Beatles vinyl albums by subscription

De Agostini (with the cooperation of Apple and Universal) have started a Beatles Vinyl Collection series. Available for subscription in the UK and Ireland at £9.99 / €9.99 for the first issue (for a limited time only), from Issue 2 onwards, all single albums are £16.99 and all double and triple albums are £24.99. Subscribers get a magazine per album. When complete, the collection will consist of 23 single, double or triple albums, and their accompanying magazines, plus a few "free" gifts:

Free gifts

FIRST DELIVERY
£9.99 / €9.99
First Magazine & First Vinyl album
Free exclusive Beatles Vinyl Collection t-shirt

SECOND DELIVERY
£37.98 / €44.98
2 Magazines
2 Vinyl albums

Magazines

THIRD DELIVERY
£45.98 / €54.98
2 Magazines
2 Vinyl albums
A high quality display frame for your favourite Beatles album

PLUS MORE FREE GIFTS
Delivery 5: A Beatles Vinyl Collection turntable mat
Delivery 7: Exclusive Beatles Vinyl Collection mug
Delivery 8: The Beatles Vinyl Collection USB power bank
Delivery 9: The Beatles Vinyl Collection backpack
Delivery 10: A Beatles Vinyl Collection Notebook

EXTRA WITH PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTION
2 High quality storage boxes to house the complete The Beatles Vinyl Collection, with 4th and final delivery.

Here's a sample of magazine #1, "Abbey Road":

Click to preview

This collection has been available in Italy for Italian subscribers since last January. These are the albums, in order of delivery (as far as we know):

1. Abbey Road
2. Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
3. Help! 
4. The Beatles (the White album)
5. Rubber Soul 
6. Magical Mystery Tour
7. Yellow Submarine
8. Beatles for Sale 
9. Love
10. A Hard Day's Night
11. 1962-1966 (The Red album)
12. With the Beatles
13. Anthology 1 
14. Revolver 
15. Anthology 2
16. Live at The BBC Vol 1
17. Please Please Me
18. On Air: Live at the BBC Vol 2 
19. Let it Be
20. 1
21. Anthology 3
22. 1967-1970 (The Blue album)
23. Past Masters

More info: De Agostini

We wonder if the Anthologies are remastered, as per their iTunes counterparts? Probably not, though. Shame about the non-inclusion of the "Yellow Submarine Songtrack", as it contains superior stereo mixes not available on these other albums. And what about "Let It Be...Naked" or last year's "Live at the Hollywood Bowl"? And for this to become a true collector's item, they should have included the "Tomorrow Never Knows" album, plus the "1963 Bootleg recordings" album. But we're glad they didn't so we didn't have to start subscribing ;-)

Inclusion of this album might have forced our hand.

Also available at some news agents, this campaign actually started last year, but was halted after just a few releases. Relaunched yesterday, let's hope they are able to continue the series until conclusion. Reports from last year's customers are that these albums are very much like the 2012 remastered vinyl stereo albums, but of course without mention of EMI, instead, Universal Music and Calderstones Productions. There is a very small "De Agostini" text on the album sleeves, which are glossy and sturdy, and the records seem to be pressed at the French MPO pressing plant, using new Abbey Road studios lacquers.