The Beatles (or, more correctly, their rights holders) have always been reticent about embracing new forms of music distribution. It wasn’t until 2010 that the group’s music was available on the iTunes Store, and they haven’t been available on streaming services yet. However, Billboard is reporting that the band’s music will be available to stream starting on December 24.
The article discusses a six-month exclusive with one streaming service, but it doesn’t say which one. None of the services were willing to comment, so we’ll know in a few days.
My guess is that Apple is the company willing to pay the most to secure this music, but it could also be Spotify. Since Apple was the first to offer Beatles records as downloads, if it’s not Apple that gets an exclusive, it would be a blow for the beleaguered Apple Music.
Of course, this Billboard article about music royalties was very wrong, so perhaps this prediction about the Beatles is wrong too…