which saw sales triple to $1.1 billion in 2005.
Apple Corps, owned by Beatles Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, John Lennon's widow Yoko Ono and the estate of George Harrison, have accused Apple Computer of violating a 1991 agreement by using the Apple name and logo to sell music downloads through its market-leading iTunes Music Store.
The trial ended on April 6, with a decision from the judge due after Easter.
-----------------
Will Michael Jackson sell his interest in a song catalog that includes scores of Beatles hits? Click here.
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 5:22 am Posts: 1603 Location: Buffalo
aNiMaL wrote:
I think this is nothing but great news! We, the fans, win this time. I can't wait for digitally remamstered Beatles tunes!!!
I'm glad to see that they're being remastered. I'm embarassed to say I only own the White Album and now I can finally buy 'em all and rationalize my lameness. Sort of.
I heard on CNBC today that if Sony buys Jackson's interest in the Beatles catalog, they are going to put the screws to Itunes and only offer them on Sony's download service.
Joined: Sat Oct 16, 2004 10:46 pm Posts: 1070 Location: Pacific Northwest Gender: Male
shinkdew wrote:
I heard on CNBC today that if Sony buys Jackson's interest in the Beatles catalog, they are going to put the screws to Itunes and only offer them on Sony's download service.
Really? Well, I would be alright with that. I don't blame them none at all.
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 6:43 pm Posts: 1431 Location: Knoxville, TN Gender: Male
vegman wrote:
I'm embarassed to say I only own the White Album and now I can finally buy 'em all and rationalize my lameness. Sort of.
I only own Anthology 3 and Let it Be Naked on cd. I do have quite a few on vinyl though. I would love to see them remaster the entire catalogue and release the cds in digipacks.
_________________ I like to move, yes I move in the night. You know I mellow down easy, yes it is a sight...
This is going to be expensive. I hope they do the decent thing and finally drop the catalogue down to mid price, and make a bit of effort with the packaging. Also I think they should include the original Let It Be. Naked is great but it will be like rewriting history if it replaces the original album.
_________________ 'The head that will become a skull is already empty.'
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 5:22 am Posts: 1603 Location: Buffalo
shinkdew wrote:
I heard on CNBC today that if Sony buys Jackson's interest in the Beatles catalog, they are going to put the screws to Itunes and only offer them on Sony's download service.
These are some cd's I'd rather buy with the packaging anyway. And fuck Michael Jackson.
Joined: Wed Oct 20, 2004 8:35 pm Posts: 8770 Location: flap flap flap hey no fair i made my saving throw
you are pretty dumb if you are buying digital music that you can get elsewhere, people
_________________ New Age bullshit is just a bunch of homo shit that some rich fuck came up with to scam people. It's exactly the same as scientology and every other religion: fake.
Nice to see these getting remastered. Now I can actually buy the Beatles albums I like (Revolver, White, Magical Mystery Tour) and crank them on the stereo without hesitation.
(Note: Being something of an audiophile and computer entheusiast, I don't give a shit about the opportunity to pay money for compressed and DRM'd files.)
Joined: Wed Oct 20, 2004 8:35 pm Posts: 8770 Location: flap flap flap hey no fair i made my saving throw
zeb wrote:
Echoes wrote:
you are pretty dumb if you are buying digital music that you can get elsewhere, people
Not if there are significant improvements made by the remastering process.
j.
but if they give it to you at music store bitrates, what is the point?
_________________ New Age bullshit is just a bunch of homo shit that some rich fuck came up with to scam people. It's exactly the same as scientology and every other religion: fake.
you are pretty dumb if you are buying digital music that you can get elsewhere, people
Not if there are significant improvements made by the remastering process.
but if they give it to you at music store bitrates, what is the point?
Well, you wouldn't take it at 128 from iTunes but the Sony service might use a higher bitrate. You're right, though; if it comes out in the stores then you'd definitely go for that over a dl.
Joined: Sat Oct 16, 2004 10:46 pm Posts: 1070 Location: Pacific Northwest Gender: Male
zeb wrote:
Echoes wrote:
zeb wrote:
Echoes wrote:
you are pretty dumb if you are buying digital music that you can get elsewhere, people
Not if there are significant improvements made by the remastering process.
but if they give it to you at music store bitrates, what is the point?
