Beatles music at last comes to iTunes

By Doug Gross, CNN

Beatles complete catalogue of studio albums, box set and singles are now available at iTunes.

(CNN) -- It's been a long and winding road, this relationship between Apple and the Beatles.

But Tuesday, at long last, the Fab Four made it to iTunes.

"We're really excited to bring the Beatles' music to iTunes," Beatle Paul McCartney said in an Apple news release. "It's fantastic to see the songs we originally released on vinyl receive as much love in the digital world as they did the first time around."

The iTunes store's main page featured a host of Beatles albums for sale, beneath an early photo of the supergroup.

The update came in advance of what Apple had promised would be a 10 a.m. ET announcement that would make Tuesday, "A day to remember."

Starting Tuesday, iTunes users can buy the Beatles 13 remastered studio albums from the Apple store.

Also available are the two-volume "Past Masters" compilation and the group's "Red" and "Blue" collections.

Fans can also purchase individual songs and a digital box set featuring live concert film -- an iTunes exclusive, according to the release.

The Beatles had famously been the most high-profile hold-out to making their music available via digital download (AC/DC is another).

Things you didn't know about the Beatles.

The surviving band members and the estates of the others had been reluctant to sign up, saying that the quality of digital music isn't good enough to do their catalogue justice.

That being the case, the past few years had seen rumor after rumor that the Beatles were finally going to arrive on iTunes.

"I am particularly glad to no longer be asked when the Beatles are coming to iTunes," said Ringo Starr. "At last, if you want it -- you can get it now -- The Beatles from Liverpool to now! Peace and Love, Ringo."

Yoko Ono, who had been vocal in her opposition to digital music's quality, said it's an appropriate time for the major music announcement.

"In the joyful spirit of 'Give Peace A Chance,' I think it is so appropriate that we are doing this on John's 70th birthday year," she said in the statement.

Single albums are available for purchase and download for $12.99 each, double albums for $19.99 each and individual songs for $1.29 each.

How To: Request a Refund on any iPhone App

From: http://www.intomobile.com/

Ever download an app for your iPhone that was… well… just plain crap? Sure, we all have. Speaking from experience, I’ve gone through many a crappy app, and I end up grumbling to myself things like ‘piece of #$*!’, ‘I can’t believe I paid for this’, or ‘I want my money back’.

Wait… I want my money back?… is that even possible? Guess what folks, it sure is.

While reading a very informative post over at OSX Daily the other day, I stumbled across a very easy way you can request a refund for that under-developed and money-UNworthy app. Simply do as follows:

1. Launch iTunes
2. Click the iTunes Store
3. Login to your iTunes account
4. Click on your email address in the upper right corner
5. Click on ‘purchase history’
6. Select the app you’d like a refund for
7. Click ‘report a problem’
8. Fill out the form detailing your grief and issues with the app

That’s about it. If this method garners no refund for you, you can always use Apple’s web form. Both methods are worth a shot, especially if your gripe is with a ‘premium’ app of $9.99 or more. Just remember to keep your refund request reasonable. Try not to input reasons like ‘this app sucks’. You’ll be denied. Provide valid reasons for your request, and in the end I think you’ll find some success. Performance issues and buggy gameplay are definitely solid reasons you can (and should) site in your request.

For what it’s worth, Apple considers all sales final, so you are up against a bit of a wall here. Apple does have final say, but if you provide sound reasoning, you know, something like ‘this app crashes every time I open it’… you may be surprised at the end result. Refunds aren’t the norm, but they have been known to be given.

Note: It goes without saying this same process works for any iOS powered device. For iPad and iPod Touch apps, go ahead and follow the same process.

Pink Floyd albums removed from iTunes after record contract expires

By Slash Lane

From: http://www.appleinsider.com/

Numerous albums from legendary rock band Pink Floyd have disappeared from Apple's iTunes store, along with other digital storefronts, following the expiration of a contract between the band and its record label.

Pink Floyd's contract with EMI covering albums post "Dark Side of the Moon" expired on June 30. Since then, some of the band's most popular albums, including "Wish You Were Here," "The Wall," and "Animals," were removed from the iTunes Music Store, as well as Amazon.com and other digital music sellers.

However, the albums -- and some individual tracks -- can still be purchased through the "Oh By the Way" studio album boxset available on iTunes, and released in 2008 by EMI. The set includes both discs of "The Wall," which can be purchased separately from the box set, but "Wish You Were Here" can only be bought as part of the $139.99 total collection.

