Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Beatles in a Box


On September 9, 2009 Capitol Records released the recordings of the Beatles remastered in mono (packaged in the white box) and stereo (black box.) This week the two sets are positioned at eye level in the local 42N Best Buy store just in time for the official holiday shopping period.

While these remastered albums are available in CD format with booklets and other packaged goods, digital downloads will apparently be available perhaps as early as 2010 per Paul McCartney's November 14th statement. You don't have to wait though. A form of digital downloads, available on a limited edition USB flash drive, can be found on the group's official store website.

As the trend for digital music format distribution continues, older versions of file storage (vinyl records, cassettes, 8-tracks and reel-to-reel tapes) fade quickly from popular use. Still, holding a 45 rpm piece of vinyl that was issued when the band still recorded at Abbey Road Studios provides a tangible reminder of the longevity of the Beatles' music and the generational remarketing as technology evolves. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Know that.

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