UK newspapers such as the Daily Mail and the Telegraph are reporting on an expected deal between Sir Paul McCartney and Apple, Inc. to bring the Beatles catalog to iTunes. According to the Telegraph, the deal could be worth as much as £300 million ($600 million US). An Apple Corps label spokesperson said that the date "has not yet been set." The Daily Mail story suggests that Sir Paul may be motivated to do the deal now as a means of funding his divorce settlement. Ouch.

The Telegraph also reports that albums like Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, the White Album and Help "will be available from iTunes," and are expected to top the charts for downloads. They also say that there is no word yet on how the the two surviving Beatles, and the heirs of Lennon and Harrison, will split the revenue from music sales on iTunes.

Is this the first time we've heard reports of the Beatles catalog coming to iTunes momentarily? No. Does this seem a bit more credible than earlier stories? Yes. To be fair, the tech columnist for the Guardian paper says he's spoken to Apple Corps flacks and they say no deal is finalized. Still, happiness is a warm Beatles/iTunes story.

Thanks to everyone who sent this in.

The Beatles are now on iTunes-- kind of. George Harrison has become the last solo Beatle to be added to the iTMS, as iTunes now carries all of his solo work (including "Got My Mind Set on You"-- enjoy having that in your head for the rest of the day). That means that all the Beatles have now had their solo work added to the online store. There's John, Paul, now George, and that other guy. If you want them all, it's gonna take money, a whole lot of precious money. It's gonna take plenty of money, to do it right child. Stuck in your head yet?

And yet we still wait (well, most of us do) for the Beatles as a whole to appear on iTunes for purchase. It's become a kind of mythical event, hasn't it? Someday, the heavens will break open, earthquakes will rend the ground under our feet, and the world will end around us, but hopefully not before we can buy the White Album at the ITunes store.

Thanks, Eric!

What a week for Apple fans. After a slow Labor Day, we got a huge midweek event, new iPods, and what turned out to be the week's biggest story: the iPhone is now $399.

MobileChat iPhone AIM Client Debuts
Started off the week with not one but two IM iPhone betas.

MarsEdit 2.0
Red Sweater's blogging client gets a new interface and Flickr integration

Mass-media messup: NBC doesn't get the iTunes store
Nik tells us why the peacock should leave the pricing to Apple.

Ask TUAW: External Front Row, iSight mirroring, booting from an external HD, and more
You ask, we answer, and you don't even have to pay an extra buck just to read it for 30 seconds on your iPhone.

The Beatles: whatever
Scott doesn't care if the Beatles showed up on Wednesday or not.

Metaliveblogging "The Beat Goes On" event
What's the next best thing to being in Moscone West? Reading our commentary about it.

iTunes: Free Wednesday
Featuring Dave Matthews and The Pick Up Artist (not the same person).

iPhone ringtones on the cheap
Get all of the ringtones, with none of the price.

Apple screwed you. So now what?
The most useful thing we posted all week.

Bye, bye HiFi
Apple's speakerbox gets an inconspicuous farewell.

Found Footage: Quicksilver Google Tech talk
Sure, Quicksilver's creator isn't the best public speaker, but if you're interested in UI design at all, this is a must-see.

Apple giving early iPhone buyers $100 credit
Steve gives some back. Thanks early adopter whiners!

iTunes 7.4 breaks iPhone hacks
A speedbump (albeit a very, very small one) for iPhone hackers.

Why did Apple drop the price?
We consider the reasons behind this week's biggest surprise.

Well the one rumor that I thought was least likely (that the Beatles were a no go at this morning's event) turned out to be true. There is still no Beatles music available on the iTunes store, either in the WiFi store or otherwise.

Not that Steve didn't taunt us. Over and over again, he threw down hints the whole time-- he played "Give Peace a Chance" as a ringtone (joking that it was for when NBC called), played Lennon to demo the new WiFi store, and played Paul McCartney to bring the chairman of Starbucks on stage. Heck, the name of the event was "The Beat Goes On." He knows we want the Beatles (even if Scott doesn't), and he played with our emotions all day.

But when "One more thing..." came out, it was the Starbucks deal and KT Tunstall performing. And we're left with no idea when (or if ever) we'll be able to buy Apple recordings in Apple's online music store.

