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Beatles may stream this week
By Chris Cooke | Published on Monday 21 December 2015
The Beatles are set to party like its 2008 by finally arriving on the streaming platforms this very Christmas Eve, according to sources speaking to Billboard.
There has been speculation for some time as to when the Fab Four’s catalogue might finally arrive on the streaming services. Some expected Apple – which finally persuaded the band’s reps to let them sell Beatles tracks on iTunes in 2010, and which has enjoyed exclusivity ever since – might have a Fab Four-themed announcement when it put Apple Music live earlier this year, but that didn’t come to pass.
Then, when the Beatles website suddenly had a countdown clock in September, there was new chatter that this could be a big streaming announcement, but it turned out to be linked to the recent release of a repackaged version of their ‘1’ hits collection.
However, say sources, new discussions about the streaming of Beatles recordings have been underway all year, Rob Wells kickstarting negotiations before departing Universal Music back in February. The mega-major now controls the catalogue, of course, in partnership with the band’s Apple Corps company, since its EMI acquisition in 2012.
While many expected an exclusivity deal to be struck up with just one streaming service, probably Apple, the latest consensus is that multiple and possibly most platforms will be given access to Beatles albums at the same time. I wonder if that will include any 1965 unreleased rarities, which need to be made public this month to ensure they stay in copyright in Europe. We’ll see, I guess.
