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Why 59 Obscure Beatles Tracks Had To Be Released On iTunes
The Beatles (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)
A set of previously-unreleased Beatles tracks went on sale this morning on iTunes, but mysteriously went missing online in some countries soon after.
According to CNN, the songs were only released because Apple Corps., which owns the copyrights, would lose them by Jan. 1, 2014 when protection would expire. A recent change in a European intellectual property rights law would allow them to keep the rights for another 20 years only if they gave the songs an official release.
However, just as quickly as the tracks were released in countries including Britain, Australia and Japan, they disappeared in some countries. The New York Times noted that the disappearances could very well be glitches, but Australia hadn't recovered their missing tracks yet. The collection hit the U.S. market this morning for the price of $39.99.
The songs were bootlegs recorded back in 1963 and included live demos and BBC performances from the band. Two of the songs that were never-before-released songs written by John Lennon, including "Bad to Me" and "I'm in Love," according to the Wall Street Journal.
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