The official website of The Beatles has been teasing a big announcement since Saturday (Sept 12).
A video shows a countdown from ’10’ to ‘1’.
1 is the name of the Fab Four’s best-selling hits collection. Originally released in November, 2000, it has sold more than 30m copies.
The official Twitter account for the estate of George Harrison retweeted the countdown video over the weekend, teasing “a major announcement!”.
Beatles fans on Twitter and YouTube have begun speculating what could be coming; guesses range from a video clip collection on DVD to newly-unearthed material.
But why, then, link the announcement to 1 so specifically? With the official hashtag #thebeatles1?
Perhaps because the album will be the first step onto streaming services for the band, whose music hasn’t appeared on the likes of Spotify, Apple Music and Google Play to date.
In August, Showbiz411, suggested that a deal had been struck between rights-holders of the Beatles’ music – which include band members and their estates, as well as Apple Corp and Universal Music Group – and streaming services.
A fellow long-term streaming hold-out, AC/DC, made their catalogue available on streaming services in June, following in the footsteps of the likes of Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin.
As for John, Paul, George and Ringo?
Watch this space.
