The Beatles sell 5 million songs, 1 million albums on Apple's iTunes

Posted:
in iPod + iTunes + AppleTV edited January 2014
The debut of The Beatles on iTunes has proven extremely popular, with the band selling 5 million songs and a million albums solely from Apple's digital music store.



Apple revealed to The Loop on Friday that the current best-selling album is "Abbey Road," priced at $12.99, while the most popular song is "Here Comes the Sun" from the same album, which costs $1.29 individually.



The numbers show that the pace of sales has slowed since the first week of availability, when 450,000 albums were sold, along with 2 million songs. Then again, the best-selling album and song were "Abbey Road" and "Here Comes the Sun," respectively.



The Beatles catalog came to iTunes in mid-November, after a wait of more than 7 years since when the iTunes Store opened and began selling music. Apple and the Beatles' parent company, Apple Corps, were involved in a trademark dispute for years, before it was finally settled in 2007.



Earlier this month, alleged details of the contract between The Beatles and Apple were revealed, suggesting that the band is being directly paid royalties from song sales. The information suggests the royalty split could be even more lucrative for The Beatles than a standard iTunes artist contract.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 40
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    I seem to remember the claim being made here that everyone had them all already (that wanted them) and they'd never sell anything yada yada yada ... just goes to show SJ knows what he's doing yet again!
  • Reply 2 of 40
    dualiedualie Posts: 334member
    It's not exactly a grand slam, but those numbers aren't terrible either.
  • Reply 3 of 40
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by digitalclips View Post


    I seem to remember the claim being made here that everyone had them all already (that wanted them) and they'd never sell anything yada yada yada ... just goes to show SJ knows what he's doing yet again!



    Yup. Many made the claim. None will admit it.
  • Reply 4 of 40
    tbelltbell Posts: 3,146member
    Considering how many people probably already had the songs, I think it is pretty successful. Some people here didn't seem to think anybody would buy the Beatles on iTunes.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by dualie View Post


    It's not exactly a grand slam, but those numbers aren't terrible either.



  • Reply 5 of 40
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by digitalclips View Post


    I seem to remember the claim being made here that everyone had them all already (that wanted them) and they'd never sell anything yada yada yada ... just goes to show SJ knows what he's doing yet again!



    People also predicted the iTunes Music Store would fail because you can higher bitrate music without DRM at cheaper prices on a CD. Maybe it?s too early to tell, but I think people like the convenience of the iTunes Store.
  • Reply 6 of 40
    Not bad for a band that hasn't recorded any new music in approx. 40 years!
  • Reply 7 of 40
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Mister Snitch View Post


    Yup. Many made the claim. None will admit it.



    I will. I was wrong.



    Big deal.
  • Reply 8 of 40
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by dualie View Post


    It's not exactly a grand slam, but those numbers aren't terrible either.



    Not a grand slam!?



    That's revenue of somewhere between $13 and $15 million -- basically profits -- in a few weeks, for a group that disbanded over 40 years ago!



    I think it's quite stunning, actually.
  • Reply 9 of 40
    On 11-16-2010, I wrote this in AI



    Bitch what YOU will, ...Steve Jobs is no Dummy !!!!

    All the old farts and geeks that visit here, and throughout the Geek/Tech blog-sphere, can't and won't relate to this huge announcement.



    But to the MILLIONS upon MILLIONS of new listeners (yes, Kid's...ever hear of that market), who would NEVER purchase an album or a CD, this will be huge.



    Expect Apple (perhaps both Apples) to announce how huge the spike of Music Sales for Beatles Music can be referenced to this very date.



    Yeah,

    Meh to you and me (and yes, I already have all 13 albums plus much more Beatles Music in my iTunes),

    But this will be a Huge Success.



    SJ is no dummy.



    Reference: http://forums.appleinsider.com/showt...25#post1753225
  • Reply 10 of 40
    Seriously… the Beatles are a good group and all, but who the heck is buying all this stuff? The individual songs, okay, I can see that; but the albums? I just can’t imagine that many people have been sitting around for the last seven years saying, “You know, I really want to buy that Beatles album, but it’s not on iTunes, so I just won’t worry about it.” Or is it just a bunch of people who think it’s easier to spend $10-13 than to rip a CD they already own?



