The big Apple Computers released a statement this week that said they have settled a lawsuit with the littler Apple Corps., the business entity that owns the Beatles. Apple Corps. had recently sued Apple Computer for $59.4 million due to accounting fraud and failing to pay royalty payments. This is the latest lawsuit in a series of lawsuits that have occurred over the past 25 years. The legal battles have kept The Beatles off iTunes, but this recent agreement is promising for fans who want to purchase one of the Beatles’ 255 songs via the iTunes store.
Steve Jobs has been teasing consumers with the speculation that Beatles music would soon be available on iTunes. The most notable tease was at the 2007 Macworld conference in January, where when displaying the latest iPhone invention, Jobs played Beatles music from his phone during the demonstration.
It is clear that something is heating up between the two Apples. Apple Corps. has been stubborn long enough—it is time that they embrace the idea of putting Beatles tunes on iTunes. While the most hardcore fans have likely already downloaded their Beatles songs illegally, with a proprer marketing strategy and a digital rerelease album with extras and remastered content, it is likely that consumers will positively respond to the Beatles music beign available online. In fact, some experts even guessed that the introduction of the Beatles catalog on itunes could make from $50 million to $100 million revenue. While some consumers may be hesistant to purchase because of the frusturation of how long it took to put the Beatles catalogs online ,and others will be unwilling to replace their illegal catalogs with legal versions now that they are available, the fairweather Beatles fan will be likely to check out the Beatles albums on the iTunes once it becomes legally available. By putting the music online, both Apples will grow.
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