--- description: A "happy crimble" from the mop tops. title: The Beatles to Start Streaming on Christmas Eve, Sources Say image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb91da7feb369a364/6988762c196cf465ca0398c7/the-beatles1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Report: The Beatles to Start Streaming on Christmas Eve by [Andrew Flanagan / Billboard](/author/billboard/) ## Andrew Flanagan / Billboard Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 18, 2015 10:32 PM CUT  (L-R) Ringo Starr, John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison of The Beatles pose for a portrait in circa 1964. (L-R) Ringo Starr, John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison of The Beatles pose for a portrait in circa 1964.Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images by [Andrew Flanagan / Billboard](/author/billboard/) ## Andrew Flanagan / Billboard Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 18, 2015 10:32 PM CUT The most beloved rock band in history and one of the most persistent holdouts in the digital age of music listening — [The Beatles](http://www.billboard.com/artist/383540/beatles/chart "undefined") — is set to finally arrive on streaming services, according to Billboard sources with knowledge of the negotiations. While Billboard has received conflicting reports on the timing of the Fab Four’s arrival to streaming platforms, there’s a strong indication that fans will be able to hear “Hey Jude” next Thursday, Christmas Eve. (Keep an eye out for whether Liverpool’s most famous sons unseat Justin Bieber’s [streaming record](http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop-shop/6685801/justin-bieber-beats-one-direction-spotify-record "undefined").) Chatter around a six-month “exclusive” for an known streaming service reportedly began to trickle out of Apple Records in 2014, according to one source, but fizzled out. This past January, former Universal Music Group digital executive Rob Wells restarted discussions for the massive get, with papers reportedly having been signed in mid-September. It’s unknown which specific services have secured the deal, though sources strongly suggest that they most, if not all, will have access to the band’s catalog of studio albums next week. (The Beatles are already available on Pandora because of how “non-demand” web radio is licensed.) When asked, a Spotify representative said the company “would not comment on that.” Rhapsody also refused to comment. Deezer, Tidal and Apple did not immediately return a request for comment. The Beatles as an entity has been notoriously slow in adopting and adapting to new technology — it took them six years to arrive on the iTunes Store — selling [two million songs](http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/950355/beatles-sell-2-million-songs-in-first-week-on-itunes "undefined") during their first week. The group took 25 years, since its breakup in 1970, to issue the comprehensive _Anthology_ documentary. It didn’t get involved with video games until _The Beatles: Rock Band_ was released in 2009\. The band released their music on CD in 1987, but didn’t remaster their work until 22 years later. The group joins the streaming revolution just as it has begun to [officially overtake](http://www.billboard.com/articles/business/6805195/warner-music-group-fourth-quarter-2015-earnings "undefined") downloads in revenue generation for major labels. They’ve sold 178 million records in the U.S., according to the RIAA. It’s not as though the group needs the exposure — since the arrival of Beatlemania the band has been a constant in the lives of people around the world through members’ solo work — Paul McCartney [appeared](http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/6568952/paul-mccartney-kanye-west-flattered-interview-collaborate "undefined") on two Kanye West songs this year, “FourFiveSeconds” and “Only You” — reissues like the 2009 _The Beatles in Mono_ box set, tributes from seemingly every musical artist in history (Kurt Cobain, perhaps most infamously), much of it fueled by a perpetual cycle of rediscovery of the group’s work by younger listeners. _Additional reporting by Glenn Peoples._ _This_ [_article_](http://www.billboard.com/articles/business/6813853/the-beatles-streaming-christmas-eve-sources "undefined") _originally appeared on_ [_Billboard.com_](http://www.billboard.com "undefined") _More from Billboard.com:_ * [Ticketmaster’s President Delivered a Morale-Boosting Memo in the Wake of Adele Disappointments](http://www.billboard.com/articles/business/6813819/ticketmaster-ceo-memo-adele "undefined") * [Behind the Scenes of the Dixie Chicks’ Prep for American Comeback Tour (That’s Already Successful)](http://www.billboard.com/articles/business/6813730/live-nation-dixie-chicks-tour-2016-behind-the-scenes "undefined") * [Pandora Gets Applause from Analysts and Investors in Wake of Royalty Ruling](http://www.billboard.com/articles/business/6813578/pandora-stock-analysts-investors "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4155809/the-beatles-streaming/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4155809/the-beatles-streaming/"},"headline":"Report: The Beatles to Start Streaming on Christmas Eve","datePublished":"2015-12-18T22:32:41.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T13:30:58.340Z","description":"A \"happy crimble\" from the mop tops","url":"https://time.com/4155809/the-beatles-streaming/","keywords":["Music","Spotify","The Beatles","holiday","Apple music"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb91da7feb369a364/6988762c196cf465ca0398c7/the-beatles1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Andrew Flanagan / Billboard"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb91da7feb369a364/6988762c196cf465ca0398c7/the-beatles1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"(L-R) Ringo Starr, John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison of The Beatles pose for a portrait in circa 1964.","caption":"(L-R) Ringo Starr, John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison of The Beatles pose for a portrait in circa 1964.","creditText":"Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4155809/the-beatles-streaming/","name":"Report: The Beatles to Start Streaming on Christmas Eve"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"John Lennon's Last Interview","description":"It's been 35 years since the death of John Lennon","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/QJ6fHhgg/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-12-08T20:54:08.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/QJ6fHhgg.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4155809/the-beatles-streaming/","duration":"PT2M10S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4155809/the-beatles-streaming/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```