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The Beatles make online music plans

Have the Apples struck a deal?

The Beatles may be preparing to release their music through digital-music services, reports claim.

Speaking during the Apple Corps versus Apple Computer trial in the High Court last week, Apple Corps label boss Neil Aspinall is reported to have confirmed the plans. No timescale for these plans was given.

He confirmed that Apple Corps is remastering The Beatles’ catalogue to make it sound better and that it is assembling digital booklets to accompany the downloads.

"I think it would be wrong to offer downloads of the old masters when I am making new masters. It would be better to wait and try to do them both simultaneously so that you then get the publicity of the new masters and the downloading, rather than just doing it ad hoc," he said.

The surviving Beatles have held back from releasing their tracks through online services so far, and to finally unleash them could be a pivotal moment for legitimate services.

The current court case shows they are aware that such services exist. Paul McCartney even gave video iPods away to everyone who accompanied him on his US tour last year.

Apple Corps wasn't able to confirm if Aspinall's statements have been reported correctly as this article goes to press. In the absence of verification, the published reports could be incorrect.

This story first appeared on Macworld.co.uk

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