The Beatles
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Paul McCartney is using AI to create a final song for The Beatles
Paul McCartney is using AI to turn a John Lennon demo into one last song for The Beatles.
The Beatles compilation album '1' has been remastered for Apple Music spatial audio
Fans of the fab four, take note.
What we're listening to in April: The White Album in high-res
This month's installment of our audio IRL is an educational experience. It took a relatively affordable high-res music player and some appropriately equipped (but still pretty affordable) in-ears to teach Senior Editor Daniel Cooper that audiophile-grade sound wasn't total BS. Plus, he got to revisit one of the best albums of all time in the process.
Radical.FM launches free, user-supported digital streaming radio for iPhone
Streaming radio services are pretty common for iPhone; with the release of iOS 7, for example, iPhone users will have access to iRadio, Apple's own streaming radio service. Also in existence at this time are Pandora, Spotify, BBC iPlayer and others. Now a new streaming service, Radical.FM, is arriving with a rather interesting business plan -- they want you to pay them what you feel the service is worth. The free Radical.FM app is available today, and as the name suggests, it appears that the founder seems to wish he was living in the late 1960s -- "Radical is a corporation with a conscience; we believe in a sustainable planet, global humanity and local action. We compensate artists, composers and labels for all the music you stream. And we believe everyone is entitled to a great musical experience, even the unemployed and working poor." As touchy-feely as that sounds, it ignores the fact that all of the other services also compensate artists, composers and labels. And I can't help but thinking that the working stiffs in the world are going to be subsidizing "the unemployed and working poor," as well as everyone else who decides that they don't feel like paying their fair share. Sure, being commercial-free is a nice goal, but altruism doesn't necessarily pay the bills. I'm wondering how long it will take Radical.FM to resort to the PBS/NPR model of "no advertising," but tons of blurbs for corporate sponsors as well as monthly beg-a-thons for support. The app itself is unexciting. You sign in or create a new account -- it said that my attempt to sign in with a Facebook account was rejected due to my security settings -- and then select the stations you want to listen to. Being a true child of the '60s and '70s, I picked '70s Classic Rock as my first station... which ended up being called "My First Station." At least you can rename the stations. There's a "tune station" feature that makes no sense, using a + and - continuum to do something to the station -- what it does, I have no clue. An explanation in the app of what this feature does would be helpful. Does it skew the music towards the beginning or end of an era? Does it give a Led Zeppelin channel more or less Jimmy Page? Who knows? As it is, you're presented with a grid of album covers, with the playlist set up to go from top-left to bottom-right. The album containing the song you're listening to covers up six of the other album covers, and features a progress bar for the song in question. A simple play/pause button is located at the bottom-left of the screen, and there's a "fast-forward" button if you absolutely cannot stand the song you're listening to. Unlike the "commercial" streaming stations, Radical.FM provides no way to purchase a song that you like. iRadio has a simple button at the top of each song page with the price clearly listed: if I want to buy it and add it to my iTunes library, it's a simple tap away. Even Pandora lets you opt into purchasing a song that you may have loved years ago, but totally forgot about. It seems like selling music through Radical.FM would be a great funding opportunity, so it's odd that the service doesn't offer any way to buy songs or albums. One feature of Radical.FM that is touted quite heavily is the service's 25 million song library, which contains -- and I quote -- "online rarities like The Beatles, AC/DC and Bob Seger." That's quite interesting to hear, since I can't seem to get away from AC/DC on the iRadio beta; Bob Seger shows up between the ads on Pandora with no problems (even on the free version); and the Beatles are easily accessible on Pandora as well. Anyway, it's a new service, a new app and a new day. In the end, Radical.FM may end up being the most successful streaming radio service on the 'net. It's up to you, the consumer, to decide whether you want to try the service and how much you want to donate to Radical.FM. In the end, perhaps my lack of faith in the generosity of the general public may be overpowered by all of you opening your wallets.
Apple now owns the trademark to The Beatles' Apple Corps Logo
Apple and The Beatles have had a contentious relationship for years. The Beatles Apple Corps company felt Apple's logo -- and the company's eventual foray into digital music -- infringed on their trademark Apple Corps logo. Then in 2007, Apple, Inc. and Apple Corps Ltd. finally settled trademark dispute. That settlement gave Apple, Inc. ownership of "all of the trademarks related to 'Apple' and will license certain of those trademarks back to Apple Corps for their continued use." But in 2011, Apple went further to secure its right to the trademark, actually filing for it to secure ownership over it. Yesterday, that ownership was granted. As discovered by Patently Apple, the Cupertino company was granted the registered trademark of the famous logo on October 24, 2012. So what does this mean for Apple? Theoretically, it could use the Apple Corps logo for any purpose. But that probably won't happen. This is more just a housekeeping matter with the company tying up any loose ends to a decades-long trademark dispute.
