Apple plays down Beatles rumours

The story is "unsubstantiated speculation"

12 March 2008 10:13 GMT / By Katie Scott

Way back in November, Sir Paul McCartney told journalists that The Beatles would go digital with their back catalogue in 2008.

Cue a whole host of rumours, and, on Monday, his promise seemed to have come true with the story that the remaining Beatles had done a $400 million deal with Apple to put their entire back catalogue on iTunes.

But the very next day, one of the companies that owns the rights to a vast majority of the back catalogue denied the reports.

Sony/ATV Music Publishing, the joint venture owned by Sony and Michael Jackson, branded them "untrue", adding that if a deal had been made, they would know about it.

And today, it's Apple that has stepped up to deny the claims.

The computing giant has told Reuters that the story is "unsubstantiated speculation", and added: "This is not news nor is it a scoop".

The Beatles' own label Apple Corps and EMI are still not commenting.