Apple's Big Announcement... the Beatles

[gmoney]

This was (briefly) hyped as a day we'd all remember, but it's basically that the Beatles catalog is available on iTunes. $1.29 for 40+ year old songs, $12.99 for albums.

I don't get why this is a big deal. Don't most Beatle fans already have the CDs? You can rip the files and listen to them on your iPod or MP3 player for free. Will people really line up to buy them yet AGAIN? I personally have most of the albums on vinyl, the original shitty sounding CDs, and the recently spiffed up versions... explain why I need to buy them again? Or am I showing my age, overlooking the millions of kids who don't own CDs at all anymore?

To their credit, they did find an excellent photo of the boys that I don't recall seing before:


Photo by Bruce McBroom/© Apple Corps Ltd.

[HopeHoops]

1. I've heard of them. Aren't they from Toledo or something?

[Iggo]

4. Keep an eye on them. Those kids are going places.

[ikri]

15. Manchester (according to Foxnews.com earlier)

Pit of ignorance

Just in case someone wakes up and fixes the story

[whistler162]

22. Nah they where from Central New York state.....

near Syracuse.

Great place for hot dogs.

[Initech]

2. Yawn. Let me know when they make better software.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

3. I read a ridiculous story about this earlier this morning...

...something along the lines of "Steve Jobs is reportedly a Beatles fan, and in the past, he's had to download songs from CDs if he wanted to listen to them on his iPod...

WTF? They make it sound as complex and traumatic as his fucking liver transplant.

If you own the CD, what the hell is the issue? The 5 minutes it takes to rip it? Doesn;t Steve Jobs have serfs who can perform this kind of task for him?

This "Apple Major Event" is second only to the time Geraldo Rivera opened Al Capone's vault.

:eyes:

[LTR]

Ripping CDs ain't that tough

And I actually use iTunes to do it! Does a really nice job, in mere minutes.

Seriously though, I think it's the media that's making a big fuss about it. Don't read too much into what Jobs said. All he said is that nobody had the option to download it straight from the internet (legally). He didn't say what a chore it was. Otherwise, he'd be dissing his own product!

And let's face it -- most fans are just going to buy the physical product (i.e. the CD) and rip it anyway. This is more for the casual fans, kids and impulse shoppers. Just another option is all iTunes is.

[tigereye]

13. is it because they had that ongoing lawsuit with Apple before about the name?

[LTR]

18. That was settled for good a few years ago

Now they have an amicable understanding and get along well. Both Apples can and do coexist. The solo catalogs of the four Beatles have been available on iTunes for years. I believe much of the delay has been in regard to the remastered editions (released last year). Plus, timing issues and the current shaky status of EMI. Oh yeah, and money as well, which I assumed has been resolved with tiered pricing in iTunes.

In addition, quite a few artists are wary of iTunes, in regard to compensation, cannibalizing of their catalogs and a few requests for album-only downloads.

[whistler162]

23. Mr. Jobs needs a real computer.... maybe Mr. Gates

will give him one.

Truthfully I don't get downloading albums at the same price as purchasing the album on CD. I rip all ny CD's to WAV and then convert them to whichever format I need.

[nolabear]

5. Well I, for one, am delighted. So there.

Look, one of the joys of iTunes, and the whole electronic media thing really, is that you can have an impulse and feed it, and use it to say "Oh, look, here's what I'm talking about" to the person next to you at a party, on the bus, in the living room, whatever, and share a bit of something that you like with them. This is very appealing to a social species and this little announcement is one of the pleasurable moments of satisfaction in a world full of angst-inducing social commentary.

Snark all you will, The Beatles are a big freaking deal in the history of music and were stunningly good musicians by any standard, whether they're your cuppa or not. If you're feeling cool with your "all you have to do is load your CD onto your iPhone" then I hate to inform you that you're a generation out of step. Physical media is sliding out of favor, as it should. My urban kids wouldn't touch a CD with a ten foot pole. Those things take up room and are a pain to store in the small spaces we are increasingly living in, and use resources we increasingly ain't got.

But back to me...I've been putting off buying another White Album and Abbey Road (CDs do get damaged) for ages waiting for this, and I'm damned happy about it, and can't imagine what there would be to irritate anyone about it.

Get happy, chirren, get happy! Life isn't all peeing in your pool.

