File under “not surprising”. In the case of an online music retailer that had tried claiming it owned copyright to Beatles songs because it had reverse-engineered and rerecorded them, a judge has effectively ruled “nice try”.

iTunes Store may have an exclusive on The Beatles digital downloads today. But that special treatment will only last “in to 2011”, EMI Music spokesperson Dylan Jones tells paidContent:UK. That means other music download retailers like Amazon (NSDQ: AMZN) MP3, eMusic and Napster will negotiate, or already have been, to…

Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) had teased: “Tomorrow is just another day. That you’ll never forget.” Turns out, today’s announcement is somewhat forgettable. Confirmation that iTunes Store will have a digital exclusive on The Beatles’ back-catalogue leaves nonplussed those of us who have covered the once-exciting prospect for going on four or…

That big mysterious announcement Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) has coming tomorrow? It’s that The Beatles’ catalog will finally be sold on iTunes, reports the WSJ, citing unidentified sources. Still, the report notes the fragility of the agreement and warns that there was a chance that Apple could change its mind.

The lyrics from I am the Walrus make as much sense as anything else I’ve heard today about the Beatles and iTunes as 09-09-09 hysteria builds. The latest: claims that Yoko Ono (which would be pronounced Oh-No if this is all true) told Sky News that the availability of the…

Finally, some serious synergy ... CBS (NYSE: CBS) parlayed Wednesday’s appearance by Paul McCartney on The Late Show with David Letterman into a surprise mini-concert from the marquee of the Ed Sullivan Theater—and then into a web-exclusive set. In front of cameras on scaffolds across from the theater where he…

Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr helped *Microsoft* kick off its E3 keynote with a wave of harmonized sound: a trailer and gameplay footage from the upcoming The Beatles: Rock Band. The game drops on September 9—coinciding with the release of all 13 of The Beatles’ remastered albums—and includes previously unreleased…

The Beatles’ availability through online music retail may be lurching, slowly ever closer - but don’t bet on it. EMI Music and the band’s Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) Corps company say the back catalogue has been “digitally remastered” for release on compact disc on September 9 (9-9-09), the same day the…

Viacom’s Harmonix is breaking out of its annual development cycle for Rock Band this year to focus on the new Beatles’ game, due out in time for the holiday season, and to avoid the limits that come along with cranking out new versions, CEO Alex Rigopulos told attendees at Billboard…

The Beatles’ back catalogue has finally gone online - in possibly the most contrived fashion imaginable. Norwegian broadcaster NRK struck a deal with the country’s music rights agency Tono to issue all 212 tracks as free podcast episodes through January only, accompanying its Daily Beatles radio series. You’ll have to…