Beatles 'primed and ready' for Web

Former Beatle Paul McCartney says the Fab Four's music will probably make its long-awaited Internet debut next year, a US music Web site has reported.

As a group, The Beatles have been among the highest-profile holdouts to putting their catalogue online but a recent settlement to a lengthy trademark dispute between Apple and their company, Apple Corps, was seen as finally clearing the way.

McCartney told Billboard.com: "It's all happening soon. Most of us are all sort of ready. The whole thing is primed, ready to go -- there's just maybe one little sticking point left, and I think it's being cleared up as we speak, so it shouldn't be too long.

"It's down to fine-tuning but I'm pretty sure it'll be happening next year, 2008."

McCartney said any delay in bringing The Beatles' music to the Internet was due to contractual issues, as well as deliberate planning by all parties involved.

He said: "You've got to get these things right. You don't want to do something that's as cool as that and in three years' time you think: 'Oh God, why did we do that?'"

The solo catalogues of all four Beatles have been available digitally since October, when the music of George Harrison went digital.

Apple has not said when it expects to release The Beatles' catalogue, though the market has been expecting it since the trademark settlement in February.

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