Apple to Apple: Beatles’ company 'forced' to offer 59 unreleased tracks on iTunes, after change in copyright law would make 50-year-old music free in public domain

The Beatles Bootleg Recordings 1963 includes five versions of A Taste Of Honey and four of She Loves You

The iTunes-only album, which will include live BBC recordings and studio outtakes, is released next Tuesday by Universal Music

Prompted by EU copyright laws, which state that unreleased music loses copyright after 50 years



If you're struggling to find a Christmas present for an avid Beatles fan, look no further.

Apple, the company set up by John, Paul, George and Ringo, is set to release a new 59-track album next week, just in time for the festive season - and it's all thanks to EU copyright laws.

Although it will not include some of the more fabled Beatles recordings - such as Carnival Of Light, or a 28-minute version of Helter Skelter - Beatles enthusiasts will no doubt be excited by the prospect of alternate versions of early classic such as A Taste Of Honey and She Loves You.

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A new 59-track album of Beatles material is to be released by Apple next week - thanks to EU copyright laws The new release will include 44 songs recorded for the BBC as well as previously unreleased studio outtakes

The release has been prompted by copyright laws, which mean that unreleased music loses its copyright – and can therefore be taken for free and even sold by others – after 50 years.



The album, to be released next Tuesday by Universal Music, will include performances recorded for the BBC and studio outtakes.

The Beatles Bootleg Recordings 1963 will also include demonstration recordings of two songs that the band eventually gave to other artists.



This will see Lennon and McCartney's Bad To Me, which became a number one hit for The Dakotas, and Lennon’s piano demo of I’m In Love, released by the same band, available on iTunes.

BBC sessions of familiar songs such as From Me To You and I Saw Her Standing There, all made half a century ago, are included on the track list, which has appeared on Norwegian-based Beatles blog, WogBlog.

The website, which reported the release, suggested that the collection is an effort to give the material copyright protection and stop it falling into the public domain.



EU COPYRIGHT LAWS ON MUSIC

Last month, after campaigning led by Sir Cliff Richard, the UK government backed an extension to EU copyright laws. This means that the copyright on released music recordings has been extended to last from 50 years to 70 years. However, the copyright for non-released music recordings remains at 50 years. This, Beatles fans believe, is why Apple has decided to release this bootleg album of 1963 recordings - shortly before the tracks' copyright would expire.

The tracks would only be given protection following an official release.



This latest batch of tracks comes little over a month after a selection of recordings from archive BBC sessions hit the shelves.



The new selection includes multiple appearances for some tracks (there are three different takes of There's A Place, for example).



For music recordings, EU copyright laws were last month extended from 50 to 70 years’ protection, but this does not include unreleased tracks.



Therefore, unreleased Beatles recordings from 1963 will legally lose their copyright in 2014.



It means that Beatles fans can hope for releases of the 28-minute Helter Skelter and their famous performance of Carnival Of Light from 1967 in the next few years.



The releases of previously unsold music could become a trend, thanks to the EU copyright law.

Last year, for instance, Sony released an 86-song Bob Dylan album, shamelessly entitled The Copyright Extension Collection Vol 1.



This was then followed up by the release of The 50th Anniversary Collection: 1963.

The release is believed to have been brought about because copyright on unreleased music expires after 50 years The album is to be released next Tuesday by Universal Music and will be available on iTunes only