The U2 iPod and Its Relationship to the Beatles Deal.

In the context of the Beatles deal and more specifically the trademark settlement Apple's long-time iPod strategy comes into focus.

In an article called Social Currency and the iPod, I spoke about rumors of other band-specific iPods that have been floated in the past, the Madonna iPod being the main one. Its clear that those rumors could never have become reality without the trademark settlement, but I also said that Apple was holding out for a deal with the Beatles for, I don't know, karmic reasons. It's about social currency.

It's also no coincidence that the letter about DRM was released two days after the trademark settlement.

Leander Kahney's says that the iPod is about to become the new CD, and I think he's right about that. I said:

In one sense, the mystique of the CD is disappering as it becomes just another way to get music onto the iPod. The iPod is now the object with that magic. Steve Jobs has very carefully crafted it that way by blending great design, great advertising and the final piece, band synergy.

I took it one step further saying:

Apple and Steve Jobs have never been in the business of selling electronics. They have always been in the business of shaking things up and ultimately selling culture. Selling culture has nothing to do with selling iPods, or even digital files...

... and that is ultimately why people switch.

An obvious conclusion for a blog that tries, albeit not always successfully, to focus on the phenomenon of switching to Apple products.

The fact that Apple sells culture is why they understand that a Beatles iPod has to come before a Madonna iPod and why U2 was the only band that could precede the Beatles.

The U2 iPod was an exception. It was a foot-in-the-door for Apple and an opportunity for U2 to welcome the Beatles into the future of music distribution. U2 is the only band with a long enough history and enough current relevance to pull this off.

Of course, I could be wrong. Mac Rumors: Beatles Not Exclusive to iTunes? Apple Trademark Licensing Terms?

I do think that there is a great synergy between Apple and the Beatles and that a Beatles iPod makes karmic sense, but in the music business karmic sense is often replaced with in-fighting over money and control, and that's often part of the fun. Even if a Beatles iPod deal doesn't get done, the most important thing is the trademark settlement.

If, in fact, MacRumors has it right and The Beatles will, in fact, get royalties on the iPod they have an incentive to do the deal.

Frankly, I hope a Beatles iPod is released tomorrow on Valentines day and that U2 gets to compare themselves to The Beatles once again. For good measure, I hope that it's a wide-screen iPod with some of the new touchscreen interface features that we will see on the iPhone.

----

In a related story, analysts are figuring out that Apple might be in a good position. Beatles Agreement Could Lead to Preloaded iPods