According to Gibson Lifestyle, Pink Floyd has won a lawsuit against EMI in March, allowing it to block the sale of individual songs on services like iTunes. A High Court in the U.K. determined that the band could "preserve the artistic integrity" of whole albums by not breaking them up into individual song sales.

Pink Floyd and EMI are no longer under contract for later albums, but earlier titles like "Dark Side of the Moon" remain under the label's control. In addition, while EMI can no longer press CDs for titles like "Wish You Were Here," the company can sell its remaining stock of physical albums.

EMI also owns the catalog for The Beatles, and it has been said the issue over single song downloads has been what has kept their tracks from being sold iTunes thus far. Yoko Ono, widow of John Lennon, said earlier this month that fans should not expect the band's catalog to become available on iTunes anytime soon. "Don't hold your breath," she said.

LaDiDa iPhone App Lets Anyone With a Voice Make Music in Seconds

By Eliot Van Buskirk
From http://www.wired.com/

AUSTIN, Texas — Outside of isolated cultural pockets — the Irish countryside, Appalachia and church among them — most people think of music as something other people make for them to enjoy. But as anyone who sings or plays an instrument knows, making music can be a deeply satisfying act, and it’s a shame that more people don’t get to do it.

The husband-and-wife team behind LaDiDa — Khush CTO Parag Chordia and CEO Prerna Gupta — have devised a “reverse karaoke” app that makes it simple for anyone with an iPhone or iPod Touch to make songs with full instrumentation using only their voice.

You don’t even have to be able to sing in tune in order to use the $3 app, which was approved last fall. In the demo video above, Chordia, who is also an assistant professor of music at the Georgia Institute of Technology, sings absolutely terribly to show that, really, anyone can do it. (It’s quite difficult for a trained musician to sing that poorly, so he’s been practicing.)

The app is impressive. It creates harmonic and rhythmic elements after you’ve recorded yourself singing anything you please, whether it’s a pop song cover, “Happy Birthday” or something original. LaDiDa corrects your pitch and adds some reverb (just like the pros do), then aligns it with these elements and plays it back in a variety of styles that you can toggle through until you find the one that sounds best.

From there, the app lets you easily share your creation through Facebook or Twitter. As Gupta suggests, a great use of LaDiDa would be to sing “Happy Birthday” for someone and send it to them electronically, although that’s really just the tip of the iceberg.

LaDiDa is available in the iTunes store for $3 (iTunes link).

Read More http://www.wired.com/underwire/2010/03/sxsw-ladida-iphone-app/#ixzz0ivN5tjxU

Pink Floyd, EMI Brawl Over iTunes Royalties

• By David Kravets
• From: http://www.wired.com/

Pink Floyd and its label, EMI, are battling over online royalties stemming from a contested clause in their decade-old contract.

The developer of The Dark Side of the Moon and other top-selling albums claims its contract with EMI requires its music to be sold as an entire album, not the single tracks that EMI has permitted iTunes to distribute.

The band’s attorney, Robert Howe, told a London court on Tuesday, “It’s a matter of fact that the defendant has been permitting individual tracks to be downloaded online and that therefore they have been allowing albums not to be sold in their original configuration,” Bloomberg News reported.

The case highlights the common dispute between rights holders and publishers over how to deal today with royalties for intellectual property born and contracted prior to the explosion of online digital sales.

Pink Floyd, however, said more was at stake than royalties in the internet age. The psychedelic-music band’s musical craft is being misrepresented when sold in singles, Howe said.

“Pink Floyd is well-known for performing seamless pieces. Many of the songs blend into each other,” Howe told the High Court of Justice, Chancery Division.

EMI told the court that the restrictions do not apply to online sales.

When Pink Floyd’s latest contract was crafted in 1999, “iTunes didn’t even exist,” EMI attorney Elizabeth Jones said.

Photo: oddstock/Flickr

Read More http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/03/pink-floyd-emi-brawl-over-itunes-royalties/#ixzz0hnTcyCBQ

Get $200 iTunes Store Vouchers for $2.60

By Jesus Diaz

Stop being an ass and don't pirate songs and movies. Pirate money and get legal material! Chinese hackers have cracked the algorithm that generates the iTunes Store gift cards: You can get $200 for $2.60.

According to the blog of Outdustry—a music industry consultancy firm in China—the market is getting inundated with this pirate cards, with prices falling quickly. You can find $200 iTunes Music cards in Taobao for as low as $10, and the blog is reporting prices of $2.60.

Nobody knows what this means for Apple yet. For sure, a change of the formula that generates the vouchers looks like a definitive possibility, but that won't solve the situation of legal cards already in the market. [Outdustry and Taobao via MusicAlly]