Alle News zum Sony/ATV Music Publishing-Katalog

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Zitat von Screamlouder

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Sony/ATV Plants a Tree in The Orchard

Monday, Aug. 04, 2008

Iconic Sony Tree Productions Catalogue and All Sony/ATV Owned Master Recordings Go to The Orchard for Digital Distribution, Creative Licensing & Brand Entertainment

LONDON — In a groundbreaking deal announced today, The Orchard, a global leader in digital music and entertainment, has secured marketing and digital distribution rights to all Sony/ATV Music Publishing owned master recordings, including recordings owned by Sony/ATV's worldwide affiliates covering Europe, Asia, Australia, Japan and South Africa. The worldwide deal, which excludes North America, was made with Sony/ATV Music Publishing International in London and also includes representation rights for creative licensing in film, television and advertising and brand entertainment opportunities.

Commenting on the deal, Guy Henderson, Senior Vice President of Sony/ATV Music Publishing International said, "We are very excited at the prospect of working with The Orchard team to market and sell our master recordings digitally to all parts of the globe. In this new world where music companies are expected to handle all facets of the business, this deal not only provides an opportunity for new income streams for our more established writers, but opportunities for our up and coming songwriters as well".

Sony/ATV will initially deliver The Orchard hundreds of albums by major country and R&B artists from the renowned Sony Tree Productions, Masters International and Hickory catalogues, which feature the historic labels Dial Records, Four Star, Hickory and Challenge Records.

The Tree Productions/Dial recordings include the original Joe Tex hits, "Hold What You've Got," "I Gotcha," "Papa Was Too," "Show Me," and original masters and re-recordings of chart-toppers by artists including Merle Haggard, Conway Twitty, Roger Miller, Lee Greenwood, Brenda Lee, Willie Nelson, Little Richard and many others.

The Masters International catalogue spans two decades of hits by artists including Patsy Cline, The Champs, The Knickerbockers and Jerry Wallace, who were originally released on the Four Star and Challenge Records labels. Uniquely, the catalogue includes archive spoken word recordings of John F. Kennedy. The Hickory Records and Hickory/ 16th Ave. recordings feature artists such as The Newbeats, Sue Thompson, Don Gibson, Roy Acuff, Bob Luman, Charlie Pride and Don Everly.

In addition to the major artist hits in the Sony/ATV catalogues, the deal is expected to market recordings by new songwriters, as well as unearth "hidden" and previously unreleased "gems" from both international and important local artists from around the world, who have variously recorded masters during the term of their publishing agreements with Sony/ATV and its affiliate companies.

"Sony/ATV selecting The Orchard is an accolade for us, and we will support them with the full breadth of our services offerings - from marketing and promoting to drive digital sales; to placing masters for use in film, TV and commercials; to new and exciting revenue streams from our burgeoning brand entertainment group," said Greg Scholl, President and CEO of The Orchard. "Our regional offices around the world will combine with Sony/ATV's affiliates to innovate and create value for this treasure trove of diverse and rare recordings in the digital realm."

About Sony/ATV Music Publishing

Sony/ATV Music Publishing was established in 1995 as a joint venture between Sony and trusts formed by Michael Jackson. Sony/ATV Music Publishing owns or administers over 600,000 copyrights by such artists as The Beatles, Beck, Brooks & Dunn, Leonard Cohen, Neil Diamond, Bob Dylan, The Everly Brothers, Fall Out Boy, Jimi Hendrix, Billy Mann, Joni Mitchell, Graham Nash, Willie Nelson, Roy Orbison, Richie Sambora, Stephen Stills, KT Tunstall, John Mayer, Akon and Diane Warren, among others. Sony/ATV recently acquired both the Leiber Stoller and Famous catalogues. It is not part of the Sony BMG Music Entertainment venture.