    I’m really not trying to be difficult, here. I’ve just spent the last few weeks trying to understand it, and I haven’t come across a single person who has any more idea than I do.
  • Reply 11 of 40
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by anantksundaram View Post


    I will. I was wrong.



    Big deal.



    So humble in your confession.
  • Reply 12 of 40
    dualiedualie Posts: 334member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by anantksundaram View Post


    Not a grand slam!?



    That's revenue of somewhere between $13 and $15 million -- basically profits -- in a few weeks, for a group that disbanded over 40 years ago!



    I think it's quite stunning, actually.





    Think what you like, but compared to the Beatles's track record of sales this is simply average. After all, the band has had 26 certified multi-platinum albums (sales of 2 million), 41 platinum albums, and 47 certified gold albums. A grand slam would be something like 10 million albums. They may reach those numbers eventually, but it's probably a long way off since sales are apparently slowing.
  • Reply 13 of 40
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by dualie View Post


    It's not exactly a grand slam, but those numbers aren't terrible either.



    Platinum status in a month? Tell that to every artist in the world. I'm sure they'd like to have music written 40 years ago to sell by the million, in a month.
  • Reply 14 of 40
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by dualie View Post


    Think what you like, but compared to the Beatles's track record of sales this is simply average. After all, the band has had 26 certified multi-platinum albums (sales of 2 million), 41 platinum albums, and 47 certified gold albums. A grand slam would be something like 10 million albums. They may reach those numbers eventually, but it's probably a long way off since sales are apparently slowing.



    Those certified multi-platinum took decades. Not a month.
  • Reply 15 of 40
    hill60hill60 Posts: 6,992member
    I never bought any, I did buy some Rolling Stones and some Sex Pistols.



    I was never really into the Beatles, dissecting their songs in boring and compulsory school music classes destroyed any vestiges of appreciation I may have had.



    To me "Oh bla di, oh bla da", represents the high point of their lyrical brilliance.
  • Reply 16 of 40
    addaboxaddabox Posts: 12,665member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by theOtter View Post


    Seriously… the Beatles are a good group and all, but who the heck is buying all this stuff? The individual songs, okay, I can see that; but the albums? I just can’t imagine that many people have been sitting around for the last seven years saying, “You know, I really want to buy that Beatles album, but it’s not on iTunes, so I just won’t worry about it.” Or is it just a bunch of people who think it’s easier to spend $10-13 than to rip a CD they already own?



    I’m really not trying to be difficult, here. I’ve just spent the last few weeks trying to understand it, and I haven’t come across a single person who has any more idea than I do.



    Funny thing is, we keep making new people who grow up and get interested in music, and not just the music of their day.



    I work in a high school, the kids love the Beatles. 7 years ago they were 8 and 9 years old and didn't. There are 9 year olds right now that will come to discover the Beatles and all kinds of other music as they get older. Where did you get the idea that popular music is a static market, wherein once "everybody" who wants something buys it there couldn't possibly be any more interest?
  • Reply 17 of 40
    This sounds a bit fishy - wouldn't a million albums work out to about 10 or 12 million songs, since most of the albums have at least 10 songs?



    Also, do people who bought the "boxed set" count as one album, or 16 albums?



    Of course, there's some number manipulation here on apple's part, but it would be interesting to get straight sales figures...
  • Reply 18 of 40
    addaboxaddabox Posts: 12,665member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Superbass View Post


    This sounds a bit fishy - wouldn't a million albums work out to about 10 or 12 million songs, since most of the albums have at least 10 songs?



    Also, do people who bought the "boxed set" count as one album, or 16 albums?



    Of course, there's some number manipulation here on apple's part, but it would be interesting to get straight sales figures...



    They sold a million albums, plus 5 million individual songs that were sold as singles. So it doesn't matter how many individual songs the album sales represent.



    Not sure what "number manipulation" you think would be involved-- album and song sales are pretty straightforward.
  • Reply 19 of 40
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by White Rabbit View Post


    So humble in your confession.



    Humility is overrated.
  • Reply 20 of 40
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by anantksundaram View Post


    I will. I was wrong.



    Big deal.



    Well 'fessed up sir
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