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More Speculation for Tomorrow: Beatles on iTunes [Updated]


Graphic from TechCrunch

The big news of the day has been Apple's iTunes-related announcement scheduled for tomorrow, and one of the rumors that has been gaining traction in the hours since the news broke is that Apple may finally have struck a deal to bring The Beatles to the iTunes Store.

For starters, the sources in the past that quashed any rumors of an impending Beatles launch are today very quiet, and strangely so. Next is the wording of the teaser on Apple's website. The first line is, "Tomorrow is just another day." As noted earlier, "Another Day" is a Paul McCartney song released on his solo record "Ram," but written during the Beatles' "Let it Be" sessions.

Also, for those into hunting for more clues, Apple's teaser page features four clocks, each with the arms in different positions, (denoting the time of the announcement in California, New York, London and Tokyo time zones). Pretty unnecessary unless you compare it to the cover of the Beatles' "Help!" album, featuring all four members side by side with their arms also in different positions.

The report from Billboard hints at other reasons may finally be the day that The Beatles come to iTunes, although it is unable to share all of its information.

The rumor of course leads some to question whether such an announcement would be worthy of a hype-filled front-page teaser on Apple.com, but there is no special media event accompanying tomorrow's announcement, and it is unclear if any other news besides The Beatles would be included if it is indeed in the works.

On one final note, MacRumors yesterday did receive an unconfirmed tip that The Beatles would be coming to the iTunes Store on Wednesday, November 17th. Such unconfirmed rumors are not uncommon (although things have been relatively quiet with regards to The Beatles since the lead-up to Apple's September 1st music-focused media event) and this one included no details we could use to follow-up or verify, but perhaps is worth noting in light of today's events.

Update: The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times are now confirming that Apple has in fact finally struck a deal with The Beatles and their rights owners and is preparing to announce that The Beatles' music will soon be available in the iTunes Store.

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20 months ago
WSJ also says beatles

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703326204575617004052395816.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTTopStories

Steve Jobs is nearing the end of his long and winding pursuit of the Beatles catalog.

Apple Inc. is preparing to announce that its iTunes Store will soon start carrying music by the Beatles, according to people familiar with the situation, a move that would fill in a glaring gap in the collection of the world's largest music retailer.

The deal resulted from talks that were taking place as recently as last week among executives of Apple, representatives of the Beatles and their record label, EMI Group Ltd., according to these people, who also warned that there is still a chance that Apple could change plans at the last minute.


Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703326204575617004052395816.html#ixzz15OUXzb40
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20 months ago
Of course, because Apple would advertise one band (a popular band admittedly) coming to iTunes as a day to remember for the rest of your life. Right.
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20 months ago
The clocks and their arms aren't in anyway comparable.
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20 months ago
Has Apple ever done this before? I know that in the past they've generally themed their announcements around the product, but never actually putting hints...
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20 months ago
why is this something we will never forget? i like the beatles but come on
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20 months ago
That'll be a boring bummer if that's all this is. I mean, I dig the Beatles as much as the next guy, but come on...who really cares?
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20 months ago
I don't understand why this would be a big deal, at least from our perspective. Are there any Beatles fans out there that don't already have their entire collection?
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20 months ago

The clocks and their arms aren't in anyway comparable.


Only one of them matches! I would be thrilled to see The Beatles on iTunes, but that image is quite a stretch.

I guess we'll see...
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20 months ago
That was my first thought as soon as I read the title too - it's got to be the beatles.
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20 months ago
Here's hoping for The Beatles!
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