About The Orchard(R)

The Orchard (NASDAQ: ORCD) controls and globally distributes more than 1.1 million songs and over 3,000 hours of video programming through hundreds of digital stores (e.g. iTunes, eMusic, Google, Netflix, V CAST) and mobile carriers (e.g. Verizon Wireless, Vodafone, Bell Canada, Moderati, 3). With operation in 27 countries, The Orchard drives sales for its label, retailer, brand, and agency clients through innovative marketing and promotional campaigns; brand entertainment programs; and film, advertising, gaming and television licensing. A pioneer in digital music and media services, The Orchard fosters creativity and independence. For more information, please visit us at Welcome To The Orchard!.

The Orchard is a registered trademark and The Orchard logo is a service mark of Orchard Enterprises NY, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Forward Looking Statements

This release may contain certain forward-looking statements regarding The Orchard's expectations regarding future events and operating performance within the meaning of Federal Securities laws that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties and involve factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or suggested. Factors that could cause actual results to differ include, but are not limited to, the ability of The Orchard to distribute certain products and artist recordings. Undue reliance should not be placed on such forward-looking statements as they speak only as of the date hereof, and The Orchard undertakes no obligation to update these statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances except as may be required by law. Additional factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or suggested in any forward-looking statements are contained in The Orchard's most recent periodic reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q that are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

State College Business | Centre Daily

Sony/ATV Signs Middle East Licensing Deal

August 19, 2008
By Andre Paine, London

Sony/ATV Music Publishing has made a license agreement with Rontana Audiovisual, a leading producer, distributor and publisher of Arabic music and film. The deal covers the Middle East and gives Rotana's publishing arm the right to license and collect for Sony/ATV across the region.

"We are very excited to be working with Rotana in the Middle East and we applaud Rotana's efforts in opening up new, legitimate markets for our songwriters," says senior VP Sony/ATV Music Publishing International Guy Henderson in a statement. "With Sony ATV's global reach and its desire to find and develop new opportunities for its writers, we see this agreement with Rotana as a natural progression for our worldwide business plan."

As well as having 120 local artists on its recorded music and publishing roster, Rotana has a track record of licensing Media networks including radio and television conglomerates. The Company's film division has the license for Fox releases. Rotana is also attempting to expand in digital exploitation and synchronization.

Source; billboard.biz

Sony/ATV Signs Johnta Austin

August 21, 2008 - RB Hip-Hop | Publishing
By Gail Mitchell, L.A.

Sony/ATV Music Publishing has signed Grammy Award-winning songwriter Johnta Austin. The long-term, worldwide publishing agreement - covering his future ouput - becomes effective in October. Austin had spent the last 13 years with Chrysalis Music Publishing, which signed him at the age of 15. During his career, Austin has co-written seven top 20 hits.

"Topline writers like Johnta don't come along a lot anymore," says Jody Gerson, co-president of Sony/ATV. "Whereas today you can have five or six people writing a hit song, he can write a hit song on his own. Having worked with Mariah Carey and Mary J. Blige, among others, he's looking to branch out and do other things, including film and TV. And we want to do those with him."

During his career, Austin has co-written seven top 20 hits. Those include Carey's "We Belong Together" and Blige's "Be Without You." Both songs earned Austin a Grammy for best R&B song. Named ASCAP's pop songwriter of the year in 2007, Austin has written for such artists as Usher, Leona Lewis and Chris Brown.

"I'm definitely motivated about expanding into uncharted waters," says Austin. "Whether it's a TV theme, a song for a major movie or a country song for Kenny Chesney, I want to be a part of it."

Austin joins a Sony/ATV urban roster that includes Akon, Rick Ross, The Game, Flo Rida and Midi Mafia.

Sony/ATV Signs Johnta Austin

hä ? ich dachte Akon sei bei Universal ??!!? oder steh ich aufm schlauch ?

Now there are four: EMI joins MySpace Music on eve of its launch

On the eve of the launch of its new music site, MySpace said today that EMI Group, which counts the British band Coldplay (pictured above) among its jewels, is now part of the joint venture that already includes the other three top recording companies.

