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Beatles might hit iTunes
Thursday, 12 April, 2007
The Beatles. (GETTY IMAGES)
British music label EMI says it has settled a royalties dispute with Apple Corps, the publishing group founded by The Beatles.
It's believed the move could pave the way for legal downloads of the Fab Four's hits.
"I can confirm that we have reached a mutually acceptable settlement and that we are not going to say anything more than that," an EMI spokeswoman said.
EMI was still working towards putting The Beatles' songs on Apple Inc.'s iTunes website, she added.
Apple Corps, owned by surviving Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr and the widows of band mates John Lennon and George Harrison, had claimed that EMI owed 59 million dollars in missing royalties from album sales between 1994 and 1999.
The band had begun legal proceedings in London's High Court in 2005 to recover the alleged missing funds.
The vast catalogue of Beatles hits, including "Let it Be," "Hey Jude" and "Come Together," has been barred from legal Internet download sites at the band's insistence, despite protests from EMI, which owns their recording rights.
Beatles' songs have long circulated on the Internet as unlicensed downloads, available from peer-to-peer sites, but industry analysts say a decision to release them would be a boon for the legal downloading industry.
British newspaper The Daily Telegraph had reported EMI and Apple Corps had agreed to settle the case at the end of March, but added that the terms of the settlement were confidential.
The two sides could now reach an agreement on new royalties for the sale of Beatles' songs over the Internet, particularly on the iTunes music website, the paper added without citing its source.
Earlier this month, EMI said it would offer songs from its artists for download without copy protection as part of a deal with iTunes, which is touted by iPod maker Apple as the world's most popular digital music store.
EMI, the world's third-largest music group, has said it will begin to sell music without anti-piracy software over the Internet from May, but did not specify a launch date.
The announcement only covered EMI's existing digital catalogue – which includes the likes of Coldplay, Madonna and Robbie Williams, but excludes The Beatles' recordings.
Source: AFP
It's believed the move could pave the way for legal downloads of the Fab Four's hits.
"I can confirm that we have reached a mutually acceptable settlement and that we are not going to say anything more than that," an EMI spokeswoman said.
EMI was still working towards putting The Beatles' songs on Apple Inc.'s iTunes website, she added.
Apple Corps, owned by surviving Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr and the widows of band mates John Lennon and George Harrison, had claimed that EMI owed 59 million dollars in missing royalties from album sales between 1994 and 1999.
The band had begun legal proceedings in London's High Court in 2005 to recover the alleged missing funds.
The vast catalogue of Beatles hits, including "Let it Be," "Hey Jude" and "Come Together," has been barred from legal Internet download sites at the band's insistence, despite protests from EMI, which owns their recording rights.
Beatles' songs have long circulated on the Internet as unlicensed downloads, available from peer-to-peer sites, but industry analysts say a decision to release them would be a boon for the legal downloading industry.
British newspaper The Daily Telegraph had reported EMI and Apple Corps had agreed to settle the case at the end of March, but added that the terms of the settlement were confidential.
The two sides could now reach an agreement on new royalties for the sale of Beatles' songs over the Internet, particularly on the iTunes music website, the paper added without citing its source.
Earlier this month, EMI said it would offer songs from its artists for download without copy protection as part of a deal with iTunes, which is touted by iPod maker Apple as the world's most popular digital music store.
EMI, the world's third-largest music group, has said it will begin to sell music without anti-piracy software over the Internet from May, but did not specify a launch date.
The announcement only covered EMI's existing digital catalogue – which includes the likes of Coldplay, Madonna and Robbie Williams, but excludes The Beatles' recordings.
Source: AFP