[Iggo]

6. oops.

[nolabear]

10. Yup, I was on a total tear, wan' I?

[LTR]

12. I just back up my CDs

I'm old school. I like tactile things I can hold in my hand. I don't usually play the discs themselves (to avoid loss, scratching, etc.), but I rip them to digital files and often listen to them that way. Just last night, I was looking through some of the booklets from my Beatles CD reissues and admiring the whole packaging. Sure, not the same as the old vinyl LPs (another story for another time), but they're pretty classy.

I do understand people who don't really need the physical product, but just the songs. I have many recordings only in digital form.

[whistler162]

24. I might stop buying the physical media if they

offered the contents in a lossless, WAV or FLAC format.

[Iggo]

7. It's all about the singles.

That's what iTunes has always been about.

[bikebloke]

8. It's the prelude to the long awaited Beatles reunion.

[nolabear]

9. I hear Andy Kaufman is opening for them.

[LTR]

11. It's not for you

It's not for the hardcore fans. Mostly for impulse shoppers, casual fans, the song-at-a-time crowd and younger people who prefer buying it in pre-downloaded form. If someone needs, say, "Here, There and Everywhere" for a wedding mix (and don't really need the whole 'Revolver' album -- though they should), well, it can happen (legally!). Any fan who has already bought the CDs and ripped them to their hard drive/iPod/etc. are not, I repeat NOT required to download the whole catalog again from iTunes. You need not feel any guilt for not doing so. You may take a deep breath now.

The only little throw-in for the hardcore fans on iTunes is the first American concert from 1964.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

14. Well, hardcore fans and Paul, Ringo, Yoko, and Olivia

Yoko got a massive double payday...the entire Lennon catalog remastered, multiple box set configurations, AND the Beatles on iTunes?

It would hurt to much to even see the number on THAT deposit slip.

[LTR]

16. Is it so wrong for them to make money?

Hell, the Beatles made some of the best music of the last century. I'll gladly give 'em money for that! I'm so sorry that you think it's a sin for anyone to make money in this day and age.

And I do know that while they do appreciate the money, much of the reasoning is to promote the band's music to newer generations, as the "1" compilation and "Rock Band" have helped do.


You wanna be cynical and spite them for actually being successful and wealthy? Go cry in your oatmeal. I'm not gonna hate them for being rich. They earned it. If you have such a problem with it all, don't buy their shit.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

17. Yoko earned it?

Yoko made some of the best music of the last century?

I'm not talking about the people who made the music. And I don't hate any of them for being rich. All I said is that Yoko, in the last few months, got two massive paydays for music which...for the most part...she had no hand in creating.

[LTR]

19. Well, I beg to differ on the Lennon catalog

Shit, half the songs on the solo albums are about her! And she was by his side the whole time from 1968 onward. Not saying that it would have sold as well under her name or that she did the stuff herself (let's get real here!), but does Lennon's passing mean that all of his stuff should be taken off the market? Or neglected with out-of-date digital masters? What about people like Elvis or Jimi Hendrix? Hey, they're dead -- nobody should make money off them! All that Elvis money going to the Scientologists -- lol!

Lemme ask you, have you taken yourself out of loved ones' wills based on principle? If so, then you may possibly have a point.

Like I said, if you've got a problem with Yoko getting any money from Lennon's estate, save your money. I'm sure Lennon himself, if he were still around, would disagree with you.

[REP]

20. Or those of us who only have original vinyl and no USB turntable

[Initech]

21. It would have been a better announcement that they made MP3 tagging software that actually works.

[cbdo2007]

25. I feel the same way about people still buying DVDs

You can get a year subscription to Netflix for like $110 or $8.99 per month, to watch as many movies and tv shows as they have, many of which will be streamed to your computer/tv - so why are people still paying $50 for a tv box set when they could get 5 months of netflix for that and have so much other stuff as well?

Also, the technology will only get better and in the near future EVERYTHING will be able to be streamed on Netflix.

I gave all my VHS and DVDs to goodwill because they were just taking up space and now I can get all that stuff on Netflix. Now they're even selling moves with a "Blu Ray version" a "normal version" and a "digital copy" for your portable device and they're still charging $25 for it. Really, there are only a handful of movies I even watch multiple times anymore, but I just get those on Netflix too.