EMI was the missing link for the venture, which came out of a negotiation between MySpace and the recording industry over copyright infringement on the News Corp. social network. The music service, which will be available tonight at MySpace.com - music - 100 - Male - Beverly Hills, California - www.myspace.com/music, will include full songs streamed for free and personalized music management services. Through the service, which is powered by Amazon.com, MySpace users will be able to buy music downloads and ringtones as well.

As we noted last week, the service plays a crucial role in MySpace's future.
EMI confirmed that it reached an agreement for its music to join MySpace Music, although it will probably take a while to appear.

Another crucial piece added at the last minute: Sony ATV Music Publishing, a joint venture between Sony Corp. and Michael Jackson that oversees the copyrights on 600,000 songs.

I spoke to Martin Bandier, Sony ATV's chief executive, who said his company had to decide whether to join the venture or seek legal action against MySpace and News Corp. over alleged past copyright infringement on the site.

"This is about the future and not about the past," he said. "We didn’t want to get caught up in the technicalities of the past.... We didn’t want to be the stick in the mud stopping a social network from launching or moving."

Now there are four: EMI joins MySpace Music on eve of its launch* | Technology | Los Angeles Times

"Sony/ATV Signs Wayne Wilkins To Worldwide Deal"

Wilkins recent songwriting forays include work on Michelle Williams' just-released "Unexpected" album and Beyonce's upcoming third solo album.

Wilkins is also working with the Black Eyed Peas, David Archuleta, Girlicious and Universal Motown's new girl group Jada. He is also starting to write for Natasha Bedingfield's third album.

"Sony/ATV is at the stage where it's being built into a much bigger entity," says Wilkins, "and I want to be a part of that."

Billboard.biz - Music Business - Billboard Charts - Album Sales - Concert Tours

Beatles music to be in new video game

November 6, 2008

NEW YORK — The Beatles are coming to a game console near you.

For the first time, the legendary group's music will be featured in the lucrative video game market in a deal with MTV Games and Harmonix, creators of the “Rock Band” series. The game is scheduled to make its debut in time for next year's holiday season.

“The project is a fun idea which broadens the appeal of The Beatles and their music. I like people having the opportunity to get to know the music from the inside out,” Paul McCartney said in a statement.

The game will not be titled “Rock Band,” but will work with the existing instruments — a guitar, drums and microphone.

Game developers also plan to introduce a keyboard, which would be a first in the music game market.

“That is the plan,” said Marty Bandier, chief executive of Sony/ATV, a joint venture between Sony Corp. and trusts benefiting Michael Jackson, which own the copyright on Beatles songs by John Lennon and McCartney.

Beatles music to be in new video game | theithacajournal.com | The Ithaca Journal

Sony/ATV In Deal For Estefano Works

Sony/ATV Music Publishing has purchase the catalog of Colombian singer/songwriter/producer Estefano.

The deal includes all songs from Estefano's THREE publishing companies: Blue Platinum Publishing, World Deep Music Publishing and Polydharma. Estefano has written hits for Gloria Estafan, Jon Secada, Shakira, Chayanne, Paulina Rubio, Thalia, Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez, among many others.

Although Sony would not disclose the amount paid to Estefano, sources in the industry calculate it would be a least several million dollars, given the depth of the catalog.

Source: Billboard.biz - Music Business - Billboard Charts - Album Sales - Concert Tours

Get Lit: Beatles for Sale by John Blaney

Tue Dec 02, 2008 at 08:02:15 AM

Another Beatles book? Doesn't the world already know everything it possibly can about the Fab Four, from the nickname of their favorite Hamburg pill dealer to the mustache style of the cab driver who took George through the streets of Rishikesh?

Well... no. And as long as interest in the band continues to flower - and pass along to new generations - Ye Olde Beatles Bookshelf will continue to groan under the accumulated weight of its tomes. Beatles for Sale, though, is the first one to make a comprehensive study of the group through the prism of its finances. Publishing, record contracts, Apple, Inc., merchandising, management, movies and even their fan club are studied with an accountant's eye.

