TheBeatles
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Paul McCartney will play a YouTube concert on September 7th
Paul McCartney is no stranger to embracing technology, and you're about to get further proof of it. The iconic musician is performing an "intimate" YouTube concert on September 7th at 8PM Eastern as part of a YouTube Original production. It's a plug for his new album Egypt Station, as you might have guessed, but he'll also play tunes from his Beatles and Wings days.
Hulu will offer live TV in early 2017
That talk of Hulu getting into live TV? It's real. Company chief Mike Hopkins has announced that you'll see live entertainment, sports and news on the streaming service in early 2017. He didn't say which networks were involved or what it might cost, but the Wall Street Journal leak had suggested that at least Disney and Fox (including channels like ESPN and FX) were signing on. You'll hear more about Hulu's plans over the course of this year, Hopkins says.
Netflix kids series 'Beat Bugs' features music of The Beatles
Amazon and Netflix are cranking out original series at a rapid pace. The content isn't just for adults, though, as both streaming libraries feature a smattering of original kids stuff, too. Netflix is expanding its lineup with Beat Bugs: an animated series that follows the adventures of five friends. What's more, the show is inspired by songs from The Beatles, because, you know... bugs. As you might expect, the tunes are a big part of the show and there's some well-known artists who cover the tracks for the series.
The Beatles come to streaming services on Christmas Eve
The rumors were true: music from The Beatles is coming to your favourite streaming service. From tomorrow (December 24th), you'll be able to listen to all 13 remastered studio albums and four essential collections on Apple Music, Spotify, Google Play Music, Deezer, Amazon Music, Groove, Rhapsody, Slacker and Tidal. Put simply: everyone's invited.
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.
Tesco puts more vinyl on supermarket shelves
Vinyl's recent resurgence shows no sign of slowing down. In the UK, Tesco has decided to back the format by stocking 20 records in 40 of its supermarkets. These include Coldplay's new album A Head Full Of Dreams, the soundtrack from Guardians of the Galaxy and classic releases such as Nirvana's Nevermind and The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. It follows a smaller trial earlier this year when Tesco stocked Iron Maiden's The Book Of Souls in 55 of its biggest Tesco Extra stores.
George Harrison's solo catalog is available at most streaming services
If you enjoy listening to solo work from members of The Beatles, the library of options just got larger. The solo catalog of guitarist George Harrison hit most music streaming services today. This means that you'll be able to access the musician's tracks on the likes of Apple Music, Deezer, Google Play, Rdio, Spotify, Tidal and others, including albums like Living in the Material World. If you aren't familiar with Harrison's solo music, now's a good time to get acquainted. The newly-posted albums join those of former bandmates Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr on streaming services, but the music of the group as a whole remains off limits there. To make things easy for you, we've embedded All Things Must Pass on the other side of the break. [Image credit: AP Photo/Brich]
You can now relive the Beatles' US invasion on your Apple TV
Are you nostalgic for the hysteria when the Beatles first set foot in the US, or just wonder what all the fuss was about? If either is true, you'll be glad to hear that you now have a chance to recreate that commotion on your Apple TV. Apple has quietly launched a Beatles channel on its media hub that will let you stream the British band's entire Ed Sullivan Show performance from 1964, complete with shrieking fans. Naturally, Apple is also using the channel to plug the recently digitized US versions of the group's albums. The concert footage will only stick around for a "limited time," so you'll want to hurry if you'd like to see the Beatles' big moment on a big screen.
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.
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.
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.
Win a limited edition set of Beatles MusicSkins from TUAW
Although you still can't get your Beatles fix through the iTunes Store, Apple Corps has made a license agreement with MusicSkins, the maker of music-related vinyl skin products for electronic devices. As a result, you can now purchase Beatles personal device skins featuring the Beatles logo and cover art from "Abbey Road," "Yellow Submarine," "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," "Rubber Soul," "Let It Be," "With the Beatles," and "Hard Day's Night." We have something completely different we'd like to give away to one lucky TUAW reader -- a limited edition (one of only 250) Beatles Album Jacket set with MusicSkins for the iPhone (2G, 3G, 3GS), iPod touch (1st, 2nd, and 3rd generation), iPod nano (5th Generation), and iPod Classic (80GB, 160GB). This features the full set of album cover art from the Beatles, and there are two MusicSkins for each of the iPod / iPhone types noted. If you don't have all of the devices, you can give some away to your friends as gifts! To enter this special giveaway, just leave a comment below with the name of your favorite Beatle (and no, Pete Best, Stu Sutcliffe, and Brian Epstein don't count). Here are the details of the giveaway: Open to legal US residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia who are 18 and older. To enter, leave a comment with the name of your favorite Beatle -- John Lennon, George Harrison, Paul McCartney, or Ringo Starr The comment must be left before Wednesday, February 24, 2010, 11:59PM Eastern Standard Time. You may enter only once. One winner will be selected in a random drawing. Prize: One Limited Edition set of MusicSkins featuring The Beatles (Value: US$120.00) Click Here for complete Official Rules. Good luck!
Prepare for digital music from the Beatles -- but not on iTunes
In a limited run of 30,000 units, Apple Corps Ltd. will be releasing the Beatles' remastered catalog for your consumption in a green apple USB device. Unfortunately, I didn't say anything about iTunes in that sentence... It looks like the Apples still can't play nice together, so we're left to dream that one day the Beatles collection will make it to the big download cloud in the sky. Our sister site, Engadget, reports that these drives are available for pre-order now but will not ship until December 7th in the UK and December 8th in the US for $279.99. The 16GB USB drive will include the Beatles' 14 stereo tracks in FLAC (for the audiophiles in the audience) as well as the rest of their collection in 320 Kbps MP3s. The drive will also include 13 documentaries about the studio albums, expanded liner notes, re-touched album art, and several rare photos. What does all of this mean? The Beatles' record company basically created a massive iTunes LP without iTunes. According to The Beatles' website, there's a special Flash interface for consumer interaction with the extra content. Some would say that this is just another stepping stone in the road to online distribution... while that may be true, I'm getting tired of all the back-and-forth. I own a good majority of the Beatles albums on CD and have already ripped them into iTunes. I expect that most anyone who really wants these in their iTunes library has already gone through the motions to accomplish that. I could pay the $280 for a USB drive, or buy all of the CDs from Amazon.com for half that price and spend several hours putting them on my computer. Sure, sure, I'm not getting the officially remastered files from the Beatles themselves... but I'm willing to make that sacrifice. Even still, this may be the perfect Holiday gift for the Beatles fanatic in your household. (Honey, I don't want one.)
The Beatles catalog being released on limited edition USB stick
You know what's kind of like online digital distribution, and yet not at all like that? Selling the entire re-mastered Beatles catalog on a USB drive that slots into a fake apple. The fine folks at Apple Corps Ltd. and EMI Music have teamed up to build a limited edition run of 30,000 USB apples to be sold on December 7 in the UK and December 8 in freedom-loving America. Included on the 16GB drive are the 14 stereo titles in FLAC 44.1 Khz 24-bit, in addition to 320 Kbps MP3s and a whole digital stack of special materials like liner notes and mini-documentary films, all for the low, low price of $279.99. The drive is up for pre-order as of now, which means you could be a mere month away from plugging this drive into your computer, dragging the files into your iTunes library and then pretending that you bought them online in some sort of forward-looking content distribution model.
