EMI Discredits Press Release On Beatles Downloads

Mac communities were certain of it. Anti-Mac communities figured it would happen, too. Beatles fans anticipated. And then there were those that did not care. That last bunch made out pretty well considering the latest news on the Beatles-iTunes front: it's apparently not to be. At least not yet.

The record label holding the Beatles’ back catalogue (EMI) decided to finally get the rumor mill off its back, stating that digital downloads of the songs from throughout the Fab Four’s history weren’t going to be released just yet, and made no allusions as to what future slot would be the big day of release.

For a long while, EMI chose not to let out a peep about any plans to dole out copies to online services around the world, but after UK download site Wippit decided to spill untruths that “it would be the first to sell the songs,” EMI had to speak up. Or speak down. Whichever phrasing you think is more fitting.

Is anyone suspicious that EMI may be silently strong-arming iTunes and the rest of the still young online music industry? It makes sense. The Beatles catalogue is one of the most lucrative in all of popular music history. And it’s no secret that Apple wants to be the first out of the gate with the complete set of albums, b-sides, singles, etc. If EMI is to budge and deliver the goods, it may first want Steve Jobs rethink the $99-cent price plan. Otherwise, no John, Paul, George, and Ringo for you, Apple.

If that’s the case, well played, EMI. Well played. Except, it’s hard to believe that premise even as we ponder it. If Apple wished to get the Beatles no matter the cost, would they not already have caved and loosened the self-enforced pricing restriction? There would be no reason to wait ‘til now to make that leap, especially after Mr CEO of the Century (A sarcastic exaggeration. Don’t leave hateful comment, whatever side of the line you may stand on.) made that calculated public appeal to the record companies to do away with DRM and let the public play freely, as they’ve done time and again since media became personally consumable.

So the Beatles will have to stay out of reach of digital downloaders’ cursors for some time longer. Some will certainly get very agitated at both Wippit and EMI. The first for issuing an unwarranted press release, which woke the monster it alleged to have made a deal with; the second for dashing folks’ hope, however short lived it was. Of course, no word on when EMI will catch on that a prolonged delay of Net-wide release of a catalogue in MP3 or ACC or whateveryouwish format doesn’t make demand rise. It’s just making lots of people more and more disinterested. So much so that they’re turning to – yikes! – CDs for their listening pleasure. Oh the humanity.