The result is actually not dry and pretty fascinating - mostly how the biggest group in the world, before or since, made blunders that even today's MySpace minions wouldn't fall for. You never give me your money? Not unless it's in the contract, baby.

Rocks Off spoke with Beatles for Sale author and all-around Fabs expert John Blaney (Lennon and McCartney: Together Alone - A Critical Discography of Their Solo Work) about a wide range of money matters that would make a Liverpool taxman orgasm with delight.

RO: Epstein also signed away a shocking 90 percent of the Beatles' merchandising sales to the Seltaeb company. Is this his biggest blunder?

JB: It sounds like a massive blunder, but the real shocker is the fact that Lennon and McCartney ended up losing the rights to their own songs. The last time Sony/ATV, which owns Northern Songs, was valued, it was said to be worth $30 billion!

What they lost in merchandising is peanuts compared to what they lost in royalties when they lost control of Northern Songs. The merchandising bubble would have only lasted a few years at best, but the royalties from songwriting will keep pouring in for as long as their music lasts. And it looks like that is going to be a long time.

Der komplette Artikel:

Hot topic $30 Billion!! ...a 2Dec08 article says that Sony/ATV was recently valued at $30 bil - MJJCOMMUNITY - OFFICIAL FORUM

Zitat von Streetwalker

diese Rechte an den Songs existieren meines Wissens aber lediglich für eine bestimmte, festgelegte Anzahl an Jahren.

Das ist je nach Land unterschiedlich. Verschiedene Länder haben sehr verschiedene Copyright Gesetze.

Zitat

30 Milliarden ist sicherlich zu hoch.

Deine Meinung basiert auf... ?

Was mich immer tierisch nervt ist diese Aussage, dass Lennon und McCartney ihre Songrechte "verloren" hätten. Das ist Schwachsinn.
Sie haben viel Geld verdient und haben ihre Songrechte verkauft, um sehr große steuerliche Vorteile zu bekommen bzw. um gewisse Steuern nicht zahlen zu müssen. Sie hatten die Wahl und haben ihre Entscheidung getroffen und mit den Konsequenzen leben.
Ich glaube, die haben auch ganz gut damit und davon gelebt. Und Macca hat es als reichstem Musiker Europas (wenn nicht der ganzen Welt) auch keinen all zu großen Schaden verursacht.

Sony/ATV, Linda Perry Renew Deal

February 10, 2009 - Publishing
By Ed Christman, N.Y.

Sony/ATV Music Publishing has renewed a worldwide co-publishing deal to administer the catalogue of songwriter/producer Linda Perry. Moreover, Sony/ATV will administer on a worldwide basis all songwriters signed to Perry's newly formed publishing company, Coldwater Music Publishing.

"Linda Perry is truly one of the best songwriting and producing talents in the world today," Sony/ATV chairman/CEO Martin Bandier said in a statement. "As one of Sony/ATV's premiere writers and producers, we are thrilled to extend our relationship with Linda and her publishing company for many years to come. Her incredible musical talent, as evidenced in her impressive track record of writing and producing hits, places her in a class by herself."

Perry-whose creative contact at Sony/ATV is co-president Jody Gerson- has penned and produced numerous hits for Christina Aguilera, Alicia Keys, Faith Hill, Gwen Stefani, Celine Dion and Pink.

Perry, the former singer/songwriter with 4 Non-Blondes, recently has been back in the studio with Aguilera, having recently completed the single, "Keeps Gettin' Better" for the latter's greatest hits package and also is working on the singer's latest album, which marks their fourth album collaboration.

Perry, who is managed by Katrina Sirdofsky for Rebel Management, runs her own record label, Custard, which includes James Blunt on its roster. Perry produced the song, "No Bravery" on the 10-million worldwide selling "Back to Bedlam." Among her accolades are ASCAP awards for Pink's "Get The Party Started," which received a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Vocal Performance, and Christina Aguilera's "Hurt" and "Beautiful," the latter receiving three Grammy nominations, including "Song of the Year."

