Don't Get Your Hopes Up Over Beatles on iTunes

Sorry, Beatles fans: two sources are throwing cold water on rumors that Paul McCartney has sold the rights to the Beatles back catalog to iTunes.

Sony/ATV Music Publishing, the joint venture owned by Sony and singer Michael Jackson, has thrown cold water on newspaper stories out of London that The Beatles catalog would soon be available on iTunes. A spokeswoman for Sony/ATV Music Publishing told CNET News.com that the reports are "untrue."

Sony/ATV is a pretty good source. While EMI Group owns the recording rights to The Beatles catalog, Sony and Jackson own the rights to the vast majority of the catalog's publishing rights. Had a deal been cut, Sony/ATV would "absolutely be informed," the Sony/ATV spokeswoman said.

At the same time, Billboard reported that Apple denied the story.  Of course, this doesn't mean a deal won't still be made.

Tags:  itunes, Hope, Beatles, itu, NES, tunes, EA