November 6, 2009 12:37

BlueBeat takes down Beatles songs after EMI wins court injunction

Songs were sold legally because of imitation technology, claims owner

Photo Gallery: The Beatles
Photo: PA Photos

The Beatles' entire back catalogue has been removed from online music store BlueBeat after the band's record label EMI won a court injunction ruling the site had been selling the tracks unlawfully.

BlueBeat started selling individual Beatles tracks for as little as 25 cents (15p) earlier this week (November 2), but a Los Angeles judge has now ordered the site to stop selling or streaming the songs.

Songs by other EMI artists have also been pulled from the site, reports BBC News.

BlueBeat owner Hank Risan defended the company by saying that the songs being sold had been re-recorded – making them exempt from copyright. He claimed the tracks were both different to the original recordings and identical in sound, thanks to a new technology called "psycho-acoustic simulation".

However, the judge presiding over the case ruled that Risan hadn't been able to back up his claim. A court date has been set for November 20.