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Far Four Go Digital: Why The Beatles Arrival on iTunes was THAT Important.
When Apple announced that the Beatles back catalogue would finally be released on iTunes, music fans went crazy snapping up over two million songs in just one week. The announcement was a landmark for Apple as the band has previously refused to let their work be bought through the online store. When discussing the move, Paul McCartney spoke out about his excitement surrounding the music finally reaching the digital world, but why the change of heart now? The well published legal dispute between Apple and the Beatle's music label Apple Corp had fans resigned to the fact that the Fab Four’s tunes would never reach iTunes. Once it was settled in 2007 there was a glimmer of hope but fans were still in with another three year wait! With sales reaching beyond expectations, both Apple and the Beatles are set to see the money roll in. The Beatles were not the only band to reject iTunes advances, from Rock to Pop there are plenty of bands that are still adamant that their music will not be found in the digital store. However if one of the biggest bands in the world managed to put aside their issues, surely other bands will just give in and 'Let it Be'?
Australian Rockers AC/DC have spoken out about their anti-iTunes stance with singer Brian Johnson stating that "Maybe I'm just being old-fashioned, but this iTunes, God bless 'em, it's going to kill music if they're not careful,” The band has stressed the importance of buying actual CD’s instead of simply clicking for access to their work. Other bands that are strictly anti-iTunes include Def Leppard, Tool and Kid Rock. Once of the main objections by these bands and others is that they do not want their music to be sold off on a track by track basis, preferring instead that fans purchase a full album. Money, as usual, is also an issue with several musicians including American idol winner Garth Brooks complaining about the unfair pricing system.
Luckily, the amount of bands refusing to allow Apple to have access to their catalogues is eclipsed by the vast amounts that can be found on the online store. If you haven’t already browsed the Beatles collection on iTunes head over to http://www.apple.com/uk/the-beatles/.