To longtime Beatles fans who immediately burned "Revolver" and "The White Album" onto their home drives when they first got their iPods -- and to those who don't own iPods -- Tuesday's big announcement that Apple's iTunes is now selling Fab Four songs maybe didn't seem all that big a deal.
But it really is. More than any other music act of the 20th century, the Beatles have crossed generations and continue to drum up new fans. However, most music listeners under age 25 don't buy CDs anymore.
This could even be a game-changer for the Beatles catalog itself. Songs are displayed in the iTunes store based on top-downloaded tracks, and that list could be quite different from the obvious hits such as "Hey Jude," "Let It Be," "Something" and other wussy classics with little appeal to kids. Here's what we predict might be the Beatles' top sellers on the site:
"Come Together." Hip-hop is huge on iTunes, and this song had John Lennon rapping before Jay-Z was born.
"Birthday." It's one of the stupidest songs in the canon, but everybody who plans to let their iPod be the DJ at a birthday party will look for it.
"Why Don't We Do It in the Road?" A song that definitely seems funnier when you're 16.
"Michelle." Imagine every Ringtone user who knows somebody named Michelle.
"Yellow Submarine." Parents with iPods are always hungry for kids' songs that don't suck.
