Incredibly Expensive CDs  | Fab Forum | The Beatles Bible

I noticed this too.  I went on Amazon looking to purchase some of Paul’s back catalogue on CD and was shocked to find they were out of print.  I would have thought that Paul’s stuff would have been a steady seller.  There are plenty of Paul’s contemporaries who are nothing like as commercially popular as Paul and yet their entire catalogue is available no problem.

I went to Paul’s official site and, as far as I can see, the back catalogue is only available on iTunes, which I find annoying.  Not all of us wish to use iTunes.  Also, I don’t like the way Apple Computers are starting to monopolise parts of the music industry. 

It annoys me the way that the music business are always going on about the evils of piracy and downloading off bittorrents and yet you find the works of a major artist are officially unavailable on CD.

If the music is officially available only through downloads then you should be able to do this direct from Paul’s site.  You shouldn’t have to go through iTunes.  Also, you should be able to download in flac.  For those who don’t know, flac is what is called a lossless format.  It offers the highest sound quality and also enables you to transcode into another format of your choice with minimal loss of sound quality.

The Rolling Stones offer flac downloads direct from their official site.  I’d like to see Paul’s site do the same.

Thanks for the info mmm.

The issue of illegality is an interesting one.

The objection that the entertainment industry has always had to piracy is that the person would have paid for the item but have gotten it for free so the artist has been robbed.

However, if I am unable to go out and purchase a legitimate copy of a CD because it is out of print then if I buy a pirated CD the artist is not losing any money or, if they are, it is because the record company will not reissue the CD officially, so, if anything, it is the record company’s fault the artist is losing money, not mine.

A couple more things worth noting.

1) Many people do not have a computer or do not know how to use a computer but enjoy listening to CDs.  Why should they have to spend hundreds of pounds on a computer, spend six months learning how to use the damn thing, then have to pay £x a month for a broadband connection etc just so they can listen to a piece of music?

2) If you buy from iTunes, you have to create an Apple account.  This is a privacy issue.  If I go into a record store in the high street and purchase a CD in cash, there is no trace, as it were.  If you go online that is not the case.  Thanks to Edward Snowden, we now know the extent to which we are all getting spied on by our own governments and can be in no doubt that big brother is watching us. We know that governments have subpoenaed supposedly confidential information off Apple, Google etc.

How do we feel about the prospect of the secret services labelling us as subversive extremists because we have Imagine , Happy Xmas War is Over, Revolution and Give Peace A Chance in our online music collections?  It’s like the McCarthy era all over again – if you listen to Back In The USSR you must be a communist.  I’m not joking – I wish I was.  If you like Public Enemy or Rage against the Machine you’ve got no chance!

Not to mention the issue of identity theft which is a multibillion dollar industry now.  Phishing attacks, getting your bank account cleaned out.  The risks of computer viruses and malware etc.  People shouldn’t be forced into all that.  They should still be able to buy a CD in the high street.