While the record industry had been in existence since the 19th century, it was in the 1950s and 1960s that it really took off, especially with The Beatles. Forty years later, the record industry is in major transition: the shift from physical formats and sales to that of digital downloads and portable mp3 players. The recent settlement between Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Apple Corps Ltd. only confirms that something big is on the horizon for the industry. How big though, is the question. If a band as historic as The Beatles go digital with remastered tracks, not only will the fan base have a field day, but mp3 listeners in general will feel the pull to buy these tracks.

The Beatles catalog was first remastered for disc in the mid-80s, with the CDs out on the shelves at different times over the course of 1987. It has now been twenty years since their catalog was updated (which is an interesting time period between updates - 1960s-1980s-2000s - twenty years), and every day the update is more and more confirmed, though the release date is never mentioned. The rumors said the Love album would be out in time for Valentines Day, but since that is tomorrow, the rumors were wrong. As of today (release day for new music), the Love album has not appeared on iTunes or other music downloading stores.

The big question about such a large catalog being released to downloading stores is the impact it will have on the industry. Already, in the United Kingdom, downloaded tracks count toward the single charts, and it is being predicted that when The Beatles music is released onto these sites, they will re-"conquer" the charts and dominate like they did in the 1960s. Certainly such a massive boost to the industry is in order, but is it safe to let past bands (i.e. groups from the 60s, 70s, 80s) reinvigorate the industry? Especially since downloading is incrementally increasing with each passing year (the success of downloading has not matched the success that the CD initially enjoyed in the mid-1980s).