"I am thrilled to be a part of the Sony/ATV family and look forward to a successful union," Perry said in a statement, "Marty Bandier, Jody Gerson and their team's track record speaks for itself."

Sony/ATV, Linda Perry Renew Deal

Sony/ATV acquires Extreme Music licence for South Africa

Sony ATV Music Publishing has acquired the exclusive licence for the US-based Extreme Music library, effective 1 January 1 2009. "We are thrilled to be representing Extreme in South Africa," says Sony ATV Music Publishing MD Jay Savage.

"The Extreme Music library is one of the most used and highly respected in the world and we want to assure production music users in South Africa that the library is open for use across the broadest range of areas."

Music from the library is used in television shows, television commercials, radio commercials, corporate videos, online content and more. The library contains works from the likes of Quincy Jones who has also put together a Black American Music Anthology for Extreme.

In its Director's Cut library, Extreme features the work of award-winning film score composer Hans Zimmer, as well as a host of other composers covering every conceivable film genre, from action to thriller. The X-Series delivers great choice to production music users - everything from "Acid Breaks" to "Zombie Hip-Hop" is available and a whole lot more in between (including World Music and Africa Beatz).

Finger on the pulse

"Extreme is a great library to work with for all these reasons - and more," says Savage. "The library is able to deliver to just about every conceivable need and that makes it the first choice for many users of production music."

Licensing of the Extreme Music Library is done through NORM (National Organisation for Reproduction Rights in Music in southern Africa), while the Johannesburg-based Sony ATV Music Publishing South Africa handles customer service directly.

Sony ATV also handles other production music libraries including African Soundscape (Phillip Miller), Mid Tempo Jams Vol. 1 (Terry Pinana, DJ Bionic, Adam Howard), African Bites & Stings (Neil Solomon, Joe Nina, DJ Bionic), and It's called Kwaito (Terry Pinana, DJ Bionic, Gemini).

Sony ATV acquires Extreme Music licence for SA

Interview Sony/ATV Chairman Martin Bandier

STRIKE UP THE BANDIER

10 Questions for the Sony/ATV Chairman

February 20, 2009

Music publishing veteran Martin Bandier, who spent many years as head of EMI Music Publishing, has remade Sony/ATV in his image with an aggressive approach that has yielded a star-studded roster featuring Taylor Swift, Jonas Brothers, Lady GaGa, Akon, Sara Bareilles, John Mayer, Shakira, Fall Out Boy, Wyclef, Flo Rida, Kenny Chesney, Rascal Flatts, RedOne and Colby O’Donis, not to mention a little group known as the Beatles. HITS’ Roy Trakin provides the questions, blowing some smoke for the Man with the Cigar.

With the digitization of music, it seems better to be a music publisher than a record label these days.

It’s a road I first chose 30 years ago. Music publishing has a host of revenue streams that the recorded music business may have, but aren’t used to dealing with. Now they’re suddenly in my business, which is about pennies. Every time a song is performed on radio, TV, in a bar, a restaurant or a concert venue, we get paid, along with the authors and composers. This is an area that grows significantly every year, while the mechanical revenue, from physical sales, is shrinking. Music publishing business is a better place to be right now, but we try not to tell too many people because everyone wants to be in it.

Will music publishers end up profiting from online downloads and streams as much as physical product?

Of course, to the same extent that record companies will. Here in the U.S., we finally have some fixed digital rates that everyone knows will be in existence over the next five years. We get 9¼ cents for each digital download sold, no matter what the retail price is. We decided to go with a standard pricing rather than a percentage. Digital sales as well as ringtones are a substantial portion of our revenue. We just don’t spend a great deal of money on marketing and promotion.

With Hickory Records, you’ve started a label. Will music publishers continue to get more involved in artist development?

