So Apple’s teasing announcement on Apple.com yesterday was… leading up to an announcement that the Beatles’ records will be available for sale on iTunes.
- The Beatles, Twickenham, Middlesex, 9th April 1969
Ringo Starr has greeted this news with an enthusiastic “I am particularly glad to no longer be asked when the Beatles are coming to iTunes.”
I love the Beatles, so I’m sure that this is A Good Thing. I feel like it’s 10 years late, and that really it should have been partnered with the release of the stereo and mono box sets (especially given that the stereo set was available on a USB stick at one point), but regardless, it’s nice that there is another place you can buy The Beatles from; and I guess that for fans who only want to dip into the catalogue song-by-song and who don’t own the Red or Blue albums or 1, then this is a good piece of news too. Having said that, I can’t help but feel that people who want to own Beatles music already do… maybe I’d feel differently if I already didn’t own all of the Beatles’ albums twice (and sometimes thrice) over.
Similarly, I’m slightly astounded by the fact that this doesn’t seem to include everything: no Let it Be… Naked, no Love. I can’t see the Anthology records or Live at the BBC, either. I’d also have thought that this would be an ideal time to release some music as an iTunes exclusive or perhaps rerelease something like 1977 live record The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl, which has never been available on CD. However, the film Live at the Washington Coliseum, 1964 can be streamed for free from the iTunes Beatles store until December 31st, at which point we will presumably be able to purchase it or it will retreat forever into the iTunes version of the box set.
Okay, time for this naysayer to stop saying nay: The Beatles are available on iTunes. Hurrah!
MP3: Blue Roses, “Golden Slumbers” (Beatles cover)
