Is the Beatles' back catalogue finally going digital? Possibly, but don't expect it to be available on iTunes. Dhani Harrison, son of George, is proposing a Beatles-only downloads store selling remastered versions of the Fab Four's tunes
George Harrison's son has raised the prospect of an independent, Beatles-specific digital music store that will sell remastered versions of the Fab Four's tunes."We're losing money every day," Dhani Harrison said in a recent interview. "So what do you do? You have to have your own delivery system, or you have to do a good deal with [Apple CEO] Steve Jobs."
The Beatles' entry into Apple's iTunes Music Store has been rumoured for almost as long as the service has been around. However, six years on, and with iTunes dominating the digital music landscape, Apple (the computer manufacturer) and Apple (the record label) remain at an impasse.
"[Jobs] says that a download is worth 99 cents, and we disagree," Dhani Harrison told Blender.
Thirty-year-old Harrison, who is himself a musician, plays an increasingly prominent role in managing the Beatles estate. Apart from Paul McCartney's five-year-old daughter Beatrice, Dhani is the youngest of the Beatles' offspring – and is among the most "plugged in" to technological developments.
Harrison says it is he who encouraged the Beatles' stakeholders to pursue the Rock Band: The Beatles video game. "I took the project to Apple [Records] and sort of convinced everybody to have a presentation," Harrison told Billboard. "My job description is ... being enthusiastic. We've been working on it for the past two years. This is the first one that is going to be totally, historically accurate. It's been a real headache, but it's been the most enjoyable work I've done in my life."
While iTunes Music Store is the world's most successful online music service, it's not the only available option. The Beatles could release their songs through Amazon MP3 or eMusic, but they could also do as Prince has done and start own distribution site, selling songs without a middleman.
Of course, it takes some technological nous to compete with iTunes – or great big yellow submarines full of money.
Sean Michaels
guardian.co.uk
1 comment:
Good on Dhani. at least someone is interested in bringing the Beatles into the 21st Century, I guess that all of us poor suckers who bought the LP,EP.CD. ETC.... WILL FORK OUT AGAIN FOR THE REMASTERED VERSION.
Mal (and yes, I will buy it )
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