Stubborn Artists Slowly Coming to iTunes

First, it was the Red Hot Chili Peppers a few weeks ago. Last week, the Dave Matthews Band succumbed to fan pressure and also added their entire catalog to iTunes. Now the biggest hold-out of them all appears to be preparing to join the digital download party. During testimony in the Apple Computer vs Apple Corps trial in the UK, Apple Corps label boss confirmed the Beatles catalog is being remastered and digital booklets created for eventual digital download.

The announcement comes at an odd time as the two are battling in court over Apple Computer using the name “Apple” to sell music through its iTunes store. This isn’t the first time the two have battled over the name Apple. Ironically, Steve Jobs chose the name Apple originally as a tribute to The Beatles record label. An earlier case saw the computer maker paying a settlement to Apple Corps and agreeing to refrain from entering the music business. Whether they have done that or not isn’t for me to decide, but it seems strange that Apple Corps would mention this during the trial. We’d like you to stop using our Apple name, but at the same time we want to sell our highly lucrative music through your store.

It’s too bad remaining Beatles couldn’t have settled this out of court by working with Apple. If they’re planning to sell the Beatles’ catalog on iTunes, this lawsuit only seems like an extra cash grab to me.