applerecords
Latest
The Beatles may hit streaming music services by Christmas
The Beatles haven't exactly been in a rush to embrace the online music world -- there's iTunes, Rock Band and that's about it. However, they might be making up for lost time. Billboard sources claim that the British pop rock legends will make their catalog available on Christmas Eve... you know, next Thursday. It's unclear as to which services will be offering the Beatles, but talks for a half-year exclusive at an unknown service apparently "fizzled out." It's not a repeat of Apple's ongoing lock on downloads, then.
MP3 Shocker! Apple Records makes Billy Preston and James Taylor available for download, the Beatles not so much
EMI and Apple Records have announced that a number of artists from the back catalog (and it's all back catalog at this point), including James Taylor, Badfinger, Mary Hopkins, and Billy Preston (pictured above, shooting time traveling lightning bolts from his fingers) will see their work remastered and re-released on CD and digital download on October 26. Authorized downloads are a first for the company, although the plans do exclude the one group that really matters. How about the four lads from Liverpool, then? Looks like for the time being you're either stuck with pre-loaded novelty USB drives or you're ripping all your legally purchased CDs (for personal archival use only). Billy Preston shows us how it's done after the break.
iRecord Company rumors resurface again
Rumors have been bouncing around all weekend about Steve Jobs' next big project-- no, it's not the iPhone Nano, or the long awaited iTablet. According to Moli.com (yeah, we've never heard of them either), it's a record company. Supposedly Jay-Z and Beyonce are going to Apple to start a recording division. Just imagine HOVA in this picture wearing blue jeans with his black shirt tucked in.Frankly, farfetched is too nice of a word to describe this rumor, but the idea of an iRecords isn't that new or ludicrous. Obviously, SJ's got issues with the folks standing between him and musicians, and putting musicians under his own wing would allow him to digitally distribute their music DRM-free, and collect all the profits for himself. There's blood in the water around the recording industry, and the time is ripe for someone to jump in and take over.Of course, this is Apple, so there's more to the story than that-- their first battle would be convincing Apple Records to come to some kind of agreement. Then there's the actual music management function of it-- Apple's great at serving consumers, but would they be able to serve the function of a record company in terms of promotion and booking? Digital distribution is super (and it definitely cuts down on costs), but no one's buying your music if no one's heard of it.Then again, SJ managed the content producers at Pixar just fine, and if he has a little help (the Moli report says Apple has hired a publicist from Capitol Records), things might just turn out OK after all. I doubt Jay-Z and Beyonce are really involved, but if His Steveness decides to form a record company, he might just put the last nail in the traditional recording industry's coffin.Thanks, Pat!
