After battles upon battles inside courts and out of them, Apple Corps, the semi-militant (it seems) corporation that governs the rights to the beatles' music, has decided to let the digital world have at it. It's important to note that Apple Corps, Apple Records and its daughters have nothing to do with Apple Computer. In fact, they have dragged each other to said courts several times...

Apple Corps haven't yet decided who, how and where, but they have definate plans to start selling Beatles music online in some form or other - time will tell when it comes to specifics.

In a sector of the music business that sells for over 1,1 billion dollars per year, Apple Corps have most likely caused, by refusing to sell online, millions of illegal downloads that they've made no profit on - their own fault, most would say, and statistics speak hurtful words for Apple Corps. The Beatles' music is among the most pirated music around, as you'll see if you run a search on any of the larger file-sharing networks.

Apple Corps, Apple Records, Zapple Records (shut down) are record companies owned by the living members of the Beatles, and the widows of the deceased members. The list of artist under the Apple label extends beyond the Beatles, with names such as Ronnie Spector and Ravi Shankar, but the Beatles have always been the main players and focus of Apple.

About the author: Gunnar Sommerfeldt publishes VonSommerfeldt.com , the Duke of Desperation, and the Frontman Project .