The Beatles have been one of the last major holdouts against selling its music via digital downloads, Ben Sisario and Miguel Helft report in the
Times. Four decades after breaking up, it has sold more than 177 million albums in the U.S. alone, according to the Recording Industry Association of America.
Apple
executives have said that iTunes is roughly a "break-even" operation. "The music itself is a vehicle to allow them to sell more iPods and iPhones, which is where they make real
money," says Creative Strategies analyst Tim Bajarin. But the agreement is a major coup for Jobs, he says, not only as a business deal but also because he is a "huge fan" of the group.
"Steve Jobs has finally become the dominant Apple," agrees John Perry Barlow, former lyricist for the Grateful Dead and co-founder of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
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