C’mon, C’mon, listen to the money talk. Another legendary band has caved to the pressures of modern music delivery, as today Apple announces the AC/DC catalog is now available to purchase on iTunes.
They’ve dedicated a giant banner on the iTunes homescreen to announce that the catalog is now ready for download. AC/DC launches on iTunes with 25 albums and 778 songs. Classic albums likes “Back in Black” and “Highway to Hell” will run you $9.99, and some of the live albums will run you a little more ($14.99). Song prices are comparable to other artists on the service, with most being $1.29.
This marks the end of a pretty long holdout. Here’s what Brian Johnson said about iTunes four years ago:
“Maybe I’m just being old-fashioned, but this iTunes, God bless ’em, it’s going to kill music if they’re not careful…It’s a…monster, this thing. It just worries me. And I’m sure they’re just doing it all in the interest of making as much…cash as possible. Let’s put it this way, it’s certainly not for the…love, let’s get that out of the way, right away,”
It appears he’s changed his tune.
“AC/DC’s thunderous and primal rock and roll has excited fans for generations with their raw and rebellious brand of music, which also resonates with millions of new fans discovering AC/DC everyday. Their growing legion of fans will now experience the intensity of AC/DC’s music in a way it has never been heard before. AC/DC’s music has been Mastered for iTunes, ensuring the music is delivered to listeners with increased audio fidelity, more closely replicating what the artists, recording engineers and producers intended,” says Apple.
Nearly two years ago to the day, longtime digital holdouts The Beatles finally became available on iTunes. As the time, we noted that the iTunes holdouts were a dying breed, and artists like AC/DC, Bob Seger, Metallica, and Kid Rock were some of the few remaining whose catalogs weren’t available on the platform. As of today, all of those artists are now on iTunes.