149 dollars for discography which everybody can free download from the Internet! That’s just curious. My grandfather’s vinyl LPs with Beatles cost less.

I hope that Lars Ulrih won’t read this post otherwise he’ll send FBI agents to arrest me and force to pay a fine.

M.E.H.

Ten years ago this would have been news, now it is too late. Everyone who wanted the Beatles already downloaded the Beatles.

This rates a MEH

Reaction to Apple’s hype leading up to the announcement

To be fair, Apple didn’t really hype anything. They changed their front page yesterday and today they made the announcement. They didn’t call in the press, they didn’t have an event. They just teased a little (which generated a lot of buzz on the internet, but that’s not Apple’s fault.)

Sounds like they will be hyping this AFTER this announcement with ads on TV and iTunes, but that’s business as usual.

I know there was a lot of excitement but don’t blame Apple. They’re just taking advantage of finally getting a distribution deal with one of the most lucrative musical acts.

It says a lot about a company when a distribution announcement is met with disdain. It says that a lot of people care what you say, and that’s another reason to buy more stock!

The physical box set is $20 cheaper on Amazon.

Yes, it’s $20 cheaper, but if I went to Amazon, I’d have to wait for them to ship it, then I’d have to feed 16 CDs into my computer and rip them all. What a hassle.

It’ll be interesting in a month to look at sales of the iTunes Beatles music and see if it really was a “meh” or if people who don’t post on tech sites pulled out their debit and credit cards in droves. I’m suspecting it’s going to bring a decent amount of cash in despite what we may think here.

@ Dean-
I just don’t see it. Beatles fans already have the whole collection ripped and available in their iTunes library. And, as other’s have pointed out, they probably shared an album or two with other people who are less enthusiastic about the Beatles. The long delay to digital hurt EMI a lot more than Apple. Hell, they could have released it with DRM a few years ago.

It’s not surprising that the stock is taking a hit today. I don’t know what else is going on in the market today, but this was a bit over hyped.

The only thing that could get me back to iTunes is if they have Oh, Yoko in the collection. Otherwise, I’ll just keep watching it on YouTube.

I really don’t see how Apple over hyped this… they changed their homepage that’s about it. Other people took that and speculated that Apple was going to solve the world’s ills or something but Apple only hinted that they are going to get something big and they did… they got The Beatles.

This is a good thing for Apple. The Beatles continue to sell a lot of music. Apple stock isn’t going to take a hit because one of the most popular bands of all time is now for sale on iTunes.

I personally won’t be buying much of it, because like most older people I already have my collection ripped from a CD. But someone is obviously buying it.

So good for Apple.

Well, as some one who only technically owns one Beatles album, this is news I have been waiting for for a while.

The few songs I have from napster in the late 90s? Will be replaced over the next few months with legal iTunes copies.

I wasn’t overwhelmed by the fab four when I saw them in November 1962. Nearly 50 years later they still haven’t grown on me.

Evenso, I bought all their records, then I bought them all again on CDs. They don’t get me a third time.

FWIW, these are the remasters (though messing with Phil Spector is heresy to some, I guess), so they are different from what everyone has, but the pricing is retarded for downloads as far as I’m concerned. Making albums even more of a rip-off than before is not the way to go guys.

People still use iTunes? Amazing.

I think people are missing the point - they were and are a very important band. They were not available to download legally. Sure, people bought them “hardcopy”, but now Apple owns 90% of the download market and now they can be downloaded. Nobody < 20 would have bought a CD.

Look at the Beatles section on iTunes now - what other company would have created such “homage”. Probably down to SJ, that’s ok.

People still use iTunes? Amazing

Yes kid, the iTunes Store is still the #1 music seller, they even have music for you.

I think people are missing the point - they were and are a very important band.

Couldn’t agree more with that. Even if you don’t like The Beatles per se, you can bet that the bands you are a fan of have been directly or indirectly influenced by them. They were/are legendary for damn good reasons. Still think the pricing is too expensive though.

Sorry for the double post, but this bears repeating:

Best selling album 2000-09: The Beatles, 1

Rank of Beatles in total album sales 2000-2009: 2 (after Eminem)

Sales of the Beatles’ remastered CDs last year: 2.25 million in the first 5 days (only counting US, UK, and Japan)

I’m sure people were saying “Everyone who wants the Beatles already bought it” in 2000, too.

149 dollars for discography which everybody can free download from the Internet! That’s just curious. My grandfather’s vinyl LPs with Beatles cost less.

You can get a $149 iPod for free, too! Just walk in to your local electronics retailer, smash, and grab.

Even if you don’t like The Beatles per se, you can bet that the bands you are a fan of have been directly or indirectly influenced by them.

Considering the Beatles pretty much invented the idea of a two guitars, bass, and drums band that writes their own music, that’s an understatement.

@dhp

Very much agreed, some of those songs still sound so very current. Along with The Kinks, I think they pretty much nailed it for all time in some ways. And all snarkiness aside, if you haven’t heard the remasters, they really are worth it. You may already be aware, but there were a couple of remastered tracks on the Anthology collections, and they stand in stark contrast to the other stuff. They sound amazing, whatever format one chooses to listen to.

See today’s Joy of Tech comic