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It's been a long and winding road, but Indian fans of The Beatles can finally celebrate. Indian digital music streaming company Saavn has announced that it will be releasing the iconic band's albums on its platform.
SEE ALSO:How 'fifth Beatle' George Martin shaped the band's soundThe catalogue on Saavn will include 13 remastered studio albums and six audio collections. Until now, the English band's songs could only be streamed on Apple Music, which made its India debut last year.
The 19 Beatles titles available for streaming on Saavn include "Please Please Me", "With The Beatles", "A Hard Day's Night", "Beatles For Sale", "Help!", "Rubber Soul", "Revolver", "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band", "Magical Mystery Tour" and "LOVE".
The Beatles famously visited India in 1968 for three months, to do a course on transcendental meditation at a spiritual retreat. They left abruptly, but the trip left an indelible impact on their music, with many songs finding their way into the White Albumand Abbey Road.
“I grew up listening to The Beatles, and have always felt a special link with them because of their famous love for Indian culture and music," Paramdeep Singh, Saavn’s co-founder and executive chairman said.
Until last December, The Beatles had stayed away from music streaming entirely. They first came to iTunes in 2011, but then kept away from digital music completely. It was only on last Christmas that their music became available on streaming platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, Google Play and Amazon Prime.
While Saavn is available in 196 countries, its focus remains India. The news comes soon after Saavn received an undisclosed investment from Madonna and U2's manager Guy Oseary. The collaboration was expected to result in developing artist collaborations.
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