Topic: The Beatles' music available online for first time

[Clive]

The launch of the computer game The Beatles: Rock Band will see a selection of the band's music being available to download for the first time ever.

A selection of The Beatles' back catalogue will soon be available to download legally for the first time in history, following the release of video game The Beatles: Rock Band on Wednesday.
The release of the game, which sees players being able to peform 45 of the band's songs in famous venues and with custom-built instruments, coincides with record label EMI's physical release of 14 of the group's digitally remastered albums.
And from 19 October owners of The Beatles: Rock Band will be able to download the whole Abbey Road album through either their Xbox, PlayStation or Wii for about £10 or select songs from the album at 99p each.  
It is the first time that The Beatles' own record label; Apple Corps, along with EMI Music, Harrisongs Ltd and Sony/ATV Music Publishing have agreed to present The Beatles' music in an interactive video game format and offer the music for download.
Plans on how best to offer The Beatles' back catalogue online have been in discussion between the main parties involved for some time.  
The companies will also be offering Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band for sale in November followed by Rubber Soul in December.  
Watch gameplay trailers and get full tracklistings at The Beatles: Rock Band official site.


http://www.thebeatlesrockband.com/

[Simon]

You can take my place in the queue, Clive. 

[Clive]

Got them all on vinyl and CD Simon.   

[Simon]

Would you agree that the CDs of the Red and Blue albums were / are a complete rip-off, given that they could have fitted each onto one CD?

[Clive]

Yes, a complete rip off.  But I blame the record companies for getting every last penny out of fans. 

[Simon]

Yes, that's a big part of it.

[Sandra]

I have a CD in some strange format that only plays on the pc that has every beatles album they made up to the anthology one.
It has all the album cover pictures on and all the song titles and when you play a track it even has the main words of that track.
Its only in mono and not at the highest bit rate but sounds great through my 2.1 pc speakers 

[GillE]

Why bother?

 

[Sandra]

1: Because its technically possible and cleverly done.

2: Because the Beatles helped make the 60s the 60s and they made some great music. 

[GillE]

But I've already got all the Beatles recordings and I enjoy listening to them.  They are adequate to the task.  I don't aspire to drive a F1 race car because it's technically possible or firebomb some Vietnamese because it was part of the 60s and the Americans made great munitions.

Come on, Sandra, you've got to have just the teensiest suspicion that there's a bit of exploitation going on here.

[Sandra]

I have a few of their albums on vinyl but dont think I would ever play them again. I have however played that cd a few times, either to show it someone or just to leave playing for a few hours as background music.
The re released and digitally remastered collection is exploiting people who are avid Beatles collectors and who would want to own it, even though they already have all the albums, probably on vinly, cassette and CD.
There will however be a lot of younger people who have been deprived of decent music throughout the 80s and up to the present day who will be able to hear for themselves what real music was like and should be like 

[sam]

I think I missed this last comment... there is lots of great music around now! We don't need rich artists getting even richer by doing didly squat.

[Simon]

There is lots of good music around, but you have to be prepared to look for it, as you won't hear it on the radio.

[sam]

There is lots of good music around, but you have to be prepared to look for it, as you won't hear it on the radio.

indeed... even radio stations like Kerrang play lots of the same crap.  Simon - you come across 30 Seconds to Mars (their new single is out and pretty damn good)? I have to say I'm still playing the new Muse album over and over.

[Simon]

I have the first 30 Seconds to Mars CD, and it's OK, but the single was the best thing on it.  Haven't heard the new one yet.  CD of the year so far, is the new Green Day.  Bloody brilliant!  I'm waiting for a few which are stuck in the post at the moment, the new Bon Jovi being one.  Sounds like a much more rocky album than their last one, thankfully.