BlueBeat offers Beatles Digital Catalog, But for How Long?

Beatles fans have been very patient waiting for a deal to be brokered between Apple Corp, EMI and iTunes or any of the online sites peddling to music aficionados. But with the entire back catalog now available for digital purchase and the site's legal permission to sell the songs in question will fans shout "Help!" or "Beatles For Sale."

BlueBeat, based out of Santa Cruz CA, began selling tracks last week at 25 cents each with a 30 cent processing fee offering the deepest (if not only) discount available on the world wide web. Listeners may also stream the tracks online for free.

The Beatles catalog has never been licensed for digital download although it has long been rumored they would be made available on iTunes once a deal was finalized. Currently selling on BlueBeat.com are all the remastered albums as well as the "Anthology" series, "Savage Young Beatles in Hamburg 1961," and "Live at The BBC."

Wired.com spoke with EMI who confirmed the label has sued BlueBeat for copyright infringement in a U.S. district court in California.

The albums are currently still listed and for sale.