beatles
Latest
Variety: 45 songs from catalog for Beatles game
In addition to yesterday's volley of news about The Beatles' rhythm game, Variety has a few new details. According to the publication, who spoke with Apple Corps CEO Jeff Jones, Harmonix can select 45 songs from The Beatles' 1962 to 1969 EMI catalog. Apologies to all who were dying for a cameo from The Quarrymen. Ladies and gentlemen, you now have a number. It's time to start making those "confirmed track lists" you all are so fond of sending us.Giles Martin, who served as music director to Cirque du Soleil's Beatles Love alongside father and Beatles producer George Martin, will oversee the game's music. Still no word on whether the original recordings will be remastered or not. Additionally, Sony/ATV Music Publishing CEO Martin Brandier told Variety that the deal was -- shocker -- unprecedentedly expensive. "We signed a deal that would be considered very rich by the videogame company but fair for the artists," he said. "It will have online implications that will be enormous."
Wii Fanboy poll: The Beatles Rock Band game
So yesterday we sat in on a conference call about the upcoming Beatles Rock Band game. We don't have much in the way of details, other than it'll be a retail disc game and not DLC. When asked about the music in the game, the consoles it'll be on, and the interoperability between Rock Band and its sequel, Rock Band 2, Harmonix, Apple Corp. and MTV Games were kind of hush-hush. We figured it was time we polled our readers on what they'd want in the game. Head past the break and let your voice be heard!
Harmonix: Beatles project in dev, not Rock Band
Just a bit ago, MTV and Apple Corp made an OMG MEGATON announcement regarding Harmonix's next video game project and it has to do with The Beatles. Yes, those Beatles.Details are light, but we know that this Harmonix developed Beatles game will NOT be a Rock Band spin-off or Rock Band branded in any way. Instead, the Beatles game will be its own custom title. We also learn that the music catalog will encompass their entire career, include visual imagery from each album and we're also told that we can expect "a number of new dimensions" from team Harmonix. Expect more information over the course of the year, because this Harmonix developed Beatles musical game-o-fun will not make it to retail until Holiday 2009.
The Beatles and MTV Games team up for a new game (not Rock Band!)
MTV Games and The Beatles have teamed up to create a new video game, the band's first foray into gaming. Surprising many, this new game from Harmonix will not be an extension of their popular Rock Band series. "This game is not just a Rock Band song expansion pack. It's much much more than that.""This will not be a Rock Band game," a Harmonix rep clarified. Players will be able to see new kinds of gameplay unseen from Harmonix in this new game. There's no announcements on what kind of peripheral support the upcoming game will feature. There will be a strong focus on visual imagery -- we're expecting a "Yellow Submarine" type experience. It's planned for a holiday release ... next year."By presenting their music and artistry through the creative filter of a groundbreaking video game, we are giving legions of fans and music lovers all over the world a profound, new way to experience The Beatles," said Alex Rigopulos, CEO and Co-Founder, Harmonix. "This game will be a celebration of the Beatles undeniable legacy."
MTV and Apple Corps announce Beatles game
Not that it's much of a surprise anymore, but Apple Corps (not this one) and MTV have announced Rock Band: The Beatles an untitled Beatles music project, to be developed by Harmonix. While not a Rock Band expansion, this is a pretty major coup over Activision, owners of the Guitar Hero franchise. We're in the conference call now. More details to follow.Notes from the conference call: "This will not be a Rock Band title, this will be a custom title" Journey through The Beatles first album through their last -- "samples" from their whole catalog "A number of new dimensions" that you haven't seen from Harmonix before Just in time for the holidays ... in 2009 Tracks are based on UK releases -- the idea is to play the songs through The Beatles career (not remixed or remastered tracks, we think) Is the imagery tied to the existing art from the songs and albums? The developers aren't prepared to talk about specifics, but "visual imagery" is a big part of the project Interoperability is not something that's being talked about yet "Very little" can be said about the game itself today. "MTV and Harmonix was clearly the innovator in this category of games" -- Apple Corps was really impressed with Harmonix's creative and musical approach "It's not a Rock Band game, it's a Beatles game. They deserve a fully dedicated title. [The game] takes advantage of the Rock Band platform in many ways ... [and it's] going to be compatible with existing Rock Band peripherals" -- we can assume that instruments from other music games (e.g., Guitar Hero) will also be supported No hardware platforms announced No comment on licensing Beatles tunes for other games -- this is an exclusive arrangement for Beatles music in video games (as for digital distribution of The Beatles catalog on music services (e.g., iTunes): Apple Corps is still working out details; no announcement to make nor date nor anything else!)
