Meet the Beatles... re-recording? Bluebeat claims its downloads are legal; Guardian, 11/5/09

Charles Arthur, Guardian; Meet the Beatles... re-recording? Bluebeat claims its downloads are legal:

A US company is offering digital downloads of the Beatles' music, the first in the world, putting it in the crosshairs of a lawsuit by EMI

"The Beatles songs are available for digital download, apparently legitimately. You have to go to an American site called Bluebeat which has possibly one of the worst download systems ever (a weird Java applet that insists on getting access to your computer), but they're there. And they really sound like the Beatles. In fact, hell, it is the Beatles.

This is puzzling, because the Beatles songs haven't been licensed for digital download to other sites. And, if you read the very extensive coverage on Wired, it seems that Apple Corps, the Beatles' management company, probably hasn't either. (I contacted Apple Corps earlier today but have not received a response.) EMI (the Beatles' publishers) has filed a lawsuit, Wired explains.

According to Wired, Bluebeat is claiming - in a bizarre court document - that it has made "re-recordings" of the songs using "psycho-acoustic simulation"...

For Bluebeat, though, it's a precipitous route towards calamity for a company that had probably been doing OK on its own. The lawsuit looks indefensible, will cost millions that it probably doesn't have, and is only going to give it short-term attention. Possibly this is what the company behind it, the mysterious Media Rights Technologies, Inc. of "PO Box 8447, Santa Cruz" (to quote the domain registration) is after.

Last word back to a lawyer contacted by Wired:

"They're hosed. That just doesn't make any sense," said Scott Mackenzie, a Dallas copyright attorney. "I don't even see the basis of their theory.""

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2009/nov/05/beatles-bluebeat-emi-lawsuit-puzzle

EMI sues US music website over Beatles tunes; Sydney Morning Herald, 11/5/09

Sydney Morning Herald; EMI sues US music website over Beatles tunes:

"British music giant EMI on Wednesday confirmed it is suing a California online music service that streams and digitally delivers Beatles songs to users.

EMI filed suit Tuesday in a US district court in Los Angeles, accusing Bluebeat.com of copyright infringement and demanding that Beatles music be removed from the website's playlists.

EMI owns the rights to Beatles recordings and collaborates with Apple Corps on distribution of the music.

EMI said that Bluebeat, which offers MP3 downloads of songs for 25 cents each, is not authorized sell Beatles tunes.

A visit to the Bluebeat website by AFP on Wednesday revealed a host of Beatles albums or individual songs that could be streamed for free listening or purchased as digital downloads.
Bluebeat did not return an AFP request for comment.

Apple Corps was the Beatles recording label and is controlled by surviving members of the legendary 1960s era band and spouses of the late John Lennon and George Harrison.

Apple Corps has been notoriously leery of making Beatles music available for digital download, eschewing even allowing songs to be delivered to iPod or iPhone devices through the globally popular iTunes online store.

Beatles music made a tentative step in September toward a digital future with the release of "The Beatles: Rock Band" videogame devoted to the group's music and performances."

http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-technology/emi-sues-us-music-website-over-beatles-tunes-20091105-hyfw.html