Interesting Story on Beatles catalog (1 Viewer)

[Phil A]

http://www.ananova.com/entertainment...sm_535764.html

I wonder if the above is for the publishing rights in preparation for SACD since my understanding (I could be wrong) that if lyrics get printed on things the publisher gets roylaties. Who knows though, maybe Sony will be doing DVD-A or SACDII and publishing lyrics on the accompanying video to the audio?

 

[Matt Butler]

I hope they do get it. The current cds sound like shit compared to the vinyl. The mono pressings sound better even. They are in dire need of a remaster; or better yet SACD

 

[Ryan Spaight]

No, this is just all about money. Jackson owes Sony a bunch of it. Sony has apparently decided he's no longer good for it, and so has called in the publishing rights that he'd put up as collateral when Sony gave him the loan.

In any event, holding the publishing rights has no bearing on the ability to release the Beatles' recordings. The rights to those are still firmly held by Apple (the Beatles company, not the computer company). This developments means squat for any reissue of Beatles records.

Ryan

 

[Phil A]

Ryan, if the lyrics are used, the publisher gets royalties. There are a number of dynamics. EMI has issued stuff on both formats. It light of the way Pet Sounds was done (mono, stereo, multi-channel) it may make sense to do some of the Beatles stuff on DVD-A vs. SACD. Sony with all of the rights has not up until this point shown any support for DVD-A only SACD. Sony can't release the stuff but they certainly can talk to who has the rights to the Beatles stuff with a bargaining chip to some extent. I would assume if DVD-A was done they may want to use the lyrics.

 

[Dome Vongvises]

I was under the impression that the Beatles were recorded pretty shitty to begin with, and no amount of remaster or remixing will solve why they sound so terrible.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Then why does "Let It Be... Naked" sound so much better than the other CD releases?

 

[Philip Hamm]

That is not correct. George Martin did a fantastic job - just listen to most other music at the same time period. For God's sake listen to some 60s Who music for an idea of how bad it could be.

 

[Michael St. Clair]

George Martin didn't do a great job with the CDs in the 80s.

If you want to hear a hint of how the Beatles could sound on CD, get the out-of-print black EP box.

As far as this story goes, Sony is simply doing the smart thing. Given their current situation with Jackson, they'd be stupid not to, irrespective of any potential SACD deal. He is leveraged on a major asset, and in arrears with declining income potential. Why on earth would they not go after the asset...anybody would!

Assuming that this means anything about a plan to make new Beatles discs is just that...a huge assumption. The publishing royalties (half of which goes to the songwriters right off the bat) will likely be a drop in the bucket compared to the total cost structure of such a release. The Beatles (and estates) have huge control over the recordings themselves and what they get paid for them. The reason that the CDs were delayed in the 80s were that the Beatles were negotiating a better deal...and they'll probably up the ante again for any new formats. And the first seven albums never had the lyrics printed, and the lyrics themselves aren't that big of a selling point!

There is nothing I'd love more than high-res Beatles, especially if they let somebody like Bob Ludwig or Steve Hoffman properly master them. But I'm not holding my breath, and this bit of news doesn't increase my optimism one iota.



They'll be EMI, just like DSotM. Sony can throw money at them for an exclusive but they won't have any input into how it is put together. There are enough hands in the pie already and the parties involved are not going to welcome any more. All the hands is why it takes forever to get anything done, adding another party would just slow things down, not speed them up!

 

[LanceJ]

I'm still wondering exactly what that DTS Entertainment/EMI dvd-audio collaboration deal was put together for. Hmmm.......

LJ

 

[andrew markworthy]

If you ever get to hear bootlegs of some of the better quality out-takes where there's been no compression or tweaking, you soon realise just how good The Beatles sounded before some moron decided to 'improve' the pressings so that Joe Six-Pack got a sound that wouldn't show up the limitations of his crappy system. George Martin is a genius and I could weep at how badly the CD pressings make his work sound.

However, regarding releasing the discs in a new format. I'm tempted to say that Satan will be skating to work before we get them, but I guess more realistically we'll just have to be patient. I bet behind the scenes there's a big debate about whether to release them solely in their original mono/stereo formats or include 5.1 mixes. Personally, I'd like the mono mixes of the later albums included. It's not widely known that several of the tracks on the mono Sgt Pepper are rather different (mixes, instrumentation, vocal takes) and I think SACD or DVD offers the perfect opportunity to present the fans with the full range of options.

 

[Dome Vongvises]

Because it has Paul's version of "The Long and Winding Road"?

Like I said, I was under that impression, and when I listened to the CD's, the Beatles sound awful. Strangely enough, I think they sound much better on vinyl, but not by much.

 

[Phil A]

Of course there was this thread a bit ago: http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...hreadid=130043

and I've seen subsequent stories/rumors or whatever one wants to call them that the Beatles stuff is being prepared for 5.1 release.

 

[Lee Scoggins]

That's probably true, but I suspect we may see the Beatles on hirez eventually as there is enough profit in it for the members of the band.