Ex-Beatle Paul McCartney is to sell his back catalogue through iTunes and other online music stores. EMI said in a press statement :
"EMI Music and MPL confirm the release of the entire Paul McCartney solo catalogue digitally for the first time ever.
Apple and The Beatles
The news is sure to throw fans of The Beatles into a frenzy and this clearly opens the door to a release of the Fab Four's catalogue online. It's also something that Apple CEO Steve Jobs has long been waiting for - he said Apple would do "whatever we can" to get The Beatles on to iTunes.
Apple (the computer company) and Apple Corps (The Beatles' company) kissed and made up in February following years of rancour and lawsuits between the two.
Steve Jobs dropped heavy hints about a possible deal during the Apple iPhone launch in January. His presentation made frequent references to The Beatles. And they even placed music from and the artwork to The Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album.
EMI music goes DRM-free
This all dovetails nicely with EMI's move into DRM-free music . EMI announced a tie-in with Apple in March and also has the distribution rights to much of the Beatles' musical output. EMI has already begun making DRM-free content available online including the first album from The Good, The Bad and The Queen .
Paul McCartney releases his next studio album Memory Almost Full on Monday 4th June 2007.