Apple and music group EMI have agreed to sell The Beatles’ back catalogue on iTunes, after a decade of legal wrangling.
The Beatles were one of the few big names in music still not available through iTunes.
The agreement signalled the end of a 10-year deadlock between the two companies over sales of the band’s music.
In addition, the surviving band members and the estates of the others have been famously reluctant to sign up, saying that the quality of digital music isn’t good enough to do their catalogue justice.
The Beatles also took Apple to court over use of the company name and logo as their music label is called Apple Corps Ltd. The case was settled in 2007.
The settlement of the ongoing legal battle between Apple and the group has paved the way for the deal.
The addition of one of the music world’s biggest names is a huge coup for Apple – The Beatles have racked up sales of over 30m in the past 10 years, according to Neilsen SoundScan.
