Beatles Songs Removed From BlueBeat

11/06/09 3:08pm

by Kate Harper (CHARTattack)

EMI won a temporary court injunction against BlueBeat, the online music store it was suing for posting and selling Beatles tracks, which has forced the retailer to remove the songs.

BlueBeat had been selling Beatles songs for as little as 25 cents U.S. (about 27 cents Canadian) this week, but a Los Angeles judge ordered the site to remove them and stop streaming them.

EMI, which launched a copyright infringement lawsuit against BlueBeat this week, says the site was selling the songs illegally, but BlueBeat owner Hank Risan says the company was doing so legally because they had been re-recorded. He says this is effectively a copyright loophole which uses technology called "psycho-acoustic simulation." According to BBC News, Risan says BlueBeat is therefore able to sell songs that sound identical to the original recordings but are exempt from the U.S. Copyright Act.

Both EMI and BlueBeat are due in court Nov. 20, when both of their arguments will be heard.

The Beatles' music is not currently available at any digital retailers. EMI and Apple Corps, The Beatles' record label that is now owned by Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and the estates of John Lennon and George Harrison, are still in negotations about making The Beatles' back catalogue available digitally.