Who thought I'd need a royalty/music icon ever?
Wednesday, November 17th, 2010 11:16 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
caddymanLooking at the papers this morning, it seems that the world’s problems have disappeared over night and that the only news worthy event is the announcement yesterday of their engagement by Prince William and Kate Middleton.
Well, the marriage of the heir to the throne is news, so fair enough, but eleven pages (well, nine-and-a-half, if you discount advertising) of coverage including a speculative seating arrangement at the reception? This is The Times too. Let’s not forget, either, the suspicious coincidence of the Times 2 insert being wedding themed today, or the royal engagement fold-over in the centre pages, with souvenir random photo of the happy couple.
This is the Thunderer, for God’s sake. I can only imagine the orgasms the red tops are having.
In other news, Apple and Apple Corps have finally settled their differences and years behind everyone else, The Beatles’ songs are now available for download on iTunes. Individual songs are 99p, single –remastered - albums, £10.99, with the likes of the White, Red and Blue albums costing rather more. I’m a big Beatles fan, but this is all a little over priced for product that is over 40 years old at its most recent (excluding Free As A Bird and Real Love, which I’m not sure count since they were solo Lennon demos worked over by the –then- surviving three) and close to dropping out of copyright at its oldest.
Most other retailers have responded by dropping the price of Beatles albums, apparently, so unless you only want individual songs, it’s probably vastly cheaper to buy the CDs and record them on to your iPod yourself –and have the CD as a back up to boot!).
I don’t know if Apple Corps/EMI have been canny or not; it’s always hard to tell with the Beatles since their music continues to sell well forty-odd years after they split up. The group’s recordings made a relatively late appearance in digital form, only being released on CD in 1987, and only now legally on download.
Part of me says that it is unlikely that there is any infinitely patient law abiding person out there who has failed to buy successively the LPs and singles on vinyl, cassette tape, eight track, original CD, mini disk, or recently remastered CD, but who nonetheless has been desperate to add the group’s output to their iPod and who may now heave a huge sigh of relief. The other part of me notes that the announcement of the agreement between the two Apples has prompted the bookies, William Hill to predict a Christmas top ten of entirely Beatles tracks, with Hey Jude the most likely number one in their estimation.
If you don’t think that’s likely, bear in mind that they have sold 13,000,000 albums since September 2009.
Ringo (“Peace and Love, Peace and Love. Don’t call me by my stage name”) Starr is reportedly pleased that no-one will ever ask him again when the Beatles are coming to iTunes.
Well, the marriage of the heir to the throne is news, so fair enough, but eleven pages (well, nine-and-a-half, if you discount advertising) of coverage including a speculative seating arrangement at the reception? This is The Times too. Let’s not forget, either, the suspicious coincidence of the Times 2 insert being wedding themed today, or the royal engagement fold-over in the centre pages, with souvenir random photo of the happy couple.
This is the Thunderer, for God’s sake. I can only imagine the orgasms the red tops are having.
In other news, Apple and Apple Corps have finally settled their differences and years behind everyone else, The Beatles’ songs are now available for download on iTunes. Individual songs are 99p, single –remastered - albums, £10.99, with the likes of the White, Red and Blue albums costing rather more. I’m a big Beatles fan, but this is all a little over priced for product that is over 40 years old at its most recent (excluding Free As A Bird and Real Love, which I’m not sure count since they were solo Lennon demos worked over by the –then- surviving three) and close to dropping out of copyright at its oldest.
Most other retailers have responded by dropping the price of Beatles albums, apparently, so unless you only want individual songs, it’s probably vastly cheaper to buy the CDs and record them on to your iPod yourself –and have the CD as a back up to boot!).
I don’t know if Apple Corps/EMI have been canny or not; it’s always hard to tell with the Beatles since their music continues to sell well forty-odd years after they split up. The group’s recordings made a relatively late appearance in digital form, only being released on CD in 1987, and only now legally on download.
Part of me says that it is unlikely that there is any infinitely patient law abiding person out there who has failed to buy successively the LPs and singles on vinyl, cassette tape, eight track, original CD, mini disk, or recently remastered CD, but who nonetheless has been desperate to add the group’s output to their iPod and who may now heave a huge sigh of relief. The other part of me notes that the announcement of the agreement between the two Apples has prompted the bookies, William Hill to predict a Christmas top ten of entirely Beatles tracks, with Hey Jude the most likely number one in their estimation.
If you don’t think that’s likely, bear in mind that they have sold 13,000,000 albums since September 2009.
Ringo (“Peace and Love, Peace and Love. Don’t call me by my stage name”) Starr is reportedly pleased that no-one will ever ask him again when the Beatles are coming to iTunes.
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(no subject)
Date: 2010-11-17 11:52 am (UTC)I rather liked the short letter in the Grauniad this morning - Conservative government? Tick. Cuts, job losses and attacks on benefits? Tick. Riots? Tick. Royal wedding? Tick.
Royalty is the new opium of the people?
* My words here, not Aunty Beeb's
(no subject)
Date: 2010-11-17 12:12 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-11-17 01:10 pm (UTC)Songs almost out of copyright = reason they're now available on iTunes. Got to make as much money as possible before the copyright drops.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-11-17 06:50 pm (UTC)Royal Wedding... oh yes, that royal wedding. There are times I'm glad that I do little more than keep corner of my eye on current affairs.
The Times
Date: 2010-11-17 07:58 pm (UTC)I guess The Times was never going to be my paper of choice, but my very conservative Grandpa gave up his subscription years ago after getting tired of their constant royal muck-raking. I'm guessing it was Diana related, though I don't recall exactly.