Paul McCartney: iTunes Negotiations For Beatles Music Stall

LONDON — Paul McCartney says negotiations on a long-awaited deal to make the Beatles' catalog available on the online music service iTunes have stalled.

"The last word I got back was it's stalled at the whole moment, the whole process," the former Beatle said Monday. "I really hope it will happen because I think it should."

McCartney, who was speaking at the launch of his new album, Electric Arguments, added: "It's between EMI and the Beatles, I think."

The band's holding company, Apple Corps Ltd., has so far declined to allow the Fab Four's music on any Internet music service, including iTunes. The situation has been exacerbated by a long-running trademark dispute between Apple Corps and Apple Inc., which owns iTunes _ a dispute that was resolved last year.

Record label EMI, which owns the Beatles recordings but needs Apple Corps' permission to release the music in new formats, said it was still trying to resolve the matter.

An EMI spokeswoman said: "We have been working hard to secure agreement with Apple Corps. to make the Beatles' legendary recording catalog available to fans in digital form. Unfortunately the various parties involved have been unable to reach agreement but we really hope everyone can make progress soon."

The spokeswoman spoke on condition of anonymity in line with company policy.

Apple Inc. was not immediately available for comment.

Comments

[Dutschke]

it's really sad that this is what the Beatles legacy has come to: "The parties" that hold the rights to Apple Corp. "have been unable to reach an agreement".
Technically, the entire catalog should be in the public domain by now anyway. The fact that music copyrights last as long as they do is culturally very questionable anyway in my opinion.
The young Beatles that once started the Apple shop in London would surely agree... just not the surviving "parties" it seems.
Back in the 1960's, no one had an idea, that there would be Cassettes followed by CD's followed by mp3's etc..etc... the profits which were planned for by the music industry were already made over and over again... way beyond the wildest imaginations of those who hold the rights to the Beatles catalog.
When John Lennon died in 1980, his fortune was worth over 500 million US dollars... if that is how much he had... think about what all the other "parties" involved have today but it still doesn't seem to be enough. When will it be enough ?
To me this whole thing is a betrayal and a sell out of all that the Beatles stood for and all that they sang about. It seem that the surviving Beatles have turned into Piggies themselves today. Enough never seems to be enough.

[dekkerink]

I think your being harsh. Copyrights don't lapse into the public domain for at least a lifetime and remember the beatles don't actually control the publishing rights to their own music because of the nature of their decisions when they were much younger. Now I'm no expert on copyright law but I do think that as long as they are alive, they should guard their intellectual property fiercely. I for one can wait for the new digital remasters due out next year. In the meantime I'll keep listening to the vinyl, as it was meant to be.

[ZimboChick]

I have McCartney fatigue

[Madmac]

Apple, Inc., EMI and Apple Corp. Get back in the room and get a deal done. My iPod craves the tunage...

[Aramingo]

In their day, The Beatles were always slightly ahead of the curve. If they wanted to do that now, they should release their masters digitally and let the fans mix them. Or what have you.

Just a thought

[43P04T34]

We listeners should have the RIGHT to mix the music we choose to listen to, rather than be required to endure an 'official' mix that represents one person's viewpoint on how it should be mixed.

We should also have the RIGHT to have the tools to mix the music and to preserve any mix we create for our own listening pleasure.

[zippywpinhead]

if you're talking about having access to individual tracks to mix yourself, you're nuts. If you're talking about reordering finished songs, what's stopping you from doing that now?

[GoodScout]

...if only the Founding Fathers had included mixing wicked tunes in the Bill of Rights! "the RIGHT to mix music?" Dude, you're taking this much too seriously....

[ckits]

What you have the right to do is to listen to a piece of music or not listen to it. You don't have the right to have access to the masters to do with what you will, unless that's what the artists involved want. When you "endure" an official mix you are listening to what the artists, in collaboration with the producer, intended. You can then decide whether or not to listen. If you don't like what you are hearing then perhaps you would consider learning to create your own music and "paying your dues" in the music business in order to put your vision across.

[tkondaks]

I remember when I heard for the first time the British mixes of the Beatles albums, as they were different from the ones released in the States and Canada.
I thought I was listening to a cover band! The difference is that striking.

[dekkerink]

No you shouldn't. You can have the privilege if granted, but it's the creators property.

[Letterman]

Long and winding road...

[estiv]

"I understand the Beatle Reps wanting to protect their intellectual property, but holding out does not necessarily make their hand stronger on this."

Read what McCartney said again. It looks like it's EMI that wants more money from iTunes, not the Beatles.

[43P04T34]

Yes, reading between the lines, somebody is being greedy, or 'something', and it's NOT Macca.

[zippywpinhead]

though it's an obvious guess, from the article you don't know if the hold up is about money- could be other things like DRM...

[dnddays]

Meanwhile, I have every Beatles track in my digital collection (including Norwegian Wood). Won't be long before record companies go looking for a bailout to correct the spoils of their incompetence.

[lioness39]

I suppose it would be superfluous of me to ask if those failed negotiations were going to include the haunting Norwegian Wood that you cannot find or download ANYWHERE.

[squawkbox]

I would recommend that you take your CD copy of the US Rubber Soul and rip it onto your computer yourself (mono or stereo). You're likely to get a higher-fidelity digital copy this way than by finding it on a peer-to-peer site or (shudder) a commercial site.

[Gasparilla]

There are CDs of the US versions of their records? Shows you how long since I've been in a music store. I have a mono version of the Help LP record.

[zippywpinhead]

skip MP3 all together and stick to a lossless compression type...

[TrevorAlan]

That's OK. If they don't want to sell the songs legally online there's PLENTY of illegal sources for them.

I understand the Beatle Reps wanting to protect their intellectual property, but holding out does not necessarily make their hand stronger on this.