LONDON - Record company EMI Group PLC said Sunday it planned to
unveil "an exciting new digital offering" with computer company
Apple Inc., raising expectations that The Beatles' music catalog is
about to be made available through Apple's iTunes online music
store.
EMI said it would hold a news conference Monday at its London
headquarters with its chief executive, Eric Nicoli, and Apple
boss
Steve Jobs "and a special live performance."
The company gave no further details.
EMI has been The Beatles' record label since the early 1960s.
The Beatles have so far been the most prominent holdout from iTunes
and other online music services, and Apple's overtures to put the
music online were stymied by a long-running trademark dispute with
The Beatles' commercial guardian, Apple Corps. Ltd.
In February, Apple Inc. and Apple Corps resolved their legal feud
over use of the apple logo and name, paving the way for an
agreement for online access to the Fab Four's songs.
Apple Corps was founded by the Fab Four in 1968 and is still owned
by
Paul McCartney,
Ringo Starr, the widow of John Lennon and the estate of George
Harrison.