Apple and The Beatles

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From HERE.

Apr 1, 6:23 PM (ET)

LONDON (AP) - Record company EMI Group PLC said Sunday it planned to unveil "an exciting new digital offering" with computer company Apple Inc. (AAPL), raising expectations that The Beatles' music catalog is about to be made available through Apple's iTunes online music store.
EMI said it would hold a news conference Monday at its London headquarters with its chief executive, Eric Nicoli, and Apple boss Steve Jobs "and a special live performance."
The company gave no further details.
EMI has been The Beatles' record label since the early 1960s.
The Beatles have so far been the most prominent holdout from iTunes and other online music services, and Apple's overtures to put the music online were stymied by a long-running trademark dispute with The Beatles' commercial guardian, Apple Corps. Ltd.
In February, Apple Inc. and Apple Corps resolved their legal feud over use of the apple logo and name, paving the way for an agreement for online access to the Fab Four's songs.
Apple Corps was founded by the Fab Four in 1968 and is still owned by Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, the widow of John Lennon and the estate of George Harrison.
 
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Yeah just saw that at TUAW. The article goes on to link to a news item on the BBC website. They say the special event will happen tomorrow.

Well looks like I'll have to spend more dough if this happens.
 
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So, it's only music related?? Aww..nuts..
 
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So, it's only music related?? Aww..nuts..

I'm still hoping for the announcement that as part of the settlement Apple has become the majority shareholder of EMI and so on. I'm not betting on it though.
 
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I'm still hoping for the announcement that as part of the settlement Apple has become the majority shareholder of EMI and so on. I'm not betting on it though.

That would be interesting. EMI turned down a $4.1 billion offer from Warners, so I imagine Steve would have to pony up something similarly substantial.

I figured this was an April Fool's hoax until I saw it on the BBC web site.
 
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EMI Announces DRM-Free Music - iTunes is its First Home

Link at EMI's web site, with the presentation in PDF format.

Apple's Press Release at their site.

Apple's press release:

Apple Unveils Higher Quality DRM-Free Music on the iTunes Store

DRM-Free Songs from EMI Available on iTunes for $1.29 in May

CUPERTINO, California—April 2, 2007—Apple® today announced that EMI Music’s entire digital catalog of music will be available for purchase DRM-free (without digital rights management) from the iTunes® Store (www.itunes.com) worldwide in May. DRM-free tracks from EMI will be offered at higher quality 256 kbps AAC encoding, resulting in audio quality indistinguishable from the original recording, for just $1.29 per song. In addition, iTunes customers will be able to easily upgrade their entire library of all previously purchased EMI content to the higher quality DRM-free versions for just 30 cents a song. iTunes will continue to offer its entire catalog, currently over five million songs, in the same versions as today—128 kbps AAC encoding with DRM—at the same price of 99 cents per song, alongside DRM-free higher quality versions when available.

“We are going to give iTunes customers a choice—the current versions of our songs for the same 99 cent price, or new DRM-free versions of the same songs with even higher audio quality and the security of interoperability for just 30 cents more,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We think our customers are going to love this, and we expect to offer more than half of the songs on iTunes in DRM-free versions by the end of this year.”

“EMI and iTunes are once again teaming up to move the digital music industry forward by giving music fans higher quality audio that is virtually indistinguishable from the original recordings, with no usage restrictions on the music they love from their favorite artists,” said Eric Nicoli, CEO of EMI Group.

With DRM-free music from the EMI catalog, iTunes customers will have the ability to download tracks from their favorite EMI artists without any usage restrictions that limit the types of devices or number of computers that purchased songs can be played on. DRM-free songs purchased from the iTunes Store will be encoded in AAC at 256 kbps, twice the current bit rate of 128 kbps, and will play on all iPods, Mac® or Windows computers, Apple TVs and soon iPhones, as well as many other digital music players.

iTunes will also offer customers a simple, one-click option to easily upgrade their entire library of all previously purchased EMI content to the higher quality DRM-free format for 30 cents a song. All EMI music videos will also be available in DRM-free format with no change in price.