The Beatles in Rock Band; MTV & Apple Corps tease 'unprecedented project' [update]
Apple Corps Ltd., the company founded by The Beatles to administer the band's music catalog, and MTV today teased "an exclusive agreement to develop a global music project." The two camps are scheduled to make an official announcement tomorrow, Thursday, October 30th at 10 am ET (2 pm in the UK). No further details have been presented, save for tomorrow's, uh, presenters: Apple Corps CEO Jeff Jones, MTV CEO Judy McGrath and President of MTV Networks Van Toffler. Our highly tuned power of intuition tells us MTV has landed a deal to get The Beatles in Rock Band, either as a standalone product (à la the AC/DC Track Pack) or as DLC -- heck, why not both? In June, FT.com reported that MTV and Activision were both dangling bags of money before Apple Corps for The Beatles rights. Guess who had the bigger bag?Update: The Wall Street Journal's sources say it's true: "The Beatles have licensed songs to MTV Networks' Rock Band video game series." Details mañana.[Thanks, oolz]
Beatles Collector's Box includes limited edition 120GB iPod classic, leaves the ripping to you
Listen up, Ringo Beatles fans -- your holiday gift has just been located, and it's on aisle 17 in Bloomingdale's. The somewhat janky limited edition collector's box is a dream come true for fanatics of the Fab Four, packing 13 original Beatles' CDs, an engraved guitar pick, two masters and the "Love" CD -- none of which are available via the iTunes Music Store, mind you. Just 2,500 of the $795 sets are available, but -- humorously enough -- you'll be stuck ripping and transferring every last disc onto your individually numbered, etched-with-a-Beatles-logo 120GB iPod classic. Ah well, at least this scenario lets you choose your own bitrate, right?
Activision, MTV Games going for Beatles rights?
The Beatles are still a hot commodity after almost 50 years. Everyone wants to get a piece of the Fab Four's music and make oodles of boodle for themselves through either commercial usage, digital downloads, or even appearing in videogaming. Speaking of videogames, according to Financial Times, reps for the British music legends are currently in talks with both Activision (Guitar Hero) and MTV Games (Rock Band) in regards to potentially bringing Beatles master recordings to either rhythm game. Both Activision and MTV Games have not outright said that they have been gunning for Beatles rights. Back in March, we heard rumblings about interest in a Beatles solo-Guitar Hero game similar to what's going on with Aerosmith and Metallica. Around that same time, rumors of Beatles songs going to iTunes hit and gave signs of a potentially broadening license catalog where there virtually was none before. What this means is that we know for sure the rights holders have interest in bringing out the songs; the question now is: who will get them? A victor might be found quickly as a deal could be "reached in a matter of weeks." E3 fits into that time frame; perhaps we'll know then?[Via Gamasutra]
GoonSwarm takes on the Beatles with the "Little Bees" video
Ahh, the Goons. As an entity, they are arguably the largest gaming collective in MMO history, with presences in Second Life, World of Warcraft, and EVE Online, with doubtless many other MMOs inhabited. EVE, in particular, is home to the GoonSwarm, or GoonFleet, which is infamous for its combat tactic of harassing larger ships with a rush of smaller, less-powerful vehicles. Cheap? Maybe. Effective? Definitely.In a testament to the power of its alliance, they've created a music video that's sure to stir the hearts of Goon-loving forces everywhere. Entitled 'Little Bees', based on the Beatles song 'Let It Be', and featuring lyrics like 'And when the system's laggy/You could lay the blame on CCP', it's got our vote for Best New Artist Video of the Year. [Thanks, Hortinstein!]
Guitar Hero: Beatles has been 'talked about'
Guitar Hero: Aerosmith? Thanks, but we'll pass. Guitar Hero: Beatles? We're listening! Not that such a game has been officially announced, but Martin N. Bandier, the biggest of all bigwigs at Sony/ATV Music Publishing (the company that owns the John Lennon/Paul McCartney copyrights), would like to see the Liverpudlian legends in their own Guitar Hero game."It's something we have talked about and something I'd like to pursue," Bandier told the LA Times. Hear that? They've talked! It's surely only a matter of months until we're strumming our plastic axe to I Am The Walrus![Via IGN]
Next stop for Guitar Hero: The Beatles?
