Apple Strikes Deal to Sell Beatles Catalog Online

I get it: The Beatles are huge, and Apple's had a colorful relationship with them. But why does that make tomorrow unforgettable?<p><i>"While the move to digital does not quite rival the band’s first trip across the Atlantic to appear on “The Ed Sullivan Show” in 1964, it is an acknowledgment that online purchases dominate the music industry’s sales strategy."</i><p>I didn't realize that the online purchasing model was something that still needed acknowledgement, and I definitely don't see how one artist's addition to the iTunes catalogue (even if that artist is The Beatles) is such an acknowledgement.

For those of you too young to remember, the Beatles were a band from Liverpool, England that your grandparents probably enjoyed.

Perhaps a little background will help explain why some consider this a big deal: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Corps_v_Apple_Computer" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Corps_v_Apple_Computer</a>

If this is all that's announced tomorrow, then the apple.com post today was overhyping. And I don't generally accuse Apple of overhyping.

Does this really matter? Has anyone waited 7 years to listen to the Beatles and not, you know, used a CD to add it to iTunes?

The Beatles being made available in MP3 17 years after the invention of the MP3 isn't exactly noteworthy.

Phony Beatlemania has bitten the dust.