Evidence is mounting that at least a chunk of The Beatles catalogue will be made available for streaming this Thursday (Christmas Eve).
First Hits Daily Double reported that the Fab Four’s music was due to hit the likes of Apple Music and Spotify this month, before Billboard sources put a date on it.
MBW’s own sources told us over the weekend that a Christmas launch has been planned by Apple Records and Universal Music Group since the summer.
At one stage, discussions took place over the possibility of an Apple Music exclusive, but these talks appear to have died off: insiders now suggest The Beatles music will be on at least Spotify and Apple Music.
If true, the arrival of The Beatles on Spotify comes at a very interesting time for the platform.
Recent whispers out of Daniel Ek‘s company suggested that it was beginning to cave over the idea of some artists being allowed to put their music exclusively on its ‘premium’ tier.
It’s fair to say that music doesn’t get much more premium than The Beatles.
The arrival of Apple Records’ Beatles catalogue on streaming services would also be an important validation for the format as it looks to reach a truly mass-market audience in 2016.
The band’s classic material only arrived on iTunes in 2010, seven years after the Apple Inc download service was launched.
Funnily enough, Spotify was launched just over seven years ago, back in 2008.
It seems unlikely that the entire Beatles catalogue will arrive straight away, with some suggesting that only Hey Jude will be available to play on Christmas Eve as a teaser to fans of what’s to come.Music Business Worldwide
