Beatles songs on iTunes? Rumours mount of Superbowl announcement

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yellowsubmarine.jpgYou can’t buy any Beatles songs on iTunes at the moment: they’re the last big band to hold out, mainly due to their Apple label’s lawsuit with, er, Apple. However, that could be about to change, with strong rumours that Apple may be planning a Beatley announcement at next month’s Superbowl.

Reports say it could be a three-month deal initially to put the Fab Four on iTunes, and the rumours were fuelled by last week’s Macworld keynote, when Steve Jobs played a track off Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band on the iPhone.

Will it be big news if the reports turn out to be true? Undoubtedly. Okay, so anyone who wants Beatles on their iPod can just rip the CDs to iTunes and transfer ’em over. But it will still be seismic in the context of digital music.

What’s more, due to new chart regulations in the UK making download-only tracks eligible for the Top 40, a side-product could be the chart being swamped by Beatles tunes in the week they come out, if enough people buy individual tracks rather than entire albums.

Stuart Dredge
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