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The company that owns the rights to a vast majority of The Beatles music catalog has questioned reports that the Fab Four have cut a deal with Steve Jobs.

Sony/ATV Music Publishing, the joint venture owned by Sony and singer Michael Jackson, has thrown cold water on newspaper stories out of London that The Beatles catalog would soon be available on iTunes. A spokeswoman for Sony/ATV Music Publishing told CNET News.com that the reports are "untrue."

Sony/ATV is a pretty good source. While EMI Group owns the recording rights to The Beatles catalog, Sony and Jackson own the rights to the vast majority of the catalog's publishing rights. Had a deal been cut, Sony/ATV would "absolutely be informed," the Sony/ATV spokeswoman said.

The Beatles' official Web site

(Credit: Apple Corps)

Stories about the Fab Four heading to iTunes crop up every few months, it seems, and rumors and unconfirmed reports have been circulating for years. This time, the story appeared to have legs as it was reported by three large British newspapers. They all cited unnamed sources.

Under media scrutiny, the stories began showing cracks on Sunday. One of the newspapers reported that Apple was willing to pay the Beatles about $600 million. The blog Silicon Alley Insider noted that Apple, which grosses about 33 cents for every song sale, would have to sell 1.8 billion Beatles songs to break even.

A high-level music industry source said an agreement between The Beatles and Apple could still get inked in 2008. They emphasized, however, that the British papers were wrong to say the deal was finalized.

Representatives for EMI and Apple declined to comment for the story.

Beatles-iTunes partnership would make sense
One has to wonder why these rumors and unconfirmed reports continue to crop up. Is it a case of wishful thinking on the part of Beatles fans or Apple?

The availability of The Beatles, the best-selling band of all time, on iTunes would send the most dramatic signal to date that digital downloads are an integral part of mainstream music, said Susan Kevorkian, a music analyst with research group IDC.

"It's important for iTunes and online music services in general because it legitimizes IP-based music services," Kevorkian said. "It also points to the fact that digital music services are maturing when important groups that have been high-profile holdouts come onboard."

In the last several years, Madonna, Led Zeppelin, and Metallica--artists who once spurned Internet sales of their music--reversed themselves and embraced iTunes.

Earlier Monday, Chris Castle, a music lawyer and former record label executive predicted that a Web-based Beatlemania would be big for iTunes and Beatles fans alike.

He said The Beatles could release formerly unreleased music "that they might have lying around," and the offering could also include some kind of video element. Even though The Beatles broke up nearly 40 years ago, Castle said Apple Corps, the band's media company, would find a way to "dress up the offering" so that it would create excitement even among longtime Beatles fans.

Jeff Jones, the new head of Apple Corps, "is known as a catalog genius," Castle said. "If there is anybody that can figure out how to make this work it's him. I would expect to see some pleasant surprises from Jeff."

Castle said that what fans likely won't find with a Beatles offering on iTunes is a discount.

"This is a band that has sold music at premium prices for four decades," Castle said. "They've never been discounted. I would be shocked to see any competition on price. Think about it. The Beatles have kept (their brand) precious and popular for a long time. They've done this by knowing how to treat their fans and knowing what didn't work for them."

The Beatles were unlikely candidates to join iTunes. Apple Corps had a series of trademark disputes with Apple Inc. going back to 1976 when Beatle guitarist George Harrison saw an ad for the then Apple Computer. The band thought the new company had infringed on their trademark and sued. The case was settled out of court.

There were other legal skirmishes along the way but last year, Paul McCartney told reporters in Great Britain that he thought a deal with Apple CEO Steve Jobs was close to being finalized.

If and when The Beatles arrive at iTunes, there'll be plenty of people who will ask, "Why all the fuss?" The music has been available for free on peer-to-peer sites for years.

According to Castle, The Beatles were an unprecedented combination of talent and timing, and even after all this time, still possess an enormous following of people who will be willing to pay.

"You had the musical genius, business genius, and extraordinary popularity that crossed all genres and formats," Castle said. "You've never had that before or since."

In this ranking of top-selling music acts of all time, Madonna and Barbara Streisand were tied for eighth place.