The mood in TUAW's secret underground bunker is electric as thoughts of tomorrow's media event float in our heads. New iPods? Probably. Something unexpected? Perhaps. The Beatles in iTunes? Who cares?

Yeah, I said it. We have been covering the Beatles in the iTunes Store saga for over 3 years here at TUAW (3 years this month, actually. Clearly it is a sign from the Universe!), and I must admit I have never understood what all the fuss is about. Sure, I like the Beatles which is why I already own all their music, and I am sure most other Beatles fans do as well. Furthermore, the Beatles aren't some small, no name band. You can walk into any CD shop (new or used) or log onto any online purveyor of physical CDs and buy any number of Beatles albums which is why I find it so perplexing that every single rumor involving the iTunes Store and iPods always has something about the Beatles tacked on. It is as if the rumor sites don't think anyone will believe their wacky tales if there isn't a, 'Oh, and Steve's cousin's wife's best friend's college roommate has it on good authority that the Beatles are totally going to be on iTunes soon. Oh, and multi-touch Cinema Displays with built-in iSites are coming soon as well. Ringo loves his.'

Since when did the entire Mac community become obsessed with the Beatles?

Clearly, we all know that Steve is a fan which explains why their songs are often played at Apple events and show up in Apple screenshots, but I think you would be hard pressed to find someone who doesn't like at least one Beatles song (yes, this is where the contrarian out there comment about how they have a deep and abiding loathing for the Beatles. The comment form is right down there, fellows!).

Honestly, I have no idea why people have gotten themselves in such a froth over the possibility of the Beatles catalog becoming available on iTunes. If that is announced tomorrow it will the least exciting thing to come out of the event, unless of course this event turns out to be another iPod HiFi/Leather Case non-event.

I just hope we still won't be speculating about this when I'm 64 (you didn't expect this post could end without a lame Beatles joke, did you?).

No Beatles next Wednesday? Like pretty much everyone else, I figured the whole "Beat" goes on thing, not to mention that the third Beatle got added to iTunes recently, all pointed to next week's event as not only showing off new iPods, but Beatles music to play in them (and I wasn't the only one-- mockups are all over the place).

But now the rumor mill (so, again, grain of salt with all of this) says it's a no go on the Beatles. There will be a new iPod, and supposedly a brand new Ringtones system will be brought to the iPhone, where you can use iTS purchased music as a ringtone, but we won't actually meet the Beatles.

Then again, no one really knows but Apple-- Gruber speculates that since the event is being held at Moscone West, McCartney will be on hand to play live. And let's be realistic-- even though there is evidence for both a new iPod and the whole ringtones thing, no one's really sure what's going down anyway.

So, as usual, we'll have to wait until next Wednesday to find out (or at least until next Tuesday, when the New York Times confirms what blogs have been saying all alone). What do you think?

Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

You may not be able to buy the Beatles' music as a group from iTunes, but you can buy most of the member's solo stuff. Lennon, McCartney, and now Starr. That's right, Mr. Conductor's music is available on iTunes including Photograph: The Digital Greatest Hits (which is an iTunes Plus album).

One more thing to note about Ringo, other than he has the best name our of anyone in the Beatles, is that he is a Mac user. I was poking around his personal website, and stumbled across his photography section. Those certainly look like Photo Booth pictures to me.

Thanks to everyone who sent this in.

Imagine all the people... downloading John Lennon's songs. It isn't hard to do-- John Lennon's music is now available on the iTunes store as of last night. Right around 3AM, reader Ricky (thanks!) saw the graphic above pop onto the store, and noticed that Working Class Hero, among other albums, had arrived, and then disappeared about half an hour later. He speculated that they were working on a full release today.

And he was exactly right-- Apple has announced that sixteen of Lennon's solo works are now for sale on the iTS, including the "digital debuts" of the Lennon Legend and Acoustic collections. Additionally, for the next 30 days, six of the albums will include exclusive video content-- Working Class Hero looks like it has a "Give Peace a Chance" video on it, and Imagine includes a video for the classic title track. And all of the albums are available not only regular price ($.99 a song), but also at iTunes Plus prices, which means $1.29 a song, but completely DRM free.

First Paul McCartney, now Lennon, and the Beatles has to be just around the corner. Power to the people, right on!

