AppleInsider StaffCiting people familiar with the situation, the site reported Monday evening that Apple's "exciting announcement" would revolve around the arrival of Beatles songs on iTunes. Representatives of the band, as well as their EMI Group record label, were in talks with Apple as recently as last week.
Monday morning, Apple put a teaser on its website, telling customers that the company would have an "exciting announcement from iTunes" Tuesday morning. That led to speculation that Apple could announce a new, cloud-based iTunes service, or a monthly music subscription plan.
Other reports, however, said those products would be unlikely, as Apple does not have the rights required to stream music to customers. Apple has allegedly been in negotiations with record labels for months in an effort to forge a deal.
Rumors of The Beatles finally coming to iTunes are nothing new, but John Lennon's widow Yoko Ono helped to quiet those talks in August, when she said that fans shouldn't hold their breath for a potential deal.
The Beatles have long resisted digital music, instead opting to re-release albums on physical mediums. The band finally released their music digitally on special USB devices, as well as the video game "The Beatles: Rock Band," but iTunes did not come to be.
Rumors of an Apple-Beatles deal became more plausible in recent years, after Apple and Apple Corps made amends and settled a trademark dispute. Previously, the two companies were engaged in a legal battle for years.
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90 Comments
Said another way: You'll never forget that tomorrow is just another day (but not necessarily a memorable one).
I'm as big a fan of the Beatles as the next big fan of the Beatles, but if that's all they're going to present tomorrow, even if it's with the usual Beatles suspects (Paul, Ringo, Yoko, Olivia), it's not a giant thing. Cool, but too little too late, as I think everyone who wants Beatles stuff now, has it. Great for the future, but not going to change anyone's life. Seven years ago... that would have been something.
Still, if they get the Beatles, that's okay by me.
Are we turning into a 'republish every story that hits the web' now, website?
Apple appears set to launch iTunes Live Streaming.
WSJ: Apple to announce arrival of Beatles catalog on iTunes.
What's next? NYT: Apple to announce baseball cards.
How about some intelligent articles, guys. There's something to be said about the patient approach. You guys are so mad to say you said something first that what you actually say has become irrelevant - to you. Do you simply care that you said something that was right? In which case you'll pump out the stories just to say: "yeah, we published that one". How about actually waiting to publish something good?
A day we'll never forget is The Beatles on iTunes? Really? Everyone who likes the band already has their records. To hype this one, like they are doing by taking over the Apple homepage across-the-world and being very mysterious while alluding to promise a lot, is well beyond a joke. Well beyond a joke.
Are we turning into a 'republish every story that hits the web' now, website?
Yeah, republishing an article from a little-known publication such as the WSJ about such irrelevant event is a waste of bits.
I love - absolutely love music, but I could not care less whether the Beatles were on the iTunes store or not.
I'm kinda excited about what may be revealed tomorrow... If it has anything to do with the Beatles though, I will be thoroughly let down.