Rare Beatles tracks briefly on sale to keep them out of the public domain for another 20 years
More proof that the current system does not benefit the public:
Dozens of demo recordings, studio outtakes and some 1963 BBC performances by the Beatles are temporarily released for sale online today, in a bid to protect the rare tracks from falling into the public domain next year.
Known as The Beatles: Bootleg Recordings 1963, the release encompassed a 59-track collection.
The featured songs include, for instance, alternate takes of classics such as She Loves You, live performances of Chuck Berry’s Roll Over Beethoven and other songs, as well as demos that the iconic Liverpool band recorded but eventually passed on to other artists, including Bad to Me and I’m in Love.
The tracks were never officially released, although hardcore Beatles devotees have traded lo-fi, bootlegged versions for years.
According to media reports, Apple Records and Universal Music Group staged a brief release of the Beatles cache via iTunes in Asia, Australia, the Middle East, Europe and North America today. The tracks were then removed shortly thereafter.
Michael Sauers is the Director of Logan Library in Logan, UT. Prior to this he was one of the founding staff and Technology Manager for Do Space in Omaha, NE. After earning his MLS in 1995 from the University at Albany's School of Information Science and Policy Michael spent his first 20 years as a librarian training other librarians in technology along with time as a public library trustee, a bookstore manager for a library friends group, a reference librarian, a technology consultant, and a bookseller. He has written dozens of articles for various journals and magazines and has published 14 books ranging from library technology, blogging, Web design, and an index to a popular horror magazine. In his spare time, he blogs at TravelinLibrarian.info, runs The Collector's Guide to Dean Koontz website at CollectingKoontz.com, takes many, many photos, and typically reads more than 100 books a year.
Unless otherwise stated, all opinions are my own and are not to be considered those of the City of Logan, UT.
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More proof that the current system does not benefit the public: