It’s All Apples For Apple.

Finally Apple have settled their long running battle with the Beatles over the use of the Apple name. It’s good news and most commentators have focussed on the security of the brand name and the prospect of the Beatles’ catalogue being made available on the iTunes store.

But for those of us who have tracked this story for a while there is, of course, a much deeper implication, as highlighted by Leander Kahney at Wired,

“…the iPod could become the new CD, especially if Apple starts offering cheap shuffle iPods pre-loaded with hot new albums or artists’ catalogs. Imagine a whole range of inexpensive, special-edition iPods branded with popular bands containing a new album, or their whole catalogs…

Apple was prevented from doing this until now by the 15-year-old contract between Apple Corps, the Beatles’ music company, and Apple Computer. This contract precluded Jobs’ Apple from acting as a music company and from selling CDs or “physical media delivering prerecorded content … (such as a compact disc of the Rolling Stones’ music).”

Apple has been selling music as downloads for years, of course, but thanks to this clause, the company couldn’t sell an iPod with music already loaded onto it.”

There is, of course already a black market in DJ iPods, preloaded with mixes, available for a modest markup on the store bought item. Moreover, the fashion has grown in recent years for people to give loaded or semi-loaded iPods and other players.

The prospect of cheap iPods, shuffles and smaller nanos with full artist catalogues, or label best of collections is tantalising indeed. Imagine a cool-era Blue Note iPod, or a Motown iPod or maybe the daddy of them all, The James Brown iPod – in Black of course.

[tags] Apple, iPod [/tags]