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Thursday, October 16, 2003

Apple lawsuit may already be haunting the Fabs...

In Friday's updates, you'll notice the item about Apple Computer's announcement that its popular iTunes music file-sharing service is headed for Windows. (It was only available to Macs previously.)

Well, you can bet one group you'll probably never find there will be the Beatles.

Since the suit was filed, Apple Computer hasn't backed down in its stand that maybe it's time the original arrangement, in which Apple Computer wasn't supposed to get involved with music, be changed.

Not more than a day after it became known through a BBC report that the Beatles weren't going to do online sharing services, Apple Computer stings 'em with the announcement about the iTunes expansion.

It's beginning to look like the Fabs' strategy has misfired. After all, the Beatles' music would have given any file sharing service an instant key to success. And iTunes has been the most popular one since the original Napster, which, as we all know, was free. iTunes isn't -- and that's what makes its success all the more interesting.

By the way, one of those present via video for the iTunes announcement was .... Mick Jagger. The Rolling Stones aren't getting left out of this cash cow.

And maybe the Fabs won't either. Maybe, they figure, one of the services, even iTunes, will now come begging for the Fabs to join in. And the Fabs' price won't be cheap, certainly.

But if that's not the case, it'll be interesting to see where this leads.

And meanwhile, the Fabs' files can be found all over Kazaa and the other not-so-legal file sharing services.

To quote spokesman Geoff Baker, "We have no plans at the moment to go online ... I do not think there is any reason for it at all."

Don't look now, Geoff, but it's looks like you're already there, whether you know it or not.


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