Earlier this week we reported that unnamed sources had revealed that “most, if not all” streaming services would be getting access to The Beatles catalog beginning this week. Now it has been made official, and chances are fairly good that the streaming service of your choice will carry the band’s catalog.
Given the history of exclusivity of the band’s music in digital form, it’s surprising just how many services the Beatles catalog is coming to. Spotify and Apple Music are getting the catalog just as you’d expect, but so are Google Play, Tidal, and even Amazon Prime Music, according to a report from Re/code.
Even Pandora will be streaming the Fab Four’s music, though given the nature of the service, this is only through its Internet radio and not on demand. Rdio likely would have carried the catalog as well, if the service hadn’t sadly shut down earlier this week.
The deal seems relatively free of various restrictions, as well. Unlike some artists, most notably Taylor Swift, The Beatles’ music will be available to even those using Spotify’s free plan. Music from The Beatles isn’t currently available for digital purchase from Amazon, and it isn’t clear if this new deal will affect this arrangement.
It’s unknown exactly what time The Beatles’ music will go live on various streaming services, but it’s likely only a matter of hours before you can start streaming away.
At the time of this writing, only Spotify has said when exactly the band’s music will be available. “On December 24 at 12:01 a.m. in your time zone around the world, The Beatles’ catalog will be available on Spotify to all of our users,” reads a post on the Spotify blog. The post also notes the full inventory of music, including 13 studio albums and four collections. Tidal will also have the catalog available starting December 24 at 12:01 p.m. local time. The full list is below.
- Please Please Me
- With The Beatles
- A Hard Day’s Night
- Beatles For Sale
- Help!
- Rubber Soul
- Revolver
- Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
- Magical Mystery Tour
- The Beatles
- Yellow Submarine
- Abbey Road
- Let It Be
- The Beatles 1962-1966
- The Beatles 1967-1970
- Past Masters (Volumes 1 & 2)
