Christmas may come early this year for fans of The Beatles. Billboard spoke with unnamed sources who said the wheels are in motion to bring The Fab Four into the streaming age. The sources couldn’t come together on an exact date, but signs point to the Beatles’ catalog arriving online by Dec. 24.
This hard day’s night of negotiations would see the lads from Liverpool arriving on interactive, on-demand services. The non-interactive platforms such as Pandora and iHeartRadio have their music in rotation already thanks to the different licensing rules for online radio. Representatives from Spotify and Rhapsody gave no reply on the potential Beatles breakthrough, but Billboard’s reporters put forward that the deal could likely be for most or all interactive services.
We’re not ready to twist and shout just yet, because this rumor has made the rounds before. For instance, there was some effort to secure an exclusive deal back in 2014. But we’ll find out whether soon enough if this is the end of that long and winding road.
How much impact could The Beatles have on the contemporary streaming scene? Now we don’t want to spoil the party for you fans, but there are still many artists saying, “You never give me your money” to Spotify and the others. And the critics argue that streaming services are fixing a hole that’s still calling for help. So they ask: how could this band of hold-outs be the ticket to ride for drawing young listeners from here, there, and everywhere? Well this reporter thinks those fools on the hill can get back. You won’t see me missing a day in the life when I can listen to the Beatles while I surf the web or drive my car. Because all you need is love and some great tunes that stand the test of time. The end.