Alison Trautmann
Editor-in-Chief

November 15 saw the Apple home page display a message that said “Tomorrow is just another day. That you’ll never forget.”

Apple followers instantly began salivating at the prospect of new technology being released but it turned out to be that the Beatles’ studio albums and singles were finally available on iTunes. For years they were one of the only bands not available on iTunes’ digital music store. According to Rolling Stone, the only artists not on itunes are AC/DC, Garth Brooks, Kid Rock, Bob Seger, Def Leppard and Tool but the Beatles were the most high-profile to hold out for so long.
Before their release on iTunes, stumbling blocks existed in the form of a trademark dispute between Apple Inc. and Apple Corps Ltd. the latter being the company set up by the Beatles in the later stage of their career. This problem was resolved in February 2007.

EMI (the recording company that controls the Beatles catalogue) and the Beatles’ Apple Corps Ltd. could not agree on terms regarding download and use of the music. Clearly the differences have been reconciled and fans can now aquire the Beatles’ impressive array of music digitally.

Although this digital release does not include such interesting pieces as the Anthology compilations that does not seem to be causing any problems with regards to popularity. According to an article on forbes.com the Beatles sold 2 million individual songs within the first weeks of their digital release and 450,000 albums. Clearly they have not lost their purchasing power.

However, it is surprising how much music was sold because just last year, the Beatles released remastered versions of their songs and anyone who enjoyed their music bought their CDs and would most likely import the songs onto their computer. This announcement may have been over-hyped. Apple devotees certainly would have perferred new toys for Christmas.