LIers applaud, slam iTunes-Beatles deal

The digital music age may have finally come of age.

The Fab Four are on iTunes.

More than 40 years after the Beatles cut their last vinyl record, the legendary group's vast catalog went on sale Tuesday on Apple Inc.'s popular online music outlet.

Beatles fans on Long Island - just miles from where John, Paul, George and Ringo played their famous gigs at Shea Stadium, met the news with excitement, curiosity and a sense that the Beatles-iTunes union was inevitable.

"If it means more music for more people, I'm happy," said Anthony Pomes, 38, of East Northport. "If it means people are going to experience the Beatles in an increasingly scalpeled and non-album-like way, that would be a drag."

Ending a protracted negotiation, Apple Inc. and Apple Corps Ltd. announced yesterday that iTunes is selling the Beatles' albums and compilations.

"The Beatles are one of those groups that parents and young people can kind of come together on, no pun intended," Craig Marks, editor of Billboard magazine, told The Associated Press. "There are kids and there are baby boomers and people in between who, for whatever reason, never did download those Beatles songs because they weren't on iTunes."

Guillermo Rivas, 16, was shopping at Soundtraks in Huntington with friends Tuesday when he was told the news. "I guess it's kind of great, because I just got my iPod," said the Huntington teen. "I'm going to be on there a lot."

Rivas said his first Beatles download would be the group's landmark album, "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band."Karl Groeger Jr. knew this dreaded day would come. The owner of Looney Tunes CDs in West Babylon predicted he'll soon see a steep drop in sales of Beatles CDs as more potential customers decide to buy parts of the classic catalog from the comfort of their couches or desktops.

"I knew it was going to happen," Groeger said. "But am I happy about it? Absolutely not. I expect their catalog sales to go down for us about 15 to 20 percent."