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George Harrison's previously unheard Beatles tracks are set to be released.

The music legend left behind a lot of unfinished material before his death in 2001 aged 58 and his widow Olivia and son Dhani, 37, are keen to finish the tracks together and release them in the near future for his fans to hear.

She told Billboard's Overheard column: ''There are a lot of songs that are unfinished.

Continue reading: George Harrison's Beatles Songs To Be Released

It’s been less than a week since The Beatles’ back catalogue finally hit streaming services and music fans all over the world have been indulging in all the Fab Four’s classic hits. But the band’s arrival to the streaming world has perhaps also helped to settle a long-standing debate among music fans, as to what is the definitive Beatles’ song.

The Beatles’ back catalogue is now available on streaming services.

At 00.01am on Christmas Eve The Beatles’ music hit stream hit almost every major streaming platform including Spotify, Apple Music, Google Play, TIDAL, and Amazon Prime. It marked the end of the group shunning the streaming world, finally bringing their music into the 21st century.

Continue reading: 'Come Together' Is The Most Popular Beatles Track On Spotify

The Beatles music has finally been confirmed as hitting a range of streaming services just in time for Christmas. The band’s official twitter account made the announcement today, with their full catalogue becoming available from tomorrow, Christmas Eve.

From tomorrow you will finally be able to stream The Beatles’ music.

‘December 24 at 12:01am local time, The Beatles’ music is available for streaming worldwide,’ the announcement read, with a link to the band’s official site. The music will be available to stream on Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, Google Play, Microsoft Groove, Napster/Rhapsody, Slacker Radio, Tidal and Amazon's Prime Music service. The songs will not, however, be available on Pandora.

Continue reading: The Beatles' Back Catalogue Confirmed To Hit Streaming Services On Christmas Eve

It's been a long wait for fans, but The Beatles are rumoured to finally be about to begin releasing their music on streaming services and tracks could come as early as Christmas Eve. Despite being arguably the most popular group of all time, the Fab Four have so far kept their back catalogue off services such as Spotify and Apple Music.

Are The Beatles about to join the streaming world?

Billboard reports that there is conflicting information on exactly when the band’s music will appear on streaming services, but discussions are said to be ‘strongly hinting’ towards a December 24th arrival date.

Continue reading: Could The Beatles Be Ready To Hit Streaming Services On Christmas Eve?

Oscar-winning filmmaker Ron Howard is set to direct a documentary about The Beatles, following their journey from Liverpool's Cavern Club to their last concert at San Francisco's Candlestick Park. Crucially, the movie is being made in-corporation with Sir Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Olivia Harrison and Yoko Ono.

Ron Howard [L] will direct the Beatles documentary [Getty/Christopher Polk]

Howard - known for Apollo 14, The Da Vinci Code and Frost/Nixon - called it "an astounding story".

Continue reading: Ron Howard To Direct Beatles Documentary, From Cavern Club To San Francisco

A new album from The Beatles will be released in November showcasing songs the Liverpool band recorded in the BBC's studios. The record, entitled On Air - Live At The BBC Volume 2, will serve as the sequel to 1994's Live At The BBC and will feature ten unreleased songs from the 1960s that the band never recorded for their record label EMI.

A New Album Of The Beatles' Songs Will Be Released In November.

The rarities, according to The Independent, will include the famous four-piece's cover of Chuck Berry's 'I'm Talking About You' and the 19th century, oft covered 'Beautiful Dreamer.' All live-to-air pieces without editing, the songs will only emphasise The Beatles' musical proficiency and ability to make great music together.

Continue reading: The Beatles Rarities Album To Be Released: 'On Air - Live At The BBC Volume 2'

Having played in the West End last year, the Beatles musical Let It Be opened on Broadway last night (24th July) in the midst of an on-going copyright infringement lawsuit that has been filed by the creators of rival tribute show, Rain: A Tribute To The Beatles. The people behind Rain claim that Let It Be incorporates elements of their 2010-11 show, including musical arrangements of hits, hairstyles, similar Scouser banter, and a selection of 28 of the 31 songs that Rain brought to Broadway.

The Beatles Stage Tribute Band.

According to the New York Times, Peter Cane, a lawyer for Let It Be's producers, Jeff Parry and Annerin Productions, argued that the copyright claim was absurd. Speaking to the NY Times, Cane said "Let It Be is a tribute to The Beatles, not to the four guys who impersonate The Beatles. How do you monopolise the ability to present an impersonation of The Beatles? How many different ways can you really do it? The Beatles acted a certain way, they played certain notes, they spoke a certain way."