Apple gets iPad dictation instructions wrong (Updated)
As a writer, I know how hard it can be to write without spelling, grammar or punctuation errors 100% of the time. That's why I find my editors (and sometimes even readers) extremely helpful when they point out a mistake. A few years ago I showed that Apple had posted wrong information about what iBooks could do. Two days later, Apple was nice enough to change their mistake. Since I also write books on Apple's products, I usually go over their website with a fine-tooth comb in my fact checking maneuvers. Last night I found a mistake on their iPad features page that doesn't tell users how to use the new iPad's dictation feature correctly. The copy reads: Write an email. Send a text. Search the web. Or create a note. And do it all with only your voice. Instead of typing, tap the microphone icon on the keyboard. Then say what you want to say while your iPad listens. Tap Done and, just like that, your spoken words become written words. The only thing is there is no "Done" button to tap on the new iPad's keyboard after you've activated the dictation feature. The Done button is what you tap when dictating into an iPhone 4S. On the new iPad you simply tap the microphone icon again to stop dictation and then "your spoken words become written words." Is this a big deal? No. Am I trying to embarrass Apple? Quite the contrary. It's easier to write a public post to get their attention than find the email of one of their dozens of copy writers. Here's something a bit more embarrassing, however: Last night around two in the morning London time one of their web developers flipped the wrong switch and "announced" on Apple's Australian home page that "Tomorrow is just another day. That you'll never forget." Oops. That was a tease from the day before Apple announced The Beatles on iTunes way back in 2010. Update: Apple has updated their iPad features page to fix the incorrect copy (see image below). It now reads: Write an email. Send a text. Search the web. Or create a note. And do it all with only your voice. Instead of typing, tap the microphone icon on the keyboard. Then say what you want to say while your iPad listens. Tap the microphone icon again and, just like that, your spoken words become written words.
Four HUBOs 'Come Together' for a Drexel Engineering MET-lab demo
Robot Beatles cover band? Check. Students at Drexel University's Music and Entertainment Technology Lab (MET-lab) have developed software that allows HUBO robots to create tunes following a musical score. The Roboband plays the song without human control during the performance -- a demo that combines humanoid tech and creative expression research. Four HUBOs jam the arrangement of the Beatles' "Come Together" by MET-lab student Matthew Prockup on Ringo's mini-kit and three "Hubophones." Drexel and seven other universities in the States are part of a humanoid research collaboration with KAIST, the designer of the HUBO robot.
iTunes offers first Beatles ringtones
Apple started selling albums from The Beatles last year and now the company has released a set of ringtones taken from the band's most popular albums. The selections span a wide range of titles including early titles like A Hard Day's Night and later tracks like the 1970 chart-topper Let It Be. You can buy the ringtones from the iTunes app using your iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch. Each ringtone is US$1.29 and can be found in the Settings > Sounds > Ringtone > Buy More Tones. Be careful to click on the link for Ringtones. Also listed, as shown above, is the 1 collection for $12.99 which has 27 songs, not ringtones as I first though, from the band's twelve studio albums and 22 singles. [Via ipodnn]
Paul McCartney: 'You can keep free streaming for the birds and bees, now give me money'
A wise man once told Engadget that streaming and bought music services could live side-by-side like a piano keyboard. It looks like impoverished multi-millionaire Sir Paul McCartney didn't hear that particular song, as he's withdrawn all of his music from streaming service Rhapsody, after doing the same to Spotify some time ago. He's the latest in a long line of impecunious artists including Adele, Coldplay and Tom Waits, who have done the same as they feel they're not getting fair compensation for their labors. It would be cynical to point out that McCartney's move comes just ahead of a live performance that's exclusively streamed on the iTunes music store and Apple TV, so we won't.
