Apple wants to take a bite out of The Beatles‘ Apple Records logo and grab the Granny Smith trademark for itself.
Tagged ‘Apple Corps’
The iTunes deal with The Beatles is, unsurprisingly, a rather special arrangement according to loose-lipped industry sources who’ve been talking to Reuters. The report says Apple Corps, The Beatles’ record company, is receiving direct digital download royalties from iTunes while the “songwriting mechanical royalties” go to the catalogue owners Sony/ATV Music Publishing. Effectively, the Beatles iTunes deal is a licensing arrangement rather than the usual royalties split. Folk in the know says that means the royalty split is more lucrative for The Beatles than other artists. That’s a big deal because other artists including Cheap Trick and the Allman Brothers have unsuccessfully argued that digital download sales should be treated as licensing rather than straight retail purchases. Expect other major artists to start shouting the odds with Apple imminently once more details of the iTunes Beatles deal leak out.
Out now | £varies | iTunes (via AppleInsider)
So The Beatles iTunes deal is done and the world has collectively sighed, shrugged and returned to their collections of Beatles tracks acquired through other means. But in celebration of Apple’s ultra-hype-a-thon, we’ve decided to have a competition. Post your best images celebrating The Beatles iTunes tie up to the Electricpig Facebook group and we’ll reward the best submissions with an Electricpig mug. If you can do us a Beatles-style song celebrating Electricpig, well, that would be even better. To see Mic’s Photoshop effort, click here: A Message From Steve Jobs RE: The Beatles. Get Photoshopping now!
Out now | £varies | Apple
The Beatles: Rock Band game is due to release “worldwide” on 9 September, according to an announcement by MTV, Harmonix and Apple Corps. Yes, that’s worldwide – as in, we won’t have to wait for six months to get the game after the US. The game is also set to launch simultaneously on all three console platforms – the Microsoft Xbox 360, Sony PS3 and Nintendo Wii. The trio of companies also announced a limited edition version of the game that looks set to set new records for expensiveness.
Apple Corps and MTV/Harmonix are set to collaborate on a videogame based on The Beatles. And from what various online reports of a teleconference are suggesting, the game is not set to simply be either a download pack or expansion for the Rock Band series, but an “experiential progression through and celebration of the music and artistry of The Beatles” – in other words, an all new game.