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The Beatles take a step closer to selling their music online
with the simultaneous release of the band's re-mastered catalogue
and the MTV video game The Beatles: Rock Band.
The Beatles collection, available from 09/09/09, is expected to
dominate the charts in key markets like the United States and
Britain, bringing a windfall to the group's label EMI Music and the
Fab Four's company Apple Corps Ltd.
Retailers who have seen physical music sales eroded over recent
years are also gearing up for queues around the block for both the
CDs and the video game, an added bonus after Michael Jackson's
death in June saw a spike in sales.
While the re-mastered catalogue, its first overhaul since 1987, is
seen appealing mainly to Beatles' fans who would appreciate subtle
variations and improvements that technology has brought, most
excitement surrounds MTV's video game.
"I think this (the game) is significant because it will enable the
music to be heard by a new generation of fans," said Gennaro
Castaldo of music and gaming retailer HMV in London.
"It just keeps the Beatles mythology growing and growing, so
that's why it is so significant."
The fact that, according to Billboard, the Beatles will soon allow
fans to buy at least some of their music in digital form as extra
downloadable content for the game, underlines how close the digital
age may be.
"I think the Beatles music soon will be available everywhere,"
Giles Martin, son of Beatles producer George and who produced the
music for the game, said at London's Abbey Road Studios where the
band recorded.
Fans of arguably the world's most successful pop band, with album
sales of more than 600 million worldwide, have waited for years to
be able to download the Beatles' coveted body of work, but have
been frustrated partly by a trademark dispute.
The new music collection comprises 12 Beatles albums in stereo,
with track listings and artwork as originally released in Britain,
and Magical Mystery Tour, which became part of the Beatles' core
catalogue when the CDs were released in 1987.
In addition, the collections Past Masters Vol. I and II are
combined as one title, making 14 titles overall.
Technological advances
Allan Rouse, who oversaw the re-mastering, said improved computer
software had allowed his team to improve the quality and sound of
the Beatles' catalogue, including through removing bad edits,
electrical clicks and sibilance.
"Obviously the only people who are going to notice those little
things are the fans, because they will know that they've gone,"
Rouse told Reuters.
"But on the other hand, for the future generation, they probably
don't want to hear things like sibilance and pop and a bad edit.
It's very close to listening to a master tape."
Another obstacle to appreciating the changes is the dominance of
iPods, he added.
"The sad fact of it is that so many people ... are going to rip
them into their computer and put them onto their iPods, so yes,
listening on an iPod you probably will find it very difficult to
tell the difference."
The game offers 45 songs from the band's catalogue, each member is
animated in detail and real crowd noise from Beatles' performances
is used.
With video game sales falling sharply in the United States, the
makers of The Beatles: Rock Band are aiming to appeal to older
consumers who have not yet experimented with the format but may be
attracted by their love of the music.
"It's becoming a family event because it's moved from the bedroom
to the front room where the whole family can play," HMV's Castaldo
said.
