How McCartney Can Solve The Whole iTunes Puzzle

We all know the story of King Solomon and how two women each claimed a baby to be theirs. How King Solomon, to determine the identity of the true mother, said he would therefore cut the baby in two and give each woman half. How this was intended to provoke the true mother to change her story and deny that the baby was hers. How this would reveal the true mother, who would be willing to give her baby to the other woman, if this was the only way to keep her baby from being cut in half.

This does not perfectly correlate to my solution to a problem currently faced by Paul McCartney regarding Beatles songs and iTunes, nevertheless, follow me, or Paul McCartney, follow me.

If Beatles songs become available on iTunes in the normal manner, what will happen to the artistic wholeness of Beatles albums? The songs on Beatle albums are not just packaged together as so much Beatles product; and Beatles albums are not merely artifacts of ways in which the songs were once packaged. They are artistic creations.

To strengthen the glue that holds these songs together as parts of specific Beatles albums, after the songs have been released into an iTunes song - at - a - time world, it may require more than a money incentive approach, a cheaper - by - the - dozen/ cheaper - if - you - get- all - of - the - songs - on - a - particular - Beatles - album approach.

I have an unusual plan for eliciting appropriate respect among the masses for the artistic wholeness that the Beatles albums possess. I do not know if Paul McCartney or iTunes are ready for my idea - in fact, I'm sure there are those for whom even the King Solomon story is considered profane (try pitching a movie where a major moment involves the idea of sawing a baby in half).

Sell Beatle songs on iTunes by the half-song. Each half-song would cost half as much as the whole song. From this there would emerge an ethic, a mentality of "You only bought half of that Beatles song???!!! What a ___ you are!" Song samples are one thing, where you know you aren't legitimately experiencing the entire work, but the idea of Beatles half-songs will touch so deep a nerve, provoke so extreme a reaction from those who respect the artistic wholeness of the entire Beatles song, that this disposition would emerge as a basic ethic. People would inwardly rejoice when they learn that, despite the option of purchasing half-songs, invariably the same number of both halves (i.e., whole songs) would be purchased (this is my prediction, as is the idea that this statistic would receive much attention).

I believe this new, basic ethic would have a ripple effect, reinforcing the glue holding together the sense that these songs are parts of whole Beatles albums. It could even become the foundation of a more widespread respect for artistic autonomy.