Updated 6:40 p.m. to clarify difference between publishing rights and rights to recordings.

Four decades ago, Paul McCartney told us that all you need is love. Reportedly near the conclusion of an expensive divorce proceeding, apparently the former Beatle could also use some cash.

Word is that McCartney has given his approval to make The Beatles' song catalog available on Apple's iTunes in the coming months, according to reports in several British newspapers.

The deal for the Fab Four's songs could be worth $600 million, some papers estimated.

Apple representatives were not immediately available to comment Sunday.

After years of chilly relations between Apple (the Mac maker) and Apple Corps (The Beatles' publishing company) over their very similar company names and then the Mac maker's successful foray into music delivery, there were rumors of a thaw last year that would lead to the band's songs being made available on iTunes. However, as much as music fans hoped The Beatles would let it be, that was not to be the case.

In addition, it's unclear which songs might be offered to iTunes if such a deal were to occur. Publishing rights to many of The Beatles' songs belong to Sony/ATV, which acquired them in a deal with Michael Jackson. (In 1985, Jackson outbid former pal McCartney and Yoko Ono for the catalog.) However, Apple Corps owns the rights to the actual music/recordings to most of The Beatles' songs, which would be the determining factor in this reported deal.

The timing of the move seems odd to some observers who note that McCartney's divorce from Heather Mills--which may cost him about $60 million--is expected to have its final court hearing in the coming weeks.

After years of speculation about when The Beatles music catalog would finally be offered on iTunes, that day may soon arrive.

London's Telegraph reported on Saturday that former Beatle Paul McCartney has agreed to release the band's music catalog to Apple for as much as $600 million.

Is this finally the end of the on-again, off-again courtship between Apple and Apple Corps. The latter is the media corporation that oversees The Beatles' music and other copyright materials.

Rumors that The Beatles' music would be available for download on iTunes have circulated for years, but this time they carry some weight. Besides the Telegraph the British publication the Daily Mail also reported a similar story.

No release date has been set, according to the papers.

If the Fab Four really are heading to legal downloads, look for them to do well. While long-time fans of the group, which broke up 38 years ago, have likely already bought the band's albums, or CDs or downloaded the songs off a peer-to-peer site, iTunes could help introduce The Beatles to a whole new generation of listeners.

How the money would be split among the surviving band members, Ringo Starr, McCartney and the estates of the late George Harrison and John Lennon, hasn't been disclosed, according to the British papers.

The Master at the controls.

(Credit: Steve Guttenberg)

If you read CD or LP credits you've probably seen "Mastered by Greg Calbi" a bunch of times, but don't have a clue exactly what Calbi and other mastering engineers do. I don't blame you--it's a mystery to most music lovers. When I heard that Calbi was going to cut some LP masters I made arrangements to drop by Sterling Sound and watch the master masterer at work. He's mastered thousands of records--everybody from Bob Dylan to Talking Heads to The Roots, to the High School Musical soundtrack, and one of my favorite records from last year, Yo La Tengo's I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass. As a matter of fact, he's mastered all of Yo La Tengo's CDs and LPs of the past 10 years. He must be doing something right.

In the early days CDs were typically mastered from the LP master, Calbi explained. "It wasn't until the mid-'80s that we starting mastering for CD. Vinyl was still No. 1; CD and cassette masters were taken from the LP master."

Nowadays, remastering can refer to a redo of a CD master, going back to the original tapes/files and giving them another listen and eking out better sound. Calbi remastered Bob Dylan's Oh Mercy CD a few years ago, but he also mastered it the first time in 1989. The first mastering was digital all the way, but for the remaster Calbi introduced analog tools (equalization, analog tape machines, etc.), and that resulted in a much better sounding Oh Mercy CD and SACD.

In any case, Calbi works from the final mix and fine-tunes the sound with equalization, dynamic range compression, and volume level adjustments. The mastering engineer's entire signal path--playback machines, equalizers, black boxes, etc.--all influence the finished product's sound.

