Beatles Said to Be in

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Beatles Said to Be in Online Song Licensing Talks

Tue Jun 8, 2004 08:17 PM ET

By Sue Zeidler

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Representatives of the Beatles are in discussions with various online music services about licensing their songs for distribution on the Internet, people familiar with the discussions said on Tuesday.

The Beatles have been one of the biggest holdouts in releasing their catalog for sale online, and the lack of such mega-hits as "Let it Be" and "Yesterday" has been cited as a major weakness for fledgling, Web-based music stores.

Negotiators for the Beatles have talked with several companies, with a particular emphasis on Microsoft Corp's (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research) MSN, which is expected to open an Internet music store late this summer, people familiar with the talks told Reuters.

"MSN is working very closely with the music industry to build a top-quality music service for consumers, which includes providing a wide selection of music, but has nothing specific to announce at this time," said a Microsoft spokesman.

The discussions by the legendary group were first reported by CNET on Tuesday.

Sources familiar with the matter said the current round of talks is being steered by the Beatles' representatives rather than their record label, EMI Group Plc. (EMI.L: Quote, Profile, Research) .

Representatives of the band's two surviving members, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, could not be immediately reached for comment.

EMI owns the Beatles' master recordings and would be involved in any final agreement, the sources said. The label has been trying to urge the Beatles for years to grant permission to distribute their songs online.

"We think it would be great if the Beatles decided to make their music available on legitimate music services," said EMI spokeswoman Jeanne Meyer.

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