Apple’s iTunes Music Store has come to be the biggest seller of music in the digital age with many of the most popular and influential bands offering their tracks and albums. There are still some notable holdouts that aren’t on the iTunes store including The Beatles. Negotiations have been ongoing to get The Beatles music on iTunes with some of the issues revolving around a legal battle between Apple Inc. (the company behind the Mac and the iTunes store) and Apple Corp. (the holding company that The Beatles set up to manage their music catalog). In February of 2007, the two companies set aside their legal issues and were moving forward with negotiations to bring Beatles music to the iTunes store. Sir Paul McCartney, one of the surviving members of the band, has now come out and said that negotiations to add The Beatles to iTunes have stalled.

McCartney told BBC News, “We’d like to do it. We are very for it, we’ve been pushing it. But there are a couple of sticking points, I understand.” EMI was the label behind The Beatles during the bands heyday and owns the tracks. However, the label needs the permission of Apple Corp. to release the band’s music in new formats. A spokesperson from EMI said, “We have been working hard to secure agreement with Apple Corps to make the Beatles’ legendary recording catalogue available to fans in digital form. Unfortunately the various parties involved have been unable to reach agreement but we really hope everyone can make progress soon.” McCartney didn’t comment specifically on what exactly EMI wanted Apple Corp. to agree too that it wasn’t willing to offer. In these sorts of negotiations, the sticking points typically revolve around money.

Now let's see.. a track released in 1966 is how many years old now? 2008, minus 1966, let's see, carry the 5... that's 42 years. Now, how long do copyrights last? Hmmm, 42 years!

This is just over the top humorous to me. I can not even believe it.

I am just wondering if the new generations would bite this. I know that they are a great group but youngsters today are very different.

I don't know the Beatles seem to have some staying power through the generations. I mean my seven year old is aware of who they are and I'm not even a big fan.

I thought at first that maybe he was just holding out because he was older and not keeping up with the times.....but it sounds like he's all for getting the music on iTunes. I wonder what the real holdup is.

The real holdup is money. It's always money. No matter what other reasons some may give, eventually if you rip it apart it will be based on money.

I agree that in the end it all comes down to the all mighty buck. Honestly though I sure wish it was me with the rights to the Beatles songs

I thought Michael Jackson owned the rights to the Beatles songs? Didn't he buy them at auction or something back in the 1980's?

Was it the Beetles or was it the Rolling Stones? I know it was some old group that he owns most of the rights to their music and something about them being used to get a loan....