Thursday, May 27, 2010

“Paul McCartney: EMI to blame for Beatles' absence from iTunes” plus 2

“Paul McCartney: EMI to blame for Beatles' absence from iTunes” plus 2

Paul McCartney: EMI to blame for Beatles' absence from iTunes

Posted: 18 May 2010 02:15 PM PDT

"Business hassles" are to blame for the continued (and conspicuous) absence of the Beatles' catalogue from iTunes, according to a recent interview with Paul McCartney on BBC Radio One's Newsbeat.

According to the former Beatle, the EMI Group, which owns the mechanical rights master recording rights to the group's recordings, is the last holdout in a long—and most definitely winding—road that has seen the Fab Four's work entangled in a web of complications and finger-pointing on its way to Apple's music store, where it has yet to land.

"To tell you the truth I don't actually understand how it's got so crazy," McCartney told Newsbeat. "I know iTunes would like to do it, so one day it's going to happen."

Well, Sir Paul. Perhaps we at Macworld can be of some assistance and give our readers a short overview of the long-running saga.

By virtue of their very names, the relationship between the Apple Corps. and Apple Computer has never been particularly friendly. Troubles began at a time when the very idea of something like iTunes and iPods would have been considered more appropriate for a science-fiction movie than the family room; in 1978, Apple Corps., the holding company founded by the Beatles to manage their business affairs, sued Apple Computer for trademark infringement. The lawsuit was eventually settled out of court for an amount that was originally estimated in the tens of millions of dollars, but was later revealed to be a mere $80,000.

As part of their first legal encounter, the two companies agreed not to encroach on each other's business: the Beatles would not produce computer equipment, while Apple would refrain from releasing music products. But, over the next 10 years, the two rivals ended up in court twice more, both times over Apple Computer's addition of music-related functionality to its computer lines; the computer maker's continued legal fight with its British namesake led developer Jim Reekes (who is featured in the documentary Welcome to MacIntosh) to christen the Mac's startup a Mac OS alert sound "sosumi," a thinly-veiled homophone of "so sue me."

iTunes itself didn't come into the legal crosshairs of the British Apple until 2003, when it once again sued its Californian nemesis over the use of its trademarks in the iTunes Music Store. This time, the computer maker prevailed when a British judge found in Apple's favor and even ordered Apple Corps. to pay legal fees—though perhaps the event is best remembered for the fact that the BBC mistook a job applicant for the late security expert Guy Kewney and put him on the air to provide commentary on the judge's decision (which, somewhat fittingly, was based on a legal doctrine called "Moron in a Hurry").

In 2007, Apple Computer changed its name to Apple Inc. (thus making the act of writing an article about the two companies that much more difficult) and announced a new agreement with Apple Corps. that granted it all the rights to the Apple name in exchange for a hefty $500 million payment. At that year's Macworld Expo keynote, Steve Jobs was heavy with Beatles references—a fact that many took to signify a rapprochement and the imminent release of the group's music on the iTunes Store.

Fast forward to 2010, and we're still waiting for the opportunity to buy such classics as "Yesterday" and "Blue Jay Way" and sync them to our iPods, iPhones, and iPads. In the meantime, the Beatles' entire catalogue has been remastered in digital form and made available on CD, and even on a limited-edition USB key, while the songs that the four Beatles members have released individually have all become available through iTunes.

Of course, only the parties involved know what the obstacles are to finally resolving this debacle, but it's probably a safe bet that money has something to do with it—as does the fact that the number of people and companies that need to sign off on any agreement is substantial. In order to seal any any deal, it would need the approval of McCartney, Ringo Starr, Yoko Ono, Olivia Harrison (wife of the late George), Apple Corps, Apple Inc, and EMI. Considering the sizeable business that the Beatles still command some 40 years after breaking up, and the fact that most of the parties involved have, at some point, been in a legal fight with one another, it's no surprise that things are dragging on a little; we can only hope that all involved will refrain from waiting until every person on Earth has purchased the Beatles' CDs before allowing us to purchase and download their songs directly.

