Beatles finally let it be on iTunes

Nov 16, 2010, 16:33 GMT

San Francisco - Apple has struck a deal to bring The Beatles catalog to the iTunes store, making 13 of the beloved band's original albums available legally online for the first time, as well as the band's classic Red and Blue compilations.

The Beatles tunes were available Tuesday for individual download, with the albums available for 12.99 dollars each and the individual songs for 1.29 dollars each.

'We're really excited to bring The Beatles' music to iTunes,' said Sir Paul McCartney. 'It's fantastic to see the songs we originally released on vinyl receive as much love in the digital world as they did the first time around.'

Apple chief executive Steve Jobs said: 'We love The Beatles and are honoured and thrilled to welcome them to iTunes. It has been a long and winding road to get here. Thanks to The Beatles and EMI, we are now realizing a dream we've had since we launched iTunes 10 years ago.'

The deal ends the long-standing holdout by the most successful group of all time against making their music available online. The band, which published much of its music through a company called Apple Corp, was also involved in a long-standing trademark dispute with the Silicon Valley company.

Also available was the special digital Beatles Box Set for 149 dollars, containing the 13 remastered studio albums with iTunes LPs and all mini-documentaries, Past Masters, and the 1964 concert film Live at the Washington Coliseum, a worldwide iTunes exclusive that captured The Beatles' very first US concert in its entirety.

No details were given as to what prompted the change of mind on the part of the two surviving Beatles, McCartney and Ringo Starr, and the estates of John Lennon and George Harrison. The compact disc's share of the new music market is steadily declining, and the band did brave the digital waters last year when it licensed an anthology of its songs for use in the video game Rock Band.

The deal may prompt other major iTunes objectors to reconsider their positions. Artists like AC/DC and country superstar Garth Brooks refuse to license their music on iTunes until Apple allows the 'locking' of albums - changing its current policy that allows every song to be bought individually.

'In the joyful spirit of Give Peace A Chance, I think it is so appropriate that we are doing this on John's 70th birthday year,' said Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono.