Beatles fans, but not nuts

Bangaloreans are thrilled the band's lifetime work will be out on a pen drive soon, but are complaining it is priced way too high

Beatles fans, but not nuts

Bangaloreans are thrilled the band's lifetime work will be out on a pen drive soon, but are complaining it is priced way too high

A limited edition pen drive, packed with all that the Beatles ever did, will be out soon. Bangalore fans of the 60's rock 'n' roll band are excited about it, but many think its Rs 15,000 price tag is a bit too high.

"I won't buy it for Rs 15,000; I have got a whole lot of (Beatles) albums," said C K Ravindranathan (60), an engineer. "The asking price is a bit too much."
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But few in the city seemed interested in pre-ordering the apple-shaped device with a green surface.

With a storage capacity of 16 GB, the 'Green Aluminium Apple' will consist of 14 Beatles albums, 13 mini-documentary films, liner notes and rare photos. It is compatible with PC and Mac.

"I would buy it. But I won't go to the extent of pre-ordering it," said Samyuktha K (21), a sub-editor with an English news website.

The portability factor scored with Samyuktha, who said she would go for it even if she already had everything the thumb drive offers.

"You can't always carry all your albums; sometimes you don't remember where they are," said the journalist. "This is more convenient."

Nice, but costly

Not everyone felt it was worth it obtaining the device at the price being asked for it.

"For India, the price is too much," said Kamal Raj P (27), who works as a technical writer. "When you can download it on to a pen drive for Rs 400, why would you buy this?"

The view was echoed by many, though all agreed it would be nice to have a compilation like the one on offer except, it was not "affordable".

Again, those who did want the drive did not seem interested in pre-ordering it.

"Obviously, I will go for it, though I will not pre-order it on the Internet," said DJ Salman.

The music professional in him added that buying was always better than downloading. "I don't support downloading. I prefer original tracks," said he. "This will make a nice collector's edition."

For many old Beatles fans, buying the USB drive was not necessary since they said it was the music that mattered and that they had built a good collection over the years.

"They (Beatles) are very special. They have touched the hearts and souls of millions of people all across the world," said Dr Pendakur Anand, an allergy specialist.u00a0 "But I have Beatles in my system, I have CDs. I don't need to buy this."

Many also felt that youngsters were so familiar with the Internet today that it would hamper the prospects of the Beatles thumb drive.

Beatlemania: The Beatles influenced culture, fashion and thoughts; they came to India seeking spirituality

Other Net options

"At Rs 15,000, people may not buy it. After all, youngsters are exposed to YouTube today," said Ravindranathan, who still prefers the Beatles LPs which his brother used to bring home in the 1960's.

Whether Bangaloreans buy the USB drive or not, young and old alike agree that the Beatles were 'timeless and universal' and that contemporary music would in no way dent their popularity.

"They are like gods of music. They are the ones who gave birth to a new genre of music," said Meghana Srivatsa (21), an MSc student. "All these rock stars are inspired by them. They learnt it all from the Beatles."

Find out more on
https://www.thebeatles.com/#/news/APPLE_AND_EMI_TO_RELEASE/

The Fab Four
Known as one of the greatest entertainers of the 20th century, the Beatles began their journey in the early 1960's. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr not only made a musical contribution, but they also impacted the culture, fashion and thoughts of several generations. Experimenting with different genres like rock and roll, rock, country, blues, ballads, psychedelia, instrumentals, soul, folk and music from India, the band won the hearts of millions all across the world. Their songs like 'Love me do', 'Please Please me', 'Help' and 'Let it be' have the remained popular through the years.

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