Report: Google, Amazon Wanted Beatles Downloads

iTunes Offered The Best Deal

Was iTUNES the only online company that wanted to bring THE BEATLES to the world of downloaded music? No, says a report in TODAY's (11/17) NEW YORK POST, which reports "GOOGLE and AMAZON were also pitching to secure THE BEATLES rights for their own digital music stores, according to industry sources. In the end, APPLE's iTUNES, which remains the dominant digital music store, offered THE BEATLES the best deal despite the previous bad blood between the two entities, sources said."

EMI CEO ROGER FAXON was reportedly the point person, talking personally with APPLE CORPS LTD. to break a seven-year logjam over the digital rights of THE FAB FOUR. APPLE CORPS is the company run by PAUL MCCARTNEY, RINGO STARR, YOKO ONO and OLIVIA HARRISON.

The deal was made and announced YESTERDAY (NET NEWS 11/16). What remains to be seen is the extent of which the pact helps EMI dig out of its debt problems.

So how much money could this deal bring in for EMI? "According to several sources, APPLE made no up-front payment to EMI as part of the deal," writes THE POST. "Although the financial terms weren't disclosed, APPLE typically gets a 30-cent cut of every $1.29 download. That would leave 99 cents for EMI, which in turn has to give a piece to publishing partners and royalty holders."

« see more Net News