The Beatles are coming to Spotify, Apple Music and more tonight
At long last, streaming services are getting the Fab Four’s catalogue
There are many artists that can’t be found on streaming services, but none more conspicuously so than the Beatles. Probably rock and roll’s most popular band, and no sign of them on Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, Tidal et al. But that’s about to change this Christmas.
The Liverpool quartet’s catalogue is about to appear on a range of streaming services on Christmas Eve, at 12.01am. How’s that for an early present?
Despite breaking up 45 years ago, the Beatles have forged a legacy as one of the world’s most influential groups. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr had 17 British number one singles during the band’s relatively short lifespan – a lifespan in which they evolved from the 1960s equivalent of a boyband into a more experimental, pioneering outfit. Three minute pop ditties gave way to lengthy orchestral psychedelia in the space of a few years – but one of the things that strikes us when listening to the Beatles now is that, no matter at which point you land in their career, the songs are good.
Of course, it’s been pretty difficult to actually dip into that catalogue if you’re one of the millions of people who takes a digital-first approach to music consumption. The controllers of the band’s catalogue have long been resistant to new musical media, taking around a decade to release CDs of their albums and only making downloads available via a single store, iTunes (and even then not until 2010). Streaming services? Forget about it.
But not any more. The Far Four are truly about to enter the streaming age, with their back catalogue appearing on pretty much every major service: Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, Google Play, Amazon Prime, Deezer, Slacker, Groove and Rhapsody. Yes, even Amazon Prime has managed to get in on the action. You can all tune in tonight at a minute after midnight.
[Source: The Beatles]
Sam Kieldsen
Contributor 
