European copyrights
There’s apparently a hole in the copyright protection in Europe. It used to be 50 years, but will be extended to 70 years. But the extension will not be validated until November. Meanwhile, recordings from 1962 are out of copyright protection.
And first to seemingly capitalise on that fact is a company called Digital Remasterings, which has included ‘Love Me Do’ on a compilation of very early Beatles recordings, mainly live recordings from their time working at Hamburg’s Star Club. Meanwhile a company called Pristine Classical, which specialises in releasing remastered versions of out-of-copyright classical recordings, has issued its own remaster of ‘Love Me Do’, seemingly in protest at the copyright extension.
So…Digital Remasterings seems to think that the Star Club tape is now legal to release. But there’s a snag: Copyrights start the year of release, not the year of recording, and the 1962 Star Club recordings weren’t released until 1977.
I've seen a new CD advertised which has the official recordings of Love Me Do and PS I Love You alongside the tracks from the Tony Sheridan LP, which was also released in 1962. I suspect there will be quite a few labels jumping at this opportunity.
More confusion, The Decca tapes have turned up on amazon under the name, The Beatles (The Capricorn Tapes). It includes Love of the loved, Like dreamers do and Hello little girl.
amazon.co.uk/The-Beatles-Capricorn-Tapes/dp/B007PNXMAA/ref=cm_cr_pr_sims_t
I was under the impression that Apple owned the rights to this set. If memory serves the Decca tapes without the three LenMac songs turned up in the early 1980's, Like dreamers do and Hello little girl appeared on Anthology One, but Love of the Loved is yet to be officially issued. Looks like the Apple lawyers are going to have a busy year.
So, expect to see Love Me Do etc on every cheapo 'Hits of the 60s' compilation imaginable from now on? Shame. The fact that you never saw a Beatle track on a 60s compilation or advert for toilet paper, was one of the (many) things that made the Beatles special.
It's not as if The Beatles haven't been on compilation records before. Here's Jimmy Savile's selections from 1963, including She Loves You: Savile's Time Travels: 1963
Roger, I know there's a Jimmy Savile connection to The Beatles, but I don't think the man should be discussed again in light of the news which has emerged since his death (not sure how much publicity this received outside of the UK):
bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20981611
"Savile's Time Travels". "Music for Pleasure". The horror… I take it all back about the compilations. I also forgot that 1969 WWF LP.
Yes, I wasn't going to elaborate on the Savile connection.