Every time Apple holds a new event, the speculation begins: will this announcement be the one in which The Beatles’ music (legally) comes to the Internet? But it turns out that Apple was beaten to the punch by BlueBeat.com, which on October 30 began streaming unlimited plays from The Beatles’ catalog (including the new remastered albums) and selling tracks for a quarter each.

It’s at this point that you’re probably asking yourself, “Self, who exactly is behind BlueBeat.com? I’ve never heard of it.” It’s true that BlueBeat.com is not well known as a music streaming destination, but you might know more than you suspect about the company behind it; Media Rights Technologies made waves back in 2007 when it sent cease-and-desist letters to Microsoft, Adobe, Radio, and Apple, demanding that the companies adopt its proprietary streamripper protection software, X1 SeCure Recording Control.

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