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The Beatles’ Catalog Finally Goes Digital Thanks To Norwegian Podcasts

1/5/09, 1:45 pm EST

Photo: Michael Ochs Archive/Getty

The Beatles will reportedly make a bulk of their musical catalog available as a free, legal download thanks to a series of Norwegian podcasts. In 2001, the Fab Four were the subject of a documentary series entitled “Vår daglige Beatles,” or “Our Daily Beatles,” in which Norwegian journalists told the stories behind every track in the Beatles official catalog in chronological order, with the tracks themselves being played after the story was told. Now, for the first time ever, the series is available as a downloadable podcast, marking the first time the Beatles music in any form has been legally available via download. Despite efforts to finally bring the Beatles to iTunes, Paul McCartney said talks between Apple Corps. and EMI Records have “stalled.”

Unfortunately for us English speakers, the three minutes of storytelling that accompany each track is only in Norwegian. So far, 14 of the 212 episodes in the series are available, with the remainder expected out before the end of January. Check out the list of downloadable podcasts here (and thanks to BoingBoing for bringing this to our attention). The deal between Norwegian broadcasters NRK and music rights holders TONO allows the podcasts that feature music to be available as free downloads for four weeks, while other Beatles material not featuring the band’s music will be available “forever.” Whether this Norway deal represents a thaw in the Beatles’ stance toward digital downloads remains to be seen.

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Comments

Anonymous | 1/5/2009, 3:47 pm EST

Hope you tell the beatles that we like them and of course because their the best band ever and you tell paule and ringo to “come together.”And hopefully you tell them to make more music like in the 60’s the time that they had fun.

Jhon | 1/5/2009, 3:52 pm EST

Their the ones who found the apple corporations if anyone is wondering they found the corporations after Bryan Epstein Died.

Jhon | 1/5/2009, 3:53 pm EST

The Beatles are the best man becaues it’s just that they are man.

Jhon | 1/5/2009, 3:53 pm EST

The Beatles are the best man becaues it’s just that they are man.

Jhon | 1/5/2009, 3:55 pm EST

The Beatles are the one deal and M.J. is kinda getting the beatles money you know.

Jhon | 1/5/2009, 4:10 pm EST

Hello i’m back…!

Anonymous | 1/5/2009, 5:40 pm EST

Or you could just buy the CDs, copy them to your computer, and then put the ripped music files onto your MP3 player of choice… just an idea. Leaving your house to go to a store and buy something physical isn’t that archaic, is it? Besides, the quality of the songs sold on iTunes isn’t that great.

Anonymous | 1/5/2009, 7:13 pm EST

I think the biggest thing is… a lot of people want the cds/mp3s to be remastered.

The Beatles CDs currently on the market, haven’t been remastered since they first came out in the mid-1980’s.

2010 is now less than a year away. While the sound quality on the original 1980’s cds is adequate, its more than beyond time for an update!

I think once the Itunes thing eventually happens (which I’m confident it will), we will finally see some improved quality over those old cds.

StevenJackson | 1/5/2009, 8:29 pm EST

I too agree that that the Beatles catalogue is in dire need of re-mastering.
The LOVE soundtrack was proof of that, especially the 5.1 mixes.

Help! | 1/5/2009, 10:32 pm EST

Vinyl Beatles is it. Get the gear and play it that way. You’ll hear
what was meant to be. You’ll get it then.

Surf City Sounds Plus | 1/6/2009, 1:39 am EST

Hi:

Heh. Well, John Lennon sang a ditty in the mid-60s predicting the digital releases. He knew then if anyone were going to do it first: [Isn't it good?], a Norwegian would! (LOL!)

~JBK aka Java Jive Jay

Val | 1/6/2009, 9:08 am EST

Like someone else said earlier:

solution – VINYL!!!

There has never been a better time to listen to music in a more primitive, but infinitely more satisfying, way.

If you have never experienced the excitement of dropping a needle, now is the time to take your part in a revolution!

For those of you who have turned your backs of vinyl, remember when you listened to your favorite new discovery with your best friend, or at a (gasp!) dance? Now we inject the stuff directly into our heads and tune each other out.

Classic vinyl is being sold for as little as $1 all around the world. There is fantastic technology that will clean an old record up. Compare this to the cost of a piece of modern pop garbage on cd, sold old or new and you might catch on. Vinyl is making a comeback, and that $1 tag is soon to disappear.

Get a record player today!

Just a suggestion :o )

Tio Pitz | 1/6/2009, 11:11 am EST

The podcast series has stopped due to negotiations with lawyers!

Jon G. | 1/6/2009, 12:45 pm EST

Th remastering has been done – and is ALSO held up in legalities.

elie | 1/12/2009, 8:57 am EST

well iam really a big beatle fan and all that i would love to hear is new remixes or remasters of their lovely classic albums the only problem in those old records is the quality of ringos drums u can barely hear the snair in most of the later era tracks . i hope when they remaster them the drums will be heard higher and rockier . cheers

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