Beatles on iTunes – are you really that bothered?
Today is going to be a big day for Apple. At 6PM UK time we’ll get the low-down on the next generation of iPods with tremendous innovations such as a three mega pixel camera popping up on the iPod touch and maybe an iPod classic with even more storage. Well hopefully it will be a tad more exciting than that.
There’s also a huge rumour that today is the day that The Beatles back catalogue finally arrives in iTunes.
The theory runs that…
• The remastered CDs are being launched today
• Beatles Rock Band edition goes on sale today
• It is the 9/9 2009. I am sure Lennon would have liked that
Oh, and Yoko Ono told Sky news it would be announced today.
Unfortunately EMI, which own the rights to the best back catalogue in the history of rock ever, have said it won’t be happening and Sky News has started to back track. So is this is a disaster for digital music? Course not.
Personally don’t give a fig whether The Beatles back catalogue is available on iTunes or not. Tunes as momentous as A Day in The Life, Tomorrow Never Knows and err Octopus’ Garden deserve to be heard in the best sound quality and that does mean the remastered CDs. Besides, who really is going to buy The Beatles stuff on iTunes? I am guessing that anyone who has an iPod probably likes music and viz a viz probably has at least a few of The Beatles albums in their collection on CD. Ok, so iTunes might be good for grabbing a few of the good tracks from the weaker albums like Beatles for Sale, but really is this big event – don’t think so.
I think it would be much more momentous if The Beatles tracks ended up on Spotify free for all. There’s an argument that says the Fab Four have become so much part of our national psyche/heritage call it what you will, that like the FA Cup Final, The Last Night of The Proms, The Ashes, they deserve to be available freely to everyone.
At the moment I have strong feeling that tonight’s Apple shindig might just be a bit of damp squib. I hope not, but for me anyhow a camera on an iPod Touch and even a few fab tracks on iTunes simply won’t cut it.
What do you think?
