Beatles Fixing a Hole that let piracy reign: End of royalty dispute may equal digital gold
By Courtney Lear

Beatles issue digital ticket to ride

HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 4/12/07 – Sgt. Peppers Digital Hearts Club may finally be coming to Beatles fans waiting to download cuts from the world’s most popular band.

Legal downloads that is. The Fab Four are the most pirated bands on the internet as well, largely because lawsuits and label wrangling resulted in a huge buccaneer market for their recordings.

Now, after 18 months of legal battles over the Beatles’ catalogue the band’s label, Apple Corps, has agreed to accept $59 million in unpaid royalties from record label EMI.

The long-awaited deal is emblematic of the recording industry’s problems in the digital age. Piracy became the norm for music fans as labels argued for a decade on how to cut up the pie. A whole generation of fans was just not interested in waiting for industry consensus or a thousand lawsuits like this one and simply took what they could not easily buy.

Sir Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and the widows of John Lennon and George Harrison took legal action in 2005, claiming money from albums released through EMI.

The multimillion-dollar settlement ends the stalemate between Apple Corps and EMI, opening the possibility that legal digital downloads of the Beatles’ music may be just around the corner.

EMI would not disclose details of the settlement, which was reached last month. An EMI spokesperson told Billboard.com, “I can confirm that we have reached a mutually acceptable settlement and that we are not going to say anything more than that.”

There has been nothing definite revealed about the music’s digital availability. EMI simply stated last week that it was still in discussions with Apple Corps about the possibility of online sales.

The quartet’s timeless tunes have become the stuff of legend, still translating in the music world today. A tribute recording is currently in the works to mark the anniversary of their “Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” featuring Oasis, The Killers, James Morrison and the Kaiser Chiefs among others. It will be aired on BBC Radio on June 2, the day after the anniversary.

The album, released in 1967, has been regarded as one of the best and most influential in rock history.