A new album or rare recordings by the Beatles from 1963 has been released. <br /><br />The 59 tracks were made public to stop them falling out of copyright. <br /><br />EU law protects recordings for 70 years if they have had an official release and 50 years if they have not. <br /><br />Director of Communications at the British Recording Industry Gennaro Castaldo said: “I think one reason why 50 years came up, and now 70, was that it was really assumed to cover the length of an artist, so that they could actually enjoy a living and make a return whilst they’re alive and it was felt then after that it should just become public. Obviously then people are living longer as well which is why I think they realise that 50 years might be a bit too short.”<br /><br />While widely bootlegged, the songs have never been officially released until now. <br /><br />The aim was not to sell more music but to protect the tracks from being misused. <br /><br />Gennaro Castaldo added: “It will be interesting to see how many people actually will download these. I suspect it won’t be vast and we’re not talking about a number one album, but the collectors will certainly be happy about it and it means the copyright is extended and protected for a further 20 years so their music isn’t used in any inappropriate way for TV adverts or soundtracks or anything else that might not be considered to be right, really.”<br /><br />The rare Beatles recordings and other sessions are now available to download via iTunes
