Beatles Classics, Sung by McCartney, Finally Hit Apple's iTunes - Printable Version

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Beatles Classics, Sung by McCartney, Finally Hit Apple's iTunes - cLaY - 07-06-2005

Apple Computer's iTunes has scored a couple of big points in its long-running war with the Beatles.

Thanks to Paul McCartney's participation in the London Live 8 concert on Saturday, Apple's iTunes Music Store finally has two Beatles songs performed by its co-composer available for downloading — "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" and "The Long and Winding Road."

Prior to this, only Beatles songs sung by Ringo Starr, such as"Yellow Submarine" and "With a Little Help From My Friends" from his recent All-Starr Band records, had made it onto iTunes.

No original recordings by the Beatles, or classic solo tracks by McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison or even Starr himself, are on iTunes, or available for downloading.

(The one exception is a recent "lost" McCartney tune called "Whole Life," which was part of a Nelson Mandela tribute album. It's listed on iTunes as being performed by the Eurythmics' Dave Stewart.)

This is a big score for Apple, but not one that it's particularly trumpeted.

That's because there is no love lost between Apple Computer and Apple Records, the music label owned by the Beatles. The two companies are locked in a multi-million dollar legal struggle in the British courts over use of the Apple name and logo — which the Beatles have owned since 1968.

Several years ago, Apple's Steve Jobs paid a hefty settlement to the Beatles and agreed never to use the Apple name for any kind of music business.

The Beatles now argue that he's in blatant violation of that agreement, thanks to the iPod and iTunes. When Apple first started advertising both of those items, it referred to them in posters and advertising as "AppleMusic."

Consequently, the Beatles — who do not license any of their original recordings for online use or downloading — refuse to let iTunes have their songs.

But lo and behold, starting Sunday, Universal Music Group — which licensed the Live 8 recordings for release — put the Saturday performances of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" and "The Long and Winding Road" — on iTunes.

The former song is performed by McCartney and U2 . The latter is McCartney alone.

That's a first, and surely not something Apple Records chief Neil Aspinall can be too happy about as his case against Apple Computer winds its way through the courts.

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