The Beatles Makes Their Way to Apple iTunes
Beatles for Sale: Now available at an iTunes’ store near you
With years and years of negotiations with Apple Corps. and Apple Inc., the two Big Apples decided to make apple pie out of their recent deal settlement to finally sell the Fab Four’s music digitally via Apple’s iTunes.
Since the announcement, the Beatles’ music has pretty much dominated the iTunes Top 200, with over 55 Beatles songs making the list. It’s not just individual songs that have been making noise at the popular digital store. All 13 of the Beatles’ studio albums were released on Tuesday in addition to a two-volume Past Masters set and the Red and Blue collections. Each of these is listed in Top 200 albums. Even the lowest album on the list, Beatles for Sale, landed in the 38th spot.
“We’re really excited to bring the Beatles’ music to iTunes,” former Beatle Paul McCartney said in a statement. “It’s nice to see the songs we originally released on vinyl receive as much love in the digital world as they did the first time around.”
In the U.S., sales for single tracks have been priced at $1.29, single albums sell for $12.99 and double albums are priced at$19.99. Box sets are also available digitally for $149, containing all 13 of their albums, Past Masters and two films.
Not that much luck working in favor of the Beatles in their homeland. In the U.K, sales have been disappointing since their iTunes’ leak. Some observers have suggested the lack of Beatles chart success has been down to pricing, with physical CD copies being significantly cheaper than buying digitally. On compact disc, many of The Beatles best known albums in the UK cost £7.99, while single albums digitally cost £10.99 each.
The same comparisons could be made for the US. Hard copies of the albums are far less cheaper than the digital versions. But still, a breakthrough on iTunes and the Beatles’ part. It’s been a long time comin’.
FURTHER READING >>
The Beatles Now on iTunes – Apple.com
Apple iTunes Beatlemania fails to ignite charts – Network World (UK)
Beatles Dominate iTunes Top 200 Lists – PCMag.com