We’re doing it because we recognize plenty of opportunities for us to distribute records through companies like RED. We were very successful with Elliott Yamin. We sold nearly 700k albums. We’re now about to work with Ruben Studdard. We have to pick and choose the artists we want to be involved with. It’s all about someone who’s recognized and can sing great songs. We don’t need to sell millions of albums because we own all the songs. It’s a win-win for us as well as the artist. The deal model makes them a full partner. We split the profits after recouping.

How has the physical sales downturn affected your business?

One of our main sources of income, the mechanical royalty, went from being over 60% of our revenue to slightly above 30%. At the same time, we’ve grown our business double-digits over the past two years.

It seems sync licensing revenue for film, TV, videogame, cellphone and commercial use is increasing.

They could be profit centers for record companies, too, but they’re just not used to dealing in these areas. That’s been my #1 priority since the day I got into this business. You don’t need to rely on marketing or promotion. You can do it yourself by pitching the ad agencies, the film and TV music supervisors and, of course, the videogame companies.

You’ve made a deal with MTV for a Beatles Rock Band.

Hopefully, that will be out in the fall of ’09. It’s an enormous opportunity for anyone with an imagination to package a longstanding group. We think it will be the most successful music videogame project to date.

When will the Beatles catalog be available on iTunes?

I’m not sure there are any conversations even going on now. I can’t put my finger on the reason why EMI and Apple Corp. haven’t come to terms, but it doesn’t make any sense. I’m hoping they come to an agreement, because clearly EMI needs this like they need oxygen. Even I don’t understand why it hasn’t been done yet.

You own the Leonard Cohen catalog, which is paying some major dividends right now with the various hit covers of “Hallelujah.”

When you have a song like this, it transcends generations and genres. Whether I owned his catalog or not, I would love “Hallelujah.” I love Leonard Cohen’s version. I love Jeff Buckley’s version. And I love the X Factor version. What’s impressive is Simon Cowell’s ability to recognize a song like this.

A great song is a great song, no matter what the delivery system.

That’s right. And they’re hard to come by. I’ve always had an ability to hear a song and recognize that it’s special, different from what you hear on the radio... It has a unique quality. And that’s been part of the success of this company. We’ve gone out and chased after the ones we think are really special, the people who write great songs that are trans-generational.

How involved is Michael Jackson in the running of the company? Any plans to buy him out?

He’s a big fan. Very supportive, but he’s not involved in the management at all. He gets all the reverence and respect that he deserves. He’s a darn good publisher. He recognizes great songs. At this point, we are one happy family. It’s amazing what success can do.

© 2009 HITS Magazine Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Universal sichert sich Rechte des Hendrix-Katalogs

Die Universal Music Publishing Group löst Sony/ATV als Administrator der Verlagsrechte von Jimi Hendrix ab. Ein neuer, auf fünf Jahre ausgelegter Vertrag erlaubt Universal die Rechteauswertung weltweit außerhalb der USA.

Quelle: www.mediabiz.de - das topaktuelle Businessportal für die komplette Entertainmentbranche

Sony/ATV Nashville signs Keith Stegall to multi-year publishing agreement

By Wendy Lee • THE TENNESSEAN • March 23, 2009

Sony/ATV Nashville, the world's largest publisher of country music, signed songwriter and producer Keith Stegall to a multi-year publishing agreement.

Stegall has nine number one singles to his credit as a writer and has had 42 number one singles as a producer, most recently "Chicken Fried" by the Zac Brown Band.

"Keith is a true music person. He excels at whatever he sets his mind to, from writing to producing to discovering new talent," said Troy Tomlinson, Sony/ATV Nashville's president and CEO. "We are proud to have an opportunity to work with him."

Stegall was raised in Shreveport-Bossier area of Louisiana. He currently is in the studio with a new group called The Harters and is working on Clay Walker's follow-up album, among other projects.

Sony/ATV Nashville signs Keith Stegall to multi-year publishing agreement | www.tennessean.com | The Tennessean

Extreme Music Inks Deal With Rodney Jerkins (Darkchild)

By Ed Christman, N.Y.