Still, you might wonder why the engineers don't just transfer the final mix and master CDs or LPs from that. But the sound benefits from a fresh set of ears. The mastering engineer perfects and completes the mixes, or as Calbi put it, "Mastering is finishing for a specific format, CD or LP." What about MP3? "That's very different, and not just from a sound quality point of view," he said. "It's assumed that MP3s will be heard in shuffle mode, competing against unknown music." Right, and that leads to extreme dynamic range compression; so all of the music's natural soft-to-loud dynamics are squashed flat; MP3s have to be loud all the time because with MP3s everyone is screaming for attention in a crowded market.

CDs and LPs are also different in that they're conceived as complete works, and their mastering balances are affected by the songs' sequence--how the songs sound next to each other, the key changes, the rhythm--all sorts of things are compensated for by the mastering engineers. They have to see, correction, hear the big picture.

The mastering engineer is the final critic of the mix, and uses his or her knowledge to try to improve it. And now that so many projects are recorded in home studios by inexperienced engineers there's even more of a need for a fresh set of ears to tweak recordings.

Cutting the Michael Powers' record at Sterling Sound.

(Credit: Steve Guttenberg)

What about iTunes? I asked Calbi about the rumors about the Beatles catalog being remastered for iTunes. He was ahead of me, "They're not being remastered just for iTunes; they're being remastered because they got a deal with iTunes. I was partially involved in the discussions leading up to the remastering sessions; most of the Beatles catalog hasn't been remastered in 20 years." It's likely the new remasters are destined for CD release.

Watching Calbi at work, mastering this killer blues rock LP, Onyx Root, by Michael Powers, there's no doubt the man enjoys his work. Calbi's grooving to the music, swaying back and forth in his chair. His playback system is very audiophile--with massive Energy speakers and an Audio Research vacuum tube amplifier the sound is so good I feel like I'm listening to a live performance.

The Sterling Sound LPs will be available from selected online vinyl retailers, and on Sterling's site in a few months. I can't wait.

Beatles fans can imagine a world where the iTunes Store can sell Rubber Soul, but today they'll have to settle for a working-class hero.

The Walrus is now on iTunes. Goo goo g'joob.

(Credit: Johnlennon.com)

Apple announced Tuesday that the solo work of John Lennon is now available on The iTunes Store in the DRM-free iTunes Plus format, as part of Apple's agreement with EMI, Lennon's record label. Lennon joins Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr as solo artists featured on iTunes, but despite what appeared to be a truce in the bitter battle over the Apple trademarks between the California Mac maker and the famous Apple Records of the Beatles, the two sides have yet to come together.

The trademark dispute was settled in February, which makes me wonder why the two parties haven't managed to work out a distribution deal yet. Maybe the Beatles are waiting for a better deal, or a special U2-like themed iPod, or perhaps they are considering testing the digital waters with other services, such as the new gBox venture supported by Apple's good friend Google and directly backed by not-so-good friend Universal.

Lennon's not a bad consolation prize, but come on, folks, quit playing mind games. "John would have loved the fact that his music will now be available in a format suited to a new generation of listeners," said Yoko Ono, John's wife and Beatle-wrecker (kidding), in the press release announcing the deal.

Maybe Steve's amazed at the way it took so long to get Paul McCartney online.

Macca's on iTunes. Are the Beatles next?

(Credit: Paulmccartney.com)

The Beatles legend has a new solo album coming out next month titled "Memory Almost Full," and if you want a digital copy the only place you'll find it is at the iTunes Store, Apple announced Tuesday. With McCartney on board, and an agreement reached over litigation with Apple Records in February, the stage seems set for the long-awaited release of the Beatles' music on iTunes.

CEO Steve Jobs is clearly a Beatles fan (of course, so is just about anybody under the age of 65 that likes rock music). "We love the Beatles, and it has been painful being at odds with them over these trademarks," Jobs said in a statement when Apple announced the resolution of its litigation with Apple Corps, of which Apple Records is a division.

With the new album, McCartney will have released 25 albums after the breakup of the Beatles, and the rest will become available on iTunes later this month. Those who order the album through iTunes in North America will get a free download of a video starring Natalie Portman for one of the songs, "Dance Tonight." Outside North America, you just get an acoustic version of that song. One single, "Ever Present Past," will be immediately available to everyone who preorders the album.