Detroit - The lucrative catalog of the Beatles will likely be made available in downloadable digital format for the first time in 2008, former Beatle Paul McCartney tells Billboard. "It's all happening soon… 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 told Billboard.

McCartney added that delays in releasing the Beatles' catalog digitally can be chalked up to "contractual" issues and deliberate planning.

Fellow longtime digital holdouts Led Zeppelin recently made their catalog available digitally, timed to coincide with the release of their "Mothership" greatest hits collection.

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http://tinyurl.com/3bbwvy (Billboard)