Extreme Music, the worldwide production music library unit of Sony/ATV Music Publishing, has signed songwriter/producer/musician Rodney Jerkins to be an executive producer of nine albums within an 18-month period. The initial three albums are planned for the second quarter of this year.

Jerkins, who recently co-founded music-based social network Music Mogul, has many credits, including Beyonce, Mary J. Blige, Madonna, Whitney Houston, Britney Spears, Keyshia Cole, Jennifer Lopez, Michael Jackson, Ludacris, Jamie Foxx, Black Eyed Peas, Janet Jackson, Destiny's Child, Gwen Stefani and Will Smith, among others.

He is also represented on Spears' new platinum album "Circus," and is working on P. Diddy's forthcoming release, "Last Train To Paris."

Jenkins, the CEO of Darkchild Productions, Inc, has been been associated with records that have sold more than 160 million copies, according to a news release on the announcement.

In addition, Jerkins is the executive music consultant for the film and the motion picture soundtrack for "Confessions of a Shopaholic." He has also contributed to numerous other movie soundtracks, including "Honey," "Scary Movie 3," "Blue Streak," "My Baby's Daddy," and "Rush Hour" and "Rush Hour 2."

Extreme, headquartered in the United Kingdom, has worked with many major networks, studios, ad agencies and production companies. It also has a long list of hit movies, television shows and television commercials to its credits.

jazz hit music billboard yard at billboardbiz.com

Beatles get back to making money

NEARLY 40 years after they broke up, the Beatles are once again coming to the rescue of their record label. And, incidentally, Michael Jackson.

The troubled EMI group, struggling in the hands of private equity funds for the past three years, has announced that the full Beatles catalogue will be released later this year in digitally remastered form for the first time.

Fans will be pleased but not as much as the accountants. If all other reissues and repackagings of the Beatles are any indication - for example, the three double-disc Anthology albums released in the mid-1990s went to No. 1 internationally; the Beatles' 1s sold 27 million copies in 2000 and the Beatles' Love sold 5 million in 2006 - this will prove a huge financial boost for EMI in the final quarter of 2009.

Another winner will be Michael Jackson, who still owns some of the Beatles' publishing rights. He had to sell half his share to Sony when his finances hit the wall a decade ago, but he has used the remaining share as collateral for his continued borrowings.

While a few Beatles albums have been remastered in some form - a stripped-back version of Let It Be was released under the name Let It Be Naked in 2003 - this is the first catalogue-wide program. All 12 studio albums recorded by the quartet and two compilations known as Past Masters have been pulled apart and reconstituted to improve sound quality and, in theory, restore the original intentions of the band and producer George Martin.

The remastering has long been demanded by Beatles fans dissatisfied with the sound and look of the cheaply put together CDs that have remained unchanged since they were first made available in 1987. Why the delay when many other lesser acts have long moved this way? The difference has always been that the Beatles are a steady seller in any format and the company has not needed to rejuvenate the sound quality to accelerate sales. And any decision about Beatles product must meet the requirements of four not always harmonious parties, the remaining Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr and the estates of John Lennon and George Harrison.

Having taken so long to get this far, Apple and EMI, aware of the depth of the Beatles fan base and their willingness to spend, are not limiting themselves to the remastered albums. Each will have new booklets and mini-documentaries with archival material, and be sold individually and in a box set. In addition, the 10 albums that were originally mixed for mono, as distinct from stereo, release will also be available in a box set. Completing the Christmas hamper will be a simultaneous release of The Beatles: Rock Band video game.

One thing not included in this year's Beatles news is the availability of the back catalogue online. After a long-running dispute between the Beatles Apple Corp and Apple Computers was settled in 2006, it was assumed that EMI would make available for downloading, probably through iTunes, all of the Beatles recordings.

However, according to EMI: "Discussions regarding the digital distribution of the catalogue will continue …"

Maybe that will be next year's Christmas bonus.

Beatles get back to making money - Music - Entertainment - theage.com.au

SEHR interessant!!!