Thanks, Ricky and Zack!

Everyone seems to be very excited about the possibility of the Beatles catalog being available on iTunes. Now, I'm a fan of the Beatles, but it seems to me that everyone who is big into the Beatles already has all their work, and even if they were missing somethings the real fans would demand high quality tracks than those currently available on iTunes (it would be great if the tracks were DRMless though).

That being said, I am sure some folks are excited about Sir Paul McCartney's announcement that his next release will be his first available for download via iTunes. He also says that the Beatles catalog is very close to being available online.

[via Digg]

Another hurdle on the way to an eventual Beatles-on-iTunes debut has been cleared. Today, ContactMusic reported that Apple Corps has settled with EMI over unpaid royalties. Apparently, this ongoing dispute has been one of the issues that has blocked online digital distribution of Beatles tracks. This settlement may allow EMI to distribute Beatles songs online in the near future. If so, you may soon see the Beatles showing up in iTunes. It's been a long and winding road and we're still not near the end.

Thanks Jeff Kirk & everyone who sent this in.

Early today we posted about tomorrow's EMI press conference in London featuring the one and only Steve Jobs. May people thought this could mean that the Beatles music catalog would be coming to the iTunes store. While this would be interesting, the Wall Street Journal reports that EMI is doing something much more interesting than simply adding the Beatles to iTunes.

According to the Wall Street Journal (the whole article requires a log in) EMI has decided to offer a significant portion of its music catalog sans DRM. That's right, one of the Major Labels (notice those capital letters) is taking Steve up on his thoughts on DRM. Let's hope that the other Labels (and movie studios) follow suit. DRM is cold comfort to content creators, and an annoyance to legitimate consumers.

[via Daring Fireball]

Could this be the introduction of Beatles music in the iTunes Store?

According to the BBC, Apple sent a notice to certain members of the press on Sunday (except TUAW, for some strange reason) inviting them to a press event in London for this Monday. Expected to attend are Steve Jobs, EMI representatives and a special artist or band who will offer a live performance. Plus, the invite teases an "...exciting new digital offering." Hmmm.

Apple, Inc. and Apple Corps settled their dispute back in February, and several months ago Steve issued this invitation:

"..We have always loved the Beatles, and hopefully we can now work together to get them on the iTunes Music Store...We are glad to put this disagreement behind us."

Thanks, Fraser!

Update: Before we get too excited, let's remember today's date. Though that would be a mean trick.

As we all well know, Apple stunned the world with a single SuperBowl commerical back in 1984. And now the Toronto Sun claims that Apple "plans a 'special' announcement scheduled for a Super Bowl commercial on Feb. 4." As Erica previously posted, all signs point to the Beatles in iTunes. Electonista is even suggesting that access to the remastered Beatles catalog may be on iTunes before CD.

While the Beatles in iTunes is not nearly as big a deal as the introduction of the Macintosh, it will be a welcome addition and yet another big SuperBowl victory for the team from Cupertino.

Macworld UK reports that the Beatles may be joining the iTunes store as early as next month. Rumors from a popular Beatles fansite say a deal has been struck between Apple Computer (now, and tellingly, called Apple Inc) and Apple Music (the Beatles). For me, as soon as I heard that Apple was changing its name and dropping "Computer", I suspected that we might be hearing some news but this is as yet still in unsubstantiated rumor territory. It's not going change the way we live and learn but I'm kind of looking forward to buying "Twist and Shout" as a single digital track.

Apple and the Beatles have a long, litigious history. As you may be aware, the Beatles created a record label on which they sold their music. The name of that label? Apple.

Apple Computer, many years ago, agreed not to sell music so that there would never be any confusion between the two companies. Then along came the iPod and the iTunes Store and then another lawsuit.

It would seem that Apple and Apple are letting bygones be bygones and are close to reaching an exclusive deal for the Beatles catalog. Steve had personally invited the Beatles to join the iTunes Store, and it looks like they may take him up on the offer. The iTunes Store, if Fortune is right, will be the only place where you will be able to purchase digital versions of the Beatles work. This will be a big boost to the iTunes Store, if it is true. Though I wonder if the Zune Market place is working on getting the Rutles' catalog.

Thanks, Sam G.