Search for a Beatles hit on any on-demand streaming service and you’ll be served up covers by established and not-so-established artists together with efforts by a slew of tribute bands with names like The New Beatles, Re Beatles, and just so no one’s in any doubt about exactly what it is they do, The Beatles Tribute Band.
What you won’t find are The Beatles.
However, after years of rejecting the overtures of music streaming services, it looks as if the Fab Four (that’s The Beatles, not another tribute band) and its sizable song catalog are to finally show up on streaming sites on Christmas Eve, according to Billboard.
It’s not known which specific service or services have finally secured the deal, though Billboard’s unnamed sources “strongly suggest that most, if not all” streaming sites — Spotify and Apple Music among them – will begin offering the band’s catalog of 10+ studio albums, and other work, from Thursday.
Reports last year suggested The Beatles’ Apple Records label was in talks with a single streaming services with an eye on an exclusive six-month deal, though judging by this most recent report, that’s come to nothing.
While it’s safe to assume surviving members Paul and Ringo don’t need the extra income, having the Beatles’ songs finally available via streaming sites is sure to please plenty of music fans and should introduce the band’s work to a whole new generation of listeners.
The Beatles, or those in control its fortunes, have been famously slow in embracing new technology. It took a good five years for its catalog to make it to CD, and around six to show up on iTunes.
But having finally come around to the idea, the work of one of the most iconic bands in music history now looks set to come to streaming services, great news for fans keen to choose from more than just a bunch of covers (of varying quality) from tribute bands. Though not such good news for the tribute bands.
