After years of legal disputes, including trademark infringements, originating in the ’70s (it was Apple Corps. vs Apple Computer), the band and the tech company decided to make peace in 2007, and just three years later the two are able to celebrate with the release of the entire Beatles music catalog on iTunes.
Apple threw up a teaser page last night that said, “Tomorrow is just another day. That you’ll never forget.” This morning at 10AM ET the teaser disappeared to reveal an image of the Fab Four and it reads, “The Beatles. Now on iTunes.” iTunes now offers the band’s 13 studio albums, ranging from Please Please Me (1963) to Let It Be (1970). Each remastered album comes with their respective tracks, a mini-documentary, and iTunes LP content (which includes liner notes and photos); they priced at $12.99 and individual tracks go for the standard $1.29. The mini-documentaries are “album only” purchases.
In addition to the 13 studio albums, iTunes also offers Past Masters, Vols. 1 & 2, the 1988 release that bundles 33 Beatles songs that were not included on the original U.K. albums. The store also sells The Beatles (1962-1966) collection known as “The Red Album”; it includes 26 popular Beatles songs ranging from their debut up until the release of Revolver. The Beatles (1967-1970) or “The Blue Album” includes 28 popular Beatles songs from their later years. The “Red” & “Blue” albums released simultaneously in 1973, three years after the band broke up. Past Masters, Vols. 1 & 2 and the “Red” & “Blue” albums cost $19.99 each; like their studio album counterparts they come with iTunes LP content.
And finally there’s the Beatles-iTunes motherload. For $149 you can make your life easy and purchase The Beatles Box Set which includes all 13 studio albums, Past Masters, Vols. 1 & 2, and a video of the band’s first U.S. concert–the 1964 show at Washington Coliseum. The box set comes with every mini-documentary from the individual albums, as well as a ton of iTunes LP content.
That about sums it up. The Beatles are on iTunes. Boom. Besides adding all this amazing content to iTunes, Apple has put together a new ad campaign featuring Beatles songs and black-and-white photos. Head over to Apple’s new Beatles page to watch all five ads. There you’ll also find a link to watch the 1964 show at Washington Coliseum; the 41 minute concert (which is a “worldwide iTunes exclusive”) will be available to stream for free on the site for the remainder of the year.
Look after the break for the official PR. In it Apple CEO Steve Jobs, the two remaining Beatles Ringo and Paul, Yoko Ono Lennon, Olivia Harrison, and EMI Group CEO Roger Faxon share their excitement and relief that the Beatles collection has finally arrived on iTunes.
I happened to purchase the physical Beatles box set when it released in limited quantities last year, but I’m glad the entire collection is available in the world’s largest online retailer of music. The ease of previewing and downloading tracks will give newcomers a healthy dose of some of the greatest music ever produced. With The Beatles: Rock Band and Beatles music on iTunes, the current generation of young people is pretty much golden.
[Via Apple; iTunes] Continue reading The Beatles has arrived on iTunes