Help! We need somebody! Help! No, seriously folks, Martin N. "Marty" Bandier of Sony / ATV Music Publishing has officially stated that a version of Guitar Hero dedicated to The Beatles is something the company would "like to pursue." Now, we never intended to jump all over the "why isn't this on Rock Band?" bandwagon. Some music really makes more sense on Guitar Hero, but The Beatles? That just screams Rock Band. Of course, we understand why Mr. Bandier might fancy Guitar Hero over Rock Band. We imagine it's money. That's what he wants (that's what he wants). A lot of money. But just imagine all the people that could play on Rock Band (we wonder if you can). With any luck, Mr. Kite Bandier and Harmonix can work it out and come together. We just hope they don't make it bad. In the meantime, we'll just have to let it be and hope they don't let us down.[Via Joystiq]
Guitar Hero: Beatles Edition a possibility
Aerosmith is one thing, but a version of Guitar Hero packed with Beatles songs would be the holy grail for many classic rock fans. Unfortunately, that possibility has seemed as ephemeral as the holy grail itself, as Sony/ATV has been extremely protective of digital distribution of the Fab Four's back catalog (it's not even available on iTunes).There is some reason to hope though, with L.A. Times reporting that Sony/ATV CEO Marty Bandier has said putting Beatles songs into a Guitar Hero game is "something we have talked about and something I'd like to pursue." Whether that possibility is something Activision would also like to pursue is not yet clear, but if the companies can Come Together, they'd both have a Ticket To Ride right to the bank. Come on Activision, Please Please Us and make this thing happen!
Beatles' catalog coming online at long last?
Word on the street (and by street, we mean mostly British tabloids) is that Paul McCartney's deal to sell the Beatles back-catalog is done, and the Greatest Works of Musical Art Ever Recorded will be appearing on the iTunes store "within months." Of course, we've been hearing whispers about this for what seems like a million years, and since both Apple Corps and Apple are delivering "no comment" and "rumor and speculation" responses on the topic, we won't get too excited. Still, there does seem to be some serious movement on this front, with everyone and their mother saying the lot is to be sold any day now for around $400 million -- which is no small sum. We will, of course, keep you abreast of any developments which will lead to you stocking your music players with the Fab Four's work.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
UK papers say Beatles coming to iTunes, no, really we mean it this time
UK newspapers such as the Daily Mail and the Telegraph are reporting on an expected deal between Sir Paul McCartney and Apple, Inc. to bring the Beatles catalog to iTunes. According to the Telegraph, the deal could be worth as much as £300 million ($600 million US). An Apple Corps label spokesperson said that the date "has not yet been set." The Daily Mail story suggests that Sir Paul may be motivated to do the deal now as a means of funding his divorce settlement. Ouch.The Telegraph also reports that albums like Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, the White Album and Help "will be available from iTunes," and are expected to top the charts for downloads. They also say that there is no word yet on how the the two surviving Beatles, and the heirs of Lennon and Harrison, will split the revenue from music sales on iTunes.Is this the first time we've heard reports of the Beatles catalog coming to iTunes momentarily? No. Does this seem a bit more credible than earlier stories? Yes. To be fair, the tech columnist for the Guardian paper says he's spoken to Apple Corps flacks and they say no deal is finalized. Still, happiness is a warm Beatles/iTunes story.Thanks to everyone who sent this in.
McCartney "pretty sure" The Beatles will go digital next year
Well, it looks like the long saga of The Beatles slow transition to digital downloads could finally be nearing a close, at least according to one source that has a fairly big say in the matter. According to Reuters, Paul McCartney recently told Billboard that "It's all happening soon," adding that, "Most of us are all sort of ready. The whole thing is primed, ready to go -- there's just maybe one little sticking point left, and I think it's being cleared up as we speak, so it shouldn't be too long." McCartney then went on to get a bit more specific, saying that, "It's down to fine-tuning, but I'm pretty sure it'll be happening next year, 2008." Of course, there's no indication as to exactly how The Beatles' catalog will be distributed in digital form, although there's certainly be no shortage of rumors on that front.
George Harrison solo works now on iTunes
The Beatles are now on iTunes-- kind of. George Harrison has become the last solo Beatle to be added to the iTMS, as iTunes now carries all of his solo work (including "Got My Mind Set on You"-- enjoy having that in your head for the rest of the day). That means that all the Beatles have now had their solo work added to the online store. There's John, Paul, now George, and that other guy. If you want them all, it's gonna take money, a whole lot of precious money. It's gonna take plenty of money, to do it right child. Stuck in your head yet?And yet we still wait (well, most of us do) for the Beatles as a whole to appear on iTunes for purchase. It's become a kind of mythical event, hasn't it? Someday, the heavens will break open, earthquakes will rend the ground under our feet, and the world will end around us, but hopefully not before we can buy the White Album at the ITunes store.Thanks, Eric!
