W ith Rhapsodyis two week exclusive deal with the Rolling Stones over, some 18 albums from The Rolling Stones have been quietly added to Appleis iTunes Music Store (iTMS). Two weeks ago, The Stones and RealNetworksi Rhapsody music download service announced a two week exclusive for The Stones entire catalog. That included music controlled by both The Stones and their original recording label, neo-luddite Alan Kleinis label, ABKCO. The former includes everything released after 1971, while ABKCO owns The Stonesi pre-1971 releases. The exclusive deal expired at the end of August.
Yesterday, Appleis iTMS added 18 Stones albums from the post-1971 period, including Black and Blue, Exile on Main Street, Goats Head Soup, Emotional Rescue, Some Girls, Sticky Fingers, and Tatoo You. Alan Kleinis ABKCO has been loathe to allow any downloads of his catalog, fearing the whacky concept of the Internet, and those tracks, including such hits as "Satisfaction," "Under My Thumb," and others from the 60s, are not included at the iTMS. At the same time, Mr. Kleinis Stones tunes are only available for streaming at Rhapsody, and were not included in the downloadable songs announced in August.
Apple did not issue a press release for the addition of the Stones, but the marquee rotation at the iTMS currently features a Stones collage (also featured is The Risingis Live at The Apple Store). Apple also hyped the addition in its New Music Tuesdays e-mail. Curiously, the Stones are not listed in the text listing of this weekis new releases in the Just Added section of the iTMS, though two of the groupis albums are listed in iconic form.
Emotional Rescue, the Stones very popular disco album, as well as the popular Sticky Fingers, made Todayis Top Albums list (#17 and #16, respectively).