Apple to stream live Paul McCartney Concert to iTunes, Apple TV
Good news for Beatles and music fans. Later this week, Apple is hosting a free live stream of a Paul McCartney concert. McCartney will be performing from Capitol Studios in an event that celebrates the release of McCartney's latest album, Kisses on the Bottom. You'll need to fire up iTunes or your Apple TV on Thursday, February 9 at 7 p.m. PST, if you want to catch the concert while it happens. The concert is exciting, but the bigger news is the inclusion of the Apple TV as a target device for this stream. It's nice to see Apple finally using the media device to deliver exclusive, live show. Let's hope this is not a one-time thing and Apple continues to bring new content to its self-proclaimed hobby. [Via MacRumors]
Paul McCartney working on music for video game
Paul McCartney, legendary recording artist of the band Wings, is apparently working on music for a video game -- and, no, it doesn't appear to be Beatles Rock Band 2. In an interview with Germany's Die Zeit, McCartney was asked if he'd consider writing music for a video game. He responded that he's already working on it.McCartney said he finds the video game market fascinating and was excited by the opportunity to work on a game project. He noted that growing up, he only had radio and records, but now music is everywhere. He feels that by writing music for a game that it may be the first time his music will be heard by the next generation.There's also the business of music. McCartney said, "A new computer game is selling these days so much better than a new CD. And you reach a different audience." Might we suggest Paul of Duty, a music shooter. It worked out well for Aerosmith.
WoW Moviewatch: Something
Have you ever wondered what John Lennon would look like as a WoW character? Well, wonder no more, my friends. Machinimist Eric Cartmans recreated the music video for Something in Azerothian glory. One of my favorite touches in this piece is the original video being simultaneously played in the corner. While this music video definitely feels like a learning experience for Cartmans, the end result is a surreal, real-life-in-WoW that blends music history with gaming innovation. It's a trippy walk down memory lane with The Beatles, and the video just fundamentally works for me. I have to admit that I'm not the biggest Beatles fan to ever walk the planet, but this video really won my heart. Cartmans painstakingly recreated so much of the original that you can feel his care and affection for the material. That speaks volumes in the end result. Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an email at moviewatch@wowinsider.com.
Apple airs new Beatles-themed ad: Covers
Apple recently aired a new iTunes ad called "Covers." It's an animated compilation of The Beatles album covers set to the song "Magical Mystery Tour." The ad presumably is celebrating The Beatles one-year anniversary on iTunes. Last week Apple also released the free Yellow Submarine animated ebook on the iBookstore. Yellow Submarine was also released to celebrate The Beatles one year anniversary on iTunes (which was actually back on November 16th).
European Union extends Beatles' copyright, still gonna have to buy the White Album
If you've been waiting for the hits of the '60s to lapse into the public domain, prepare to be disappointed. The European Union has agreed to extend the term of protection for sound recordings -- which previously lasted for 50 -- to 70 years. That means the White Album won't be free to own until 2038. The extension was granted to guarantee income for performers in their old age who would otherwise lose out, such as impoverished multi-millionaire Sir Paul McCartney. Opinions are divided, with record companies praising the move and open-rights groups being a lot less enthusiastic. An interesting point to note is that the move was done in spite of government-funded research to the contrary. Either way, ever increasing copyright legislation means it's far more likely we'll see even more extreme anti-piracy adverts, just like the one after the break.
Are The Beatles responsible for music's digital growth in 2011?
Nielsen announced yesterday that music sales in the US are up 1.6 percent in 2011. That might not seem like a lot, but for the embattled music industry, any growth is good news. Interestingly, Nielsen seems to ascribe the growth of music sales to The Beatles' deal with Apple. As Nielsen says in its report, "Catalog album sales are up 5.4 percent in 2011, thanks in part to a long-awaited 2010 deal allowing digital distribution of The Beatles' albums for the first time." The Fab Four's music exclusively went on sale on iTunes in November to much fanfare. I, for one, hate when someone can't admit when they were wrong, so let me say that I myself didn't think The Beatles news was that big of a deal. If Nielsen is right, it looks like I was very wrong. However, Peter Kafka at All Things D does seems to come to my rescue by saying that he has "a hard time believing the 'Love Me Do' bump extended into March and April," six months after The Beatles' debut on iTunes. But with the music industry the way it is, maybe The Beatles did help fuel a turnaround. Other interesting stats from the Nielsen report include a decline in physical album sales year-over-year while digital album and track purchases increased 16.8 percent and 9.6 percent, respectively, and digital retailers, like Apple's iTunes, received more than half of all music transactions.