Well, you wouldn't take it at 128 from iTunes but the Sony service might use a higher bitrate. You're right, though; if it comes out in the stores then you'd definitely go for that over a dl.
j.
I'd have to say, that I assume with them re-mastering the songs for digital download, they will probably re-release them on CD too.
I am not a supporter AT ALL of people buying entire albums from iTunes....how gay is that? I always thought that paying for downloaded music is only really good when you only want a couple of songs from an album...but for the love of music, if you want the whole album, get your ass to the record store and buy the real album....or even order the CD on the internet, but get the real deal, not some second rate, compressed digital audio.
Apple settles with Beatles Kate Holton in London
FEBRUARY 06, 2007
APPLE has settled its long-running trademark dispute with The Beatles' company, Apple Corps, in a deal that could finally pave the way for the Fab Four's songs to be sold on the iTunes music store.
The Beatles claimed the Apple trademark through their multimedia company Apple Corps and had planned to appeal legal action lost against the California-based computer group in 2006.
The settlement holds out the possibility that the band might finally allow their hits to be downloaded legally over the internet, possibly on the Apple iTunes website, the biggest music download site.
The vast catalogue of Beatles songs, including Let it Be, Hey Jude and Come Together, is barred from legal internet download sites at the band's insistence despite protests from the EMI music label, which owns their recording rights.
An Apple spokeswoman said however that the new "co-operation" between the companies did not signify that Beatles songs would now be available for download and no mention of the issue was made in a statement.
The settlement between Apple Inc. and Apple Corps, which replaces a previous 1991 agreement, gives Apple Inc. ownership of all trademarks related to "Apple".
Apple Inc. will license certain trademarks back to the Beatles' Apple Corps for their continued use.
Apple Corps, which uses a green Granny Smith apple as its trademark, is owned by surviving Beatles members Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr and the widows of bandmates John Lennon and George Harrison.
Apple Inc, or Apple Computer as it was formerly known, originally had a logo featuring a multi-coloured, striped apple with a chunk missing. Its new logo is grey.
Apple Corps had sued the computer company over the use of the apple logo on its iTunes website, but a British judge ruled in favour of the technology group in May last year.
The judge said Apple had respected the 1991 agreement between the companies, which excluded Apple Inc from the music business. Apple Corps had said it planned to appeal.
The settlement announced on Monday puts an end to the trademark dispute, with each side agreeing to pay its own legal costs.
Financial details and other terms of the settlement were not disclosed.
"We love the Beatles, and it has been painful being at odds with them over these trademarks," said Steve Jobs, Apple's chief executive, in a statement announcing the news.
"It feels great to resolve this in a positive manner, and in a way that should remove the potential of further disagreements in the future."
Neil Aspinall, one-time Beatles road manager and now guardian of the band's business interests as manager of Apple Corps, said his company was glad to resolve the dispute.
"The years ahead are going to be very exciting times for us. We wish Apple Inc. every success and look forward to many years of peaceful co-operation with them," he said.
Rumours about a final settlement between Apple and The Beatles allowing legal downloads of the band's hits have circulated in recent months.
In January, Mr Jobs surprised technology watchers by playing a Beatles song on the new Apple iPhone during a presentation of the device, which serves as a mobile phone as well as a digital music player and camera.
Another rumour doing the rounds on the internet is that Apple and The Beatles will announce a deal to enable the download of Beatles tracks, particularly the Love album, on February 14, Saint Valentines Day.
Beatles' songs have long circulated on the internet as unlicensed downloads, available from peer-to-peer sites such as Limewire, but industry analysts say a decision to release them would be a boon for the legal download industry.
The dispute about the Apple trademark reportedly dates back to 1980 when George Harrison is said to have seen an advertisement for Apple computers in a magazine.
Apple Inc is embroiled in another trademark dispute, this time with US technology rival Cisco, over the use of "iPhone".
The companies declared a temporary truce last week to give themselves until February 15 to resolve the matter out of court.
The label can make new digital masters from the best existing analogue master. Check out the LOVE album released late last year; the sound quality is amazing.
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 3 guests
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot post attachments in this forum
