News in Short: iTunes sells half a million Beatles albums in first week; Netflix hikes subscription cost
Apple sells 450,000 Beatles albums in one week
In jus one week, Apple sold nearly half a million Beatles albums through its iTunes digital store. The legendary band was launched, after years of sour negotiations, to much fanfare and plenty of hyping up from Apple.
The best-selling Beatles album in the U.S. is “Abbey Road,” and the best-selling individual track is “Here Comes the Sun," which is in good taste as that happens to be my favourite song of theirs.
Apple dedicated the main page of its iTunes and the front page of its website to the Beatles in a minimalist, black-and-white design theme in homage to the band (and to maximise sales).
Netflix hikes subscription cost, focuses on streaming video
In the U.S., Netflix created a streaming-only subscription plan for $8 monthly, and hiked its streaming plus DVD subscription one dollar, from $9 to $10 monthly.
Netflix has now positioned itself as "primarily a streaming video company delivering a wide selection of TV shows and films over the Internet,” according to chief executive Reed Hastings.
This means that, if they're already beginning to phase out DVD by mail services in the U.S., Canada will likely never see such an offering.
