Apple’s iTunes music store still doesn’t have the Beatles, but it now has John Lennon.
The company announced Tuesday that it is adding 16 of Lennon’s records, representing the lion’s share of the singer’s oeuvre, to iTunes, including albums such as “John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band” and “Some Time in New York City.” iTunes also will sell several of Lennon’s music videos.
Apple will be offering two versions of Lennon’s songs, one encoded with copy protection software for 99 cents each and one without the software and with higher fidelity sound at $1.29 each.
EMI, Lennon’s record label, had made much of his catalog available through other digital music sites. However, two albums – “Lennon Legend” and “Acoustic” – will be available for the first time through iTunes.
Although Apple offers more than 5 million songs through iTunes, the Beatles catalog has been one of the major missing pieces. The company was engaged in legal battles off and on with the Beatles record label Apple Corps for some 30 years largely concerning the computer company’s efforts to sell music or music-related software. Apple Corps accused Apple of infringing on its trademarks.
But the two companies resolved their dispute in February, with the computer company ending up owning the rights to the Apple name and logo.
With the legal tangling over, many expect the Beatles catalog to appear on iTunes, which is the biggest digital music store.
Already, Apple seemed to be taking steps in that direction. Recently, it began offering the full solo catalog of Lennon’s former band mate Paul McCartney, and it allowed pre-orders of McCartney’s latest album, “Memory Almost Full,” which debuted in June.
