ALL YOU NEED IS DIGITAL

After years of refusing to take part in the sale of their music on the Internet, The Beatles are about to digitize their catalog for online purchase, according to testimony given by head of their record company Neil Aspinall in the current case against Apple Computer, according to Reuters.

The former Fab Four road manager and current Apple Corps managing director was called as a witness in his company’s trademark lawsuit against Steve Jobs’ iTunes initiative.

Aspinall testified that the company was digitally remastering the entire Beatles catalog, which would pave the way for selling the songs online.

"I think it would be wrong to offer downloads of the old masters when I am making new masters," he said in a written statement submitted to the High Court in London. "It would be better to wait and try to do them both simultaneously so that you then get the publicity of the new masters and the downloading, rather than just doing it ad hoc."

A spokeswoman for Apple Corps affirmed that the company is preparing to make the Beatles music available through online music services.

"There's no firm date on any of this at the moment. There are a lot of projects that Apple are working on at the moment," she said on Thursday.

Apple Corps, owned by Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr as well as Yoko Ono and Olivia Harrison, have accused Apple Computer of violating a 1991 agreement by using the Apple name and logo to sell music downloads through its iTunes Music Store.

The trial ended on April 6, with a decision from the judge due after Easter.