Talks on online Beatles sales

Representatives of the Beatles are said to be in discussions with various online music services about licensing their songs for distribution on the Internet. Representatives of the group’s two surviving members, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, could not be reached for comment.

The British band has been one of the longest holdouts in releasing their catalog for sale online. Music industry watchers say that the lack of availability for such hits as “Let It Be” and “Yesterday” has been a major weakness for upstart Web-based music stores.

Negotiators for the Beatles have talked with several companies, including Microsoft Corp’s MSN, which is expected to open an Internet music store late this summer.