London - The Beatles have settled a $59 million dispute over royalties with record label EMI, London's Daily Telegraph reported. Along with the settlement in February of a dispute between the Beatles' label, Apple Corps, and Apple Computer over use of the "Apple" name with regard to music, the announcement could pave the way for songs by the Beatles -- longtime digital holdouts -- to begin selling at iTunes and other digital retailers.

No such deal was announced today, but EMI CEO Eric Nicoli said several weeks ago that he was working on such a deal.

The settlement announced today stemmed from lawsuits the band filed against EMI in 2005, after an audit by Apple Corps found that EMI was allegedly underpaying royalties.

"We have settled on mutually acceptable terms and there will be no further comment," an EMI spokeswoman told Reuters.

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/2lvvfg (London Daily Telegraph)

http://tinyurl.com/2x6pns (Reuters)

http://www.emigroup.com