Beatles and iTunes: Not Coming Together . . . Yet

At a media event in London for a project he's working on, former Beatle Paul McCartney discussed what everyone has been hoping for: When will the Beatles catalog be available on iTunes?

As per Reuters, McCartney said, "That is constantly being talked of-we'd like to do it. What happens is, when something's as big as the Beatles, it's heavy negotiations."

He added that the band's label, EMI, and Apple Corp. have not yet agreed to a contract suitable enough for the catalog to be available on iTunes or other download services.

McCartney is on the same side as the fans. "We are very for it; we've been pushing it. But there are a couple of sticking points, I understand. So the last word I got back was that it had stalled, the whole process."

While the music of the Beatles is looking for a contract, McCartney has been without one from EMI. He released a record on the independent Starbucks' Hear Music label in June 2007. The solo album was called Memory Almost Full.

"I think the majors at the moment, I'm not dissing them, but I don't think they really know what's going on," he said, "With the download culture, they are floundering a bit."

Once the Beatles catalog is available for download, expect record buying to flounder a little more too.