Five Filters featured article: The Art of Looking Prime Ministerial - The 2010 UK General Election. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Beatles sites around the world

Posted: 14 May 2010 04:25 PM PDT

John. Paul. George. Ringo. Four lads from Liverpool whose combined talents took the U.S. by storm in 1964.

After President John F. Kennedy's assassination a year earlier, the country was ready for a symbol of fun and hope. Beatlemania brought the distraction the public needed. Here are some destinations we can visit to explore and reflect on the Beatles' impact.

BRITAIN

Liverpool

The town where it all started is a major tourist destination primarily focused on celebrating the Fab Four. Everywhere you turn is a song inspiration, from Penny Lane to Strawberry Field. Mendips, the childhood home of John Lennon at 251 Menlove Ave., Woolton, and Paul McCartney's teenage home at 20 Forthlin Road, Allerton, are open to the public through the National Trust. Other nearby locations include the Cavern Club, the namesake of where many of their first performances took place, and St. Peter's Parish Church, where McCartney and Lennon met.

The Beatles Story museum at Albert Dock is home to memorabilia including George Harrison's guitar, Lennon's spectacles, and a reconstruction of the entrance to the Star Club in Hamburg, where the group played. The annual Beatles Festival features imitators from around the world, and the Mathew Street Festival is held on the street where the original Cavern Club stood.

For the true Beatles aficionado, stay at the Hard Days Night Hotel.

MORE INFORMATION: 0151-233-2008 or visitliverpool.com

London

The best way to see the locations touched by the Beatles is by foot. Tours take you to filming locations from "A Hard Day's Night" and "Help!"; the registry office where McCartney married Linda Eastman and Ringo Starr married Barbara Bach; and Abbey Road Studios, with its zigzag crosswalk seen on the album cover named after the studios. London Walks tour guide Richard Porter is touted as the "Beatles Brain of Britain."

MORE INFORMATION: 020-7624-9255 or walks.com

GERMANY

Hamburg

In August 1960, Lennon, McCartney and Harrison booked shows at the Indra Club in Hamburg's St. Pauli district on Grosse Freiheit near the Reeperbahn, with fellow band mates Stuart Sutcliffe on bass and Pete Best on drums. Off and on for two years they played clubs including the Kaiserkeller, Top Ten Club and the Star Club. These clubs are considered to be where the group pulled its act together musically. The humble accommodations where the Beatles lived at the Cinema Bambi Kino are marked with a plaque.

The band is immortalized in the city at the Beatles-Platz, or Beatles Square, at the intersection of the Reeperbahn and Grosse Freiheit. A granite circle representing a record features sculptures of each of the Fab Four. To one side stands a sculpture of original band member Sutcliffe, who died of a brain hemorrhage in Hamburg in 1962. There is also a museum.

MORE INFORMATION: 040-3005-1300 or hamburg-tour ism.de/en

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Washington Coliseum was the site of the first Beatles concert in the U.S., on Feb. 11, 1964. The concert was held less than 48 hours after their appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show." About 8,600 fans attended the performance. Opening acts included the Chiffons and Tommy Roe.

Today the building is dilapidated and covered in graffiti. But it's worth a look at the outside for its role in music history. Preservationists are evaluating redevelopment projects in the area.

The Smithsonian's National Postal Museum has Lennon's schoolboy stamp collecting album, and the National Portrait Gallery often has photos.

MORE INFORMATION: 202-789-7000 or washington.org

NEW YORK

New York City

The Beatles first stateside arrival was at John F. Kennedy Airport in Queens on their way to perform at the Ed Sullivan Theatre in 1964, a broadcast that would change rock music forever.

In 1965, The Beatles performed at Shea Stadium to a crowd of 55,000 screaming fans, the largest live audience in history. The Stadium was demolished in 2008 and today plaques in the parking lot of Citi Field, the new stadium built next door to Shea Stadium, commemorate the locations of the former home plate, pitcher's mound and the bases, the area where the Beatles played.

John Lennon called Manhattan home for the latter years of his life. He was murdered at the entrance to his home at The Dakota apartment building, 1 West 72nd St., in December 1980. His widow, Yoko Ono, retains apartments in the building. Lennon's ashes were scattered in Central Park and today a memorial dedicated to the musician called Strawberry Fields stands in this location.