The Beatles sell 5 million songs on iTunes
The Loop reports that The Beatles have sold 5 million songs and 1 million albums since going on sale in the iTunes Store last November. So far, the most popular Beatles song download is "Here Comes the Sun," while the band's top-selling album is "Abbey Road." Last week we reported that The Beatles' surviving band members (and the estates of John and George) got a special royalty deal from Apple in order to get The Beatles on the iTunes Store. As part of that deal, The Beatles will reportedly earn between 18 to 22.5 cents per track sold on iTunes. With 5 million individual tracks sold so far, that equates to a cool $900,000 to $1.125 million profit for The Beatles for just seven weeks of sales. Not a bad gig if you can get it.
The Beatles invade iTunes charts within 12 hours
It's been just over 24 hours since the release of The Beatles' complete back catalogue on iTunes and they are already dominating the album charts in a rather unusual way. In fact, as reported by MacObserver, within 12 hours of availability The Beatles had 15 albums placed in the Top 40 best-selling albums chart and 17 albums in the Top 100. That's a lot of albums to have in the Top 100 at any one time, let alone the Top 40. As of this writing, the numbers are even more impressive. The Beatles now have three of the top ten albums (Abbey Road is at number seven) and 16 of the top 50. Apple announced the release shortly before 10 a.m. Eastern on Tuesday morning, after a full-page takeover tease was displayed at Apple.com on Monday. Some have felt a tad let down by the announcement, following the hype and speculation that ensued after the tease appeared. However, ifoAppleStore.com notes that Apple is making the most of the announcement in its retail stores across the U.S. and Canada. Apple staff are being issued special name tag lanyards with the slogan "The Beatles. Now on iTunes" with the Abbey Road album cover just below it. The name of the staff member is printed just below that. Also, high-profile Apple Stores are replacing their current window displays with special Beatles promotional presentations. Other stores will replace the current FaceTime display with a picture of The Beatles looking out at shoppers.
The Beatles show up in iTunes
We're still holding out hope for a cloud-based subscription service to make that full-page teaser on Apple.com seem worthwhile, but it looks like today's unforgettable iTunes announcement will indeed just be the arrival of the Beatles to the store -- the Fab Four's page just went live, about 20 minutes before the official announcement. It looks like the entire catalog is available in a $149 box set complete with iTunes LP content, and there's also a few videos for your enjoyment. We're sure some of you are super-stoked about being able to buy this stuff in yet another format -- and we're glad Steve and Yoko worked it out -- but unless something else happens today we're feeling like we just witnessed a lot of empty hype. Update: Yep, it's official -- the Beatles are on iTunes. No streaming announcement, no subscription service. Apple's given its entire front page over to a full-size shot of the boys, and as a bonus the "Live at the Washington Coliseum, 1964" video will stream for free for the rest of the year. Ringo, can you sum this up for us? "I am particularly glad to no longer be asked when the Beatles are coming to iTunes," said Ringo Starr. You were always our favorite, Rings. PR after the break, along with a screencap of Apple.com for posterity.
MTV admits higher sales of Beatles: Rock Band were expected in Europe
The Beatles: Rock Band may have been a critical success, but it never achieved the levels of commercial success MTV had hoped for in Europe. MTV general manager Scott Guthrie told MCV that a combination of the bad economy and competition contributed to the game's undesirable performance. "We got caught in a few things that happened last year. It was a tough economy; there was a lot of competitive products out there, and I think Beatles probably had softer sales than it would have if some of those things weren't in play," he said. "Overall we were pleased with the sales. I think that we underestimated the competition and they took mind share away from us." This shouldn't be an issue for MTV's next game, Green Day: Rock Band, the company hopes. The competition Guthrie talks about is Guitar Hero 5, which did gangbusters in Europe. But while Guitar Hero 5 was busy selfishly generating cash for Activision, The Beatles: Rock Band managed to generate a lot of cash for charity, so that has to help MTV get through those cold nights. Right?
The Beatles: Rock Band value bundle for 360 just $51 on Amazon
Back when The Beatles: Rock Band's Special Value Bundle was first announced, we had some reservations about how much of a "special value" it really was. However, a recent Amazon discount has made its description irrefutable: For just $51.08 (shipping included), you can grab the 360 version of the bundle, which includes a copy of the game and a set of instruments from the original Rock Band. If you can deal with the calamitous clicking and clacking of the series' original drum kit, that's one heck of a deal. There's no telling how long this discount will be offered, or how many copies of the bundle are still available, so prospective mop-toppers should act swiftly. [Via CheapCollegeGamer]
