Which Apple music store?

Once again, the Beattles are having legal problems with the other Apple (the Beatles own Apple Corps, and have since before the formation of Apple Computer).

There’s a trial going on in London right now about whether or not Apple Computer has broken a 1991 agreement not to enter the music business.

To me the answer is obvious. Of course Apple is in the music business. They have a “music store.” They sell music.

But Apple Computer is apparently claiming (and apparently the trial doesn’t have an obvious ruling) that the iTunes store “merely serves as a conduit for the transmission of music in the form of digital data.” Meaning that they’re in the “data-delivery business,” not the music business.

But then what the hell is a record store? A place that sells plastics, paper, and other materials?

That’s a pretty bullshit defense if you ask me. I hope they either come up with something better, or lose the lawsuit.