15 key albums from Apple Records including the work of Billy Preston, Mary Hopkin, and James Taylor will be made digitally available as of October this year. It is hard to say whether fans are particularly excited about the news as whilst the record company creeps into the digital age, The Beatles catalogue is still nowhere to be found in the legal downloading realm of iTunes or Amazon.

Launched in 1968, Apple Records is one of the chief divisions of The Beatles’ multimedia corporation, Apple Corps Ltd.

Despite queries into why some of the most beloved tracks of the British band are still unavailable online (with the exception of illegal file-sharing), no definite explanations has been met.

Initial speculation pointed fingers at Michael Jackson’s estate and Sony for holding back The Beatles catalogue since they currently own its publishing rights, but this was later deemed untrue. As of late, none of the surviving members of the band or EMI have provided much insight into this issue. There have also been rumours, most recently created by Yoko Ono, who claimed that the Beatle’s tracks were coming to iTunes in 2009 – but still nothing.

Just recently, Prince denounced the Internet, claiming that it is “completely over”, and that he will no longer make his songs available on the digital platform. The only problem is, they will still be online, albeit unauthorised by the musician himself.

However, avid fans, perhaps it is time to hold your breath as this half-hearted embrace of the digital era by Apple Records may just lead to the whole nine yards.

Image copyright distortionhead