Continue reading: Let It Be: The Beatles Broadway Musical Opens Despite Copyright Lawsuit

Family, friends and fans have all congregated in California today to mourn the late Indian sitar legend Ravi Shankar, who passed away earlier this month.

Shankar will long be remembered for his inspirational style of playing the sitar, which has led many to claim him to be the greatest player of the instrument in the modern era. His work with The Beatles and the influence he had on them, particularly George Harrison, who became a close friend to Shankar, opened his work and a completely new sound to Western ears for the first time for many, and his music will be remembered long after his passing.

Olivia Harrison, the widow of George, attended the ceremony and gave a speech telling of the impact Shankar had on her, her late husband and everyone who came into contact with him. Whilst Ravi's daughter, Anoushka Shankar, and her half-sister Norah Jones also showed up to pay their respects to the late great.

Continue reading: Ravi Shankar Memorial Service Held In California

Shankar changed the face of modern music and opened the eyes of millions to sitar music as well as the Asian-sub-continent's classical music differences in tone, rhythm, harmony and timbre. Sitar music has entirely different scales to the European classical music that had informed most artists until the 1960s when The Beatle's George Harrison introduced Shankar to the world of pop music, and pop music's fans to Shankar. 

As the music world weeps for the loss of one of the last century's greatest influences, many people have spoken of their sense of loss. Ivan Hewett, writing for the Telegraph, speaks of his 'first encounter' with Shankar on one his parent's vinyls. He describes the music as "darting and bobbing like a hummingbird and sighing like a disembodied voice." He wrote, "I especially liked the moment when the tabla entered, because this signalled was the closing section of a composition that would get faster and faster, ending in a dizzying whirl of virtuosity." 

As his friendship with George Harrison blossomed, he played at an array of enormous music festivals, including the iconic festival Woodstock in 1969 which resulted in his music being associated with the free-loving, drug-fuelled moment of the era. "People had this idea that my music was somehow mixed up with the drug culture, that it was a way of losing your consciousness," Shankar said said. "But that's so wrong, the tradition is all about achieving an inner purity. I always hated the drugs, and I decided not to play at those festivals any more." 

Continue reading: Ravi Shankar, The Godfather Of Indian Classical Music, Has Died At The Age Of 92

The Recording Academy have paid tribute to the late Ravi Shankar, who passed away, aged 92.

In a statement, from the organisation behind the annual Grammy awards, his influence is acknowledged in many musical fields, such as pop, classical, jazz and world music. “Three-time GRAMMY® winner and renowned sitar player Ravi Shankar was a true pioneer in introducing Indian music to the West,” writes the Recording Academy’s President / CEO Neil Portnow.

The statement continues “Just last week, I had the honor to inform him that he would receive a 2013 Lifetime Achievement this February. He was deeply touched and so pleased, that he extended a gracious and personal invitation to visit with him at his home. We have lost an innovative and exceptional talent and a true ambassador of international music. Our thoughts and sincerest condolences go out to his family, friends and all of those around the world who were inspired by his music and compassionate philanthropy.”

Continue reading: "A True Pioneer" - The Recording Academy Pay Tribute To Ravi Shankar

After her death last year aged 79, just two years after her great friend Michael Jackson, Elizabeth Taylor has become the world's highest grossing dead celebrity, according to Forbes. This result sees the growth of her estate beat MJ, as that was his title in 2011. 

Time report that her estate has made $210m over the past year due to an enormous Christie's auction of her belongings, which made $184m, with this, added to the sales of her perfume White Diamonds, pushed her ahead of the $145m that Jackson's estate earned. According to Dorothy Pomerantz, it's likely that Michael Jackson will hit the top spot again next year, and Taylor's success a one off due to her death. She says this is due to the multiple streams of income to his estate: "Not only does it earn from sales of his own music, Jackson owned a 50% stake in Sony's ATV catalog, which includes artists like the Beatles, Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga. His estate also collects money from the successful Cirque Du Soleil show The Immortal Tour." 

Other legendary characters that appear on the list include Elvis Presley, Bob Marley, John Lennon, Marilyn Monroe, Dr. Seuss, Steve McQueen, and George Harrison. The $145m made by the dead Thriller star is more than any other living artist today, proving that although he's not leading posthumous earning, he's still the King of Pop. Although, with two of the Beatles in this list, perhaps we can award that King-dom jointly. The Liz & Dick biopic about Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, starring Lindsay Lohan, will be airing November 25th 2012, and may just top up Liz's account a touch more.