TUAW Best of the Week
What a week for Apple fans. After a slow Labor Day, we got a huge midweek event, new iPods, and what turned out to be the week's biggest story: the iPhone is now $399.MobileChat iPhone AIM Client DebutsStarted off the week with not one but two IM iPhone betas.MarsEdit 2.0Red Sweater's blogging client gets a new interface and Flickr integrationMass-media messup: NBC doesn't get the iTunes storeNik tells us why the peacock should leave the pricing to Apple.Ask TUAW: External Front Row, iSight mirroring, booting from an external HD, and moreYou ask, we answer, and you don't even have to pay an extra buck just to read it for 30 seconds on your iPhone.The Beatles: whateverScott doesn't care if the Beatles showed up on Wednesday or not.Metaliveblogging "The Beat Goes On" eventWhat's the next best thing to being in Moscone West? Reading our commentary about it.iTunes: Free WednesdayFeaturing Dave Matthews and The Pick Up Artist (not the same person).iPhone ringtones on the cheapGet all of the ringtones, with none of the price.Apple screwed you. So now what?The most useful thing we posted all week.Bye, bye HiFiApple's speakerbox gets an inconspicuous farewell.Found Footage: Quicksilver Google Tech talkSure, Quicksilver's creator isn't the best public speaker, but if you're interested in UI design at all, this is a must-see.Apple giving early iPhone buyers $100 creditSteve gives some back. Thanks early adopter whiners!iTunes 7.4 breaks iPhone hacksA speedbump (albeit a very, very small one) for iPhone hackers.Why did Apple drop the price?We consider the reasons behind this week's biggest surprise.
The Beatles don't go on
Well the one rumor that I thought was least likely (that the Beatles were a no go at this morning's event) turned out to be true. There is still no Beatles music available on the iTunes store, either in the WiFi store or otherwise.Not that Steve didn't taunt us. Over and over again, he threw down hints the whole time-- he played "Give Peace a Chance" as a ringtone (joking that it was for when NBC called), played Lennon to demo the new WiFi store, and played Paul McCartney to bring the chairman of Starbucks on stage. Heck, the name of the event was "The Beat Goes On." He knows we want the Beatles (even if Scott doesn't), and he played with our emotions all day.But when "One more thing..." came out, it was the Starbucks deal and KT Tunstall performing. And we're left with no idea when (or if ever) we'll be able to buy Apple recordings in Apple's online music store.
The Beatles: whatever
The mood in TUAW's secret underground bunker is electric as thoughts of tomorrow's media event float in our heads. New iPods? Probably. Something unexpected? Perhaps. The Beatles in iTunes? Who cares?Yeah, I said it. We have been covering the Beatles in the iTunes Store saga for over 3 years here at TUAW (3 years this month, actually. Clearly it is a sign from the Universe!), and I must admit I have never understood what all the fuss is about. Sure, I like the Beatles which is why I already own all their music, and I am sure most other Beatles fans do as well. Furthermore, the Beatles aren't some small, no name band. You can walk into any CD shop (new or used) or log onto any online purveyor of physical CDs and buy any number of Beatles albums which is why I find it so perplexing that every single rumor involving the iTunes Store and iPods always has something about the Beatles tacked on. It is as if the rumor sites don't think anyone will believe their wacky tales if there isn't a, 'Oh, and Steve's cousin's wife's best friend's college roommate has it on good authority that the Beatles are totally going to be on iTunes soon. Oh, and multi-touch Cinema Displays with built-in iSites are coming soon as well. Ringo loves his.' Since when did the entire Mac community become obsessed with the Beatles? Clearly, we all know that Steve is a fan which explains why their songs are often played at Apple events and show up in Apple screenshots, but I think you would be hard pressed to find someone who doesn't like at least one Beatles song (yes, this is where the contrarian out there comment about how they have a deep and abiding loathing for the Beatles. The comment form is right down there, fellows!).Honestly, I have no idea why people have gotten themselves in such a froth over the possibility of the Beatles catalog becoming available on iTunes. If that is announced tomorrow it will the least exciting thing to come out of the event, unless of course this event turns out to be another iPod HiFi/Leather Case non-event.I just hope we still won't be speculating about this when I'm 64 (you didn't expect this post could end without a lame Beatles joke, did you?).
No Beatles at next week's event?
No Beatles next Wednesday? Like pretty much everyone else, I figured the whole "Beat" goes on thing, not to mention that the third Beatle got added to iTunes recently, all pointed to next week's event as not only showing off new iPods, but Beatles music to play in them (and I wasn't the only one-- mockups are all over the place).But now the rumor mill (so, again, grain of salt with all of this) says it's a no go on the Beatles. There will be a new iPod, and supposedly a brand new Ringtones system will be brought to the iPhone, where you can use iTS purchased music as a ringtone, but we won't actually meet the Beatles.Then again, no one really knows but Apple-- Gruber speculates that since the event is being held at Moscone West, McCartney will be on hand to play live. And let's be realistic-- even though there is evidence for both a new iPod and the whole ringtones thing, no one's really sure what's going down anyway.So, as usual, we'll have to wait until next Wednesday to find out (or at least until next Tuesday, when the New York Times confirms what blogs have been saying all alone). What do you think?Thanks to everyone who sent this in!
