Following the 9.9.09 debut of the digitally re-mastered catalogue on CD, Apple Corps and EMI Music have announced the worldwide release of a limited edition of only 30,000 Beatles Stereo USB 'apples' on December 7 (December 8 in North America).
The music ships on an apple-shaped USB drive (groan) loaded with the re-mastered audio for The Beatles’ 14 stereo titles, as well as all of the re-mastered CDs’ visual elements, including 13 mini-documentary films about the studio albums, replicated original UK album art, rare photos and expanded liner notes.
A specially designed Flash interface has been installed, and the 16GB USB’s audio and visual contents will be provided in FLAC 44.1 Khz 24 bit and MP3 320 Kbps formats, fully compatible with PC and Mac.
This will be great for file-sharers, as the music’s already been transmuted into a digital format - but still leaves legitimate music fans who purchase their favourite audio online through services such as iTunes asking themselves why they are being punished by The Beatles and EMI - what was their crime?
Perhaps one day we’ll see music from this band on iTunes and other digital music services.
Delicious
Digg
StumbleUpon
Reddit
Facebook
Google
Yahoo
Comments
Great title, but ...
wouldn't that be "apple", not "Apple"?
Hm. Well I DO need a new
Hm. Well I DO need a new Flash Drive. Gonna go find out the cost of this monstrosity.
I wish the Beatles WOULD come out on iTunes....
Just so that people would shut the hell up about it. It's really not that big news. If people were that fussed about getting the Beatles in iTunes they'd buy the CD and rip it. Oh look! There's the Beatle's in my artist list.....
200 pounds? That's like...
200 pounds? That's like... um... carry the 2... uhh... a LOT of dollars!
But I think there's more than 200 tracks on there, so it's still cheaper than iTunes, and you get a very... "nice"... USB drive.
But what if I don't want to replace the Beatles MP3s I already have from the Great Napster Download Orgy of the late 90s? I can't just buy the ones I need.
Maximize
It's clear to me that the Beatles are maximizing their profits. Remember when they first released on CD? The remastered music was in mono. Even tracks that were originally stereo! Who knows how many remastered versions of their CDs have come around.
They'll get to iTunes, but only after they milk every other channel dry by releasing crap like an USB stick. Maybe a special wifi router that streams Beatles tunes is next.
It's just greed. Squeeze
It's just greed. Squeeze every last penny out of your 30 year old music that you can by releasing it slowly and in different formats.
I've said it in every "the Beatles are coming" post I've ever read, but it's worth saying again: "who cares anymore?" If you're a Beatles fan, you almost definitely already have their CDs ripped into iTunes if that's where you want them.
This ugly USB thing will be bought for its oddity/collectibility value by diehard fans with money to burn, not as a way of acquiring digital versions of the Beatles' music by those who don't have it yet.
Actually, I quite like them
Actually, I quite like them [and I realise I'm in the minority there], but not enough to cough up 200 friggin' quid on music I already own.
The Beatles have some of the
The Beatles have some of the best rock music of all time, that still sounds good and relevant today, 30 or more years later, but I agree, to cough up so much money again for music I already have digitally ripped from CD just doesn't make much sense.
All you need is love, but all
All you need is love, but all the Beatles are is greed.
I think you'll find that it's
I think you'll find that it's neither Paul or Ringo, nor the families of John and George, who are pulling the strings here. If you already had hundreds of millions of pounds/dollars, would you waste your time with this?
No, you wouldn't. You'd take a boatload of hookers out to the middle of the bay with a keg of champagne and a jumbo tub of baby oil.
Just like I would. Maybe some cream for friction burns, too.
Post new comment