The iTunes Store features the world’s largest catalog with over five million songs, 350 television shows and over 400 movies. The iTunes Store has sold over two billion songs, 50 million TV shows and over 1.3 million movies, making it the world’s most popular online music, TV and movie store.

With Apple’s legendary ease of use, pioneering features such as integrated podcasting support, iMix playlist sharing, seamless integration with iPod® and the ability to turn previously purchased songs into completed albums at a reduced price, the iTunes Store is the best way for PC and Mac users to legally discover, purchase and download music and video online.

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital media revolution with its iPod portable music and video players and iTunes online store, and will enter the mobile phone market this year with its revolutionary iPhone.
 
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That's crappy that the DRM-free songs are more expensive, but other than that...yay!
 
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That extra $.30 won't bother me. :D
 
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iTunes sells downloads for all players

LONDON (AP) - EMI Group PLC on Monday announced a deal that will allow computer company Apple Inc. (AAPL) to sell the record company's songs online without copy protection software.
The agreement means that customers of Apple's iTunes store will soon be able to play downloaded songs by the Rolling Stones, Norah Jones, Coldplay and other top-selling artists without the copying restrictions once imposed by their label.
EMI said almost all of its catalog, excluding music by The Beatles, is included in the deal.
Singles and albums free from copy-protection software and with a higher sound quality will be offered as a premium product, the companies announced at a London news conference.

(AP) Apple CEO Steve Jobs plays a Beatles song on iTunes as he introduces the iPhone at the MacWorld in...
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Consumers will pay a higher price for the premium singles, but the same price for albums either with or without the copy protection software.
The announcement follows calls by Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs earlier this year for the world's four major record companies, including EMI, to start selling songs online without copy-protection software.
The software, known as DRM, is designed to combat piracy by preventing unauthorized copying, but can make downloading music difficult for consumers.
The software used by Apple does not work with competing services or devices, meaning that consumers can only download songs from iTunes to iPod music players. The linkages between the download services and players has drawn criticism from European industry regulators, who argue that it limits buyer choice.
Jobs argued there was little benefit to record companies selling more than 90 percent of their music without DRM on compact discs, then selling the remaining percentage online with DRM.
Some analysts suggest that lifting the software restrictions could boost sales of online music, which currently account for around 10 percent of global music sales.
EMI has acted as the distributor for The Beatles since the early 1960s, but The Beatles' music holding company, Apple Corps Ltd., has so far declined to allow the Fab Four's music on any Internet music services including iTunes.
The situation was exacerbated by a long-running trademark dispute between Apple Inc. and Apple Corps. That legal feud was resolved in February when the two companies agreed on joint use of the apple logo and name, a deal many saw as paving the way for an agreement for online access to the Fab Four's songs.
Apple Corps was founded by the Fab Four in 1968 and is still owned by Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, the widow of John Lennon and the estate of George Harrison.

This is a HUGE change...
 
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Ah well. Should have been a continuation of this thread anyway....
 
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"You've got a good sound, but you'll never make it with a stupid name like The Beatles."
 
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In addition to better quality? Totally worth it. Plus, it's a start.
 
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Interesting, really interesting...

Still, i like to buy CDs, my brother says i like to collect boxes :)
 
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It's about time, 128 is wayyy to low. You can always convert it to 128 yourself.

I don't like how they are charging more though...
 
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NOTE: Merged common threads
 
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It's about time, 128 is wayyy to low. You can always convert it to 128 yourself.

I don't like how they are charging more though...

yeah. $1.30 for a song is a little ridiculous if you ask me.

i'm confused though. are these songs gonna be higher quality than if you imported them from a CD?
 
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MacHeadCase

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What do you guys think this means for us consumers in terms of foreign iTMSes? There are a lot of songs I'd love to buy but I can only get them in one of the European iTunes Music Stores like the UK, Germany or France?

If it is truly DRM-free, wouldn't this mean for the EMI songs, there won't be any borders?
 

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