MORE INFORMATION: 800-225-5697 or iloveny.com


Five Filters featured article: The Art of Looking Prime Ministerial - The 2010 UK General Election. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Paul McCartney: Blame EMI for Beatles' Absence From ITunes

Posted: 18 May 2010 03:23 PM PDT

"Business hassles" are to blame for the continued (and conspicuous) absence of the Beatles' catalogue from iTunes, according to a recent interview with Paul McCartney on BBC Radio One's Newsbeat.

According to the former Beatle, the EMI Group, which owns the mechanical rights to the group's recordings, is the last holdout in a long--and most definitely winding--road that has seen the Fab Four's work entangled in a web of complications and finger-pointing on its way to Apple's music store, where it has yet to land.

"To tell you the truth I don't actually understand how it's got so crazy," McCartney told Newsbeat. "I know iTunes would like to do it, so one day it's going to happen."

Well, Sir Paul. Perhaps we at Macworld can be of some assistance and give our readers a short overview of the long-running saga.

By virtue of their very names, the relationship between the Apple Corps. and Apple Computer has never been particularly friendly. Troubles began at a time when the very idea of something like iTunes and iPods would have been considered more appropriate for a science-fiction movie than the family room; in 1978, Apple Corps., the holding company founded by the Beatles to manage their business affairs, sued Apple Computer for trademark infringement. The lawsuit was eventually settled out of court for an amount that was originally estimated in the tens of millions of dollars, but was later revealed to be a mere $80,000.

As part of their first legal encounter, the two companies agreed not to encroach on each other's business: the Beatles would not produce computer equipment, while Apple would refrain from releasing music products. But, over the next 10 years, the two rivals ended up in court twice more, both times over Apple Computer's addition of music-related functionality to its computer lines; the computer maker's continued legal fight with its British namesake led developer Jim Reekes (who is featured in the documentary Welcome to MacIntosh) to christen the Mac's startup sound "sosumi," a thinly-veiled homophone of "so sue me."

iTunes itself didn't come into the legal crosshairs of the British Apple until 2003, when it once again sued its Californian nemesis over the use of its trademarks in the iTunes Music Store. This time, the computer maker prevailed when a British judge found in Apple's favor and even ordered Apple Corps. to pay legal fees--though perhaps the event is best remembered for the fact that the BBC mistook a job applicant for the late security expert Guy Kewney and put him on the air to provide commentary on the judge's decision (which, somewhat fittingly, was based on a legal doctrine called "Moron in a Hurry").

In 2007, Apple Computer changed its name to Apple Inc. (thus making the act of writing an article about the two companies that much more difficult) and announced a new agreement with Apple Corps. that granted it all the rights to the Apple name in exchange for a hefty $500 million payment. At that year's Macworld Expo keynote, Steve Jobs was heavy with Beatles references--a fact that many took to signify a rapprochement and the imminent release of the group's music on the iTunes Store.

Fast forward to 2010, and we're still waiting for the opportunity to buy such classics as "Yesterday" and "Blue Jay Way" and sync them to our iPods, iPhones, and iPads. In the meantime, the Beatles' entire catalogue has been remastered in digital form and made available on CD, and even on a limited-edition USB key, while the songs that the four Beatles members have released individually have all become available through iTunes.

Of course, only the parties involved know what the obstacles are to finally resolving this debacle, but it's probably a safe bet that money has something to do with it--as does the fact that the number of people and companies that need to sign off on any agreement is substantial. In order to seal any deal, it would need the approval McCartney, Ringo Starr, Yoko Ono, Olivia Harrison (wife of the late George), Apple Corps, Apple Inc, and EMI. Considering the sizeable business that the Beatles still command some 30 years after breaking up, and the fact that most of the parties involved have, at some point, been in a legal fight with one another, it's no surprise that things are dragging on a little; we can only hope that all involved will refrain from waiting until every person on Earth has purchased the Beatles' CDs before allowing us to purchase and download their songs directly.

Five Filters featured article: The Art of Looking Prime Ministerial - The 2010 UK General Election. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.
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