Talks stalled over The Beatles on Apple's iTunes
Paul McCartney this week released a new album on to iTunes, and he wants the Beatles' entire music back catalog to be up there, too. But will Apple Inc., Apple Corps, and EMI ever be able to just "Let It Be?"
Paul McCartney still wants The Beatles' legendary rock tunes to be available on Apple's iTunes, but talks have reportedly gotten bogged down. After a trademark dispute of several decades between Apple Inc. and Apple Corps, negotiations are now going on between Apple and EMI, the Beatles' former record label.
"I really hope it will happen because I think it should," McCartney reportedly said, in an interview with the BBC.
Although music from individual Beatles members McCartney, Ringo Starr, and the late John Lennon and George Harrison is already sold on iTunes, The Beatles is now one of the few major acts to be absent from Apple Inc.'s music site, with the exceptions of AC/DC, Kid Rock, and country singer Garth Brooks.
In order to seal a deal with Apple Inc., however, EMI must secure an agreement with Apple Corps, the group set up to manage the Beatles' record catalog, to make the back catalog available in digital form on iTunes.
Back in March of this year, reports in the British media said McCartney had agreed to make the entire Beatles song catalog available on iTunes, under a $400 million deal involving royalty payments to McCartney, Starr, the families of Lennon and Harrison, and possibly to rights holders Michael Jackson, EMI, and Sony Corp. as well.
Last year, Apple Inc. and Apple Corps reached final settlement of a legal battle which started back in 1978, when Apple Corps filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against Apple Computer. An initial settlement reached in 1981 made it difficult for Apple Computer to enter the music business later.
Times change, though. This year, Apple's iTunes claimed on several occasions to have become the most popular site on the Web for music downloads.
The Beatles' music still isn't up there. But under the collective banner of "The Fireman," McCartney this week launched a new, experimental album called Electric Arguments, which is now downloadable from Apple's site.