Cupertino, Calif. - Following a report over the weekend in the U.K.'s Telegraph that said Sir Paul McCartney had signed a $400 million deal with Apple (NASD: AAPL) to distribute the Beatles catalog on the iTunes Store, Apple has dismissed the claim as unsubstantiated speculation. "This is not news nor is it a scoop," an Apple spokesman told Billboard.

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.

London - Major record label EMI Music announced that it has acquired former Beatle Paul McCartney's entire solo career catalog, which it plans to make available for the first time through digital services free of digital rights management (DRM) protections. The deal includes McCartney's releases with the band Wings, and his newest, "Memory Almost Full," which is set for release on June 4.

New York - Billboard reports that Paul McCartney, who is releasing his latest record to digital and mobile retailers, says that a deal to make the Beatles' lucrative catalog available for purchase from digital retailers is "virtually settled."

Seattle - Confirming earlier rumors, Starbucks and partner Concord Music Group announced on Thursday that former Beatle Paul McCartney has signed on as the first artist on Starbucks' new Hear Music record label. McCartney's forthcoming album is slated for release early this summer and will be available at all traditional music retail outlets as well as in Starbucks locations around the world.

New York - Coffeehouse giant Starbucks, which in recent years has begun selling music in its stores with some success, plans to launch its own record label, the New York Post reported, adding that sources familiar with the plans say the company is close to a deal to put out a release from Sir Paul McCartney. While Starbucks' existing Hear Music venture releases compilation CDs featuring licensed recordings, the Starbucks Records label is expected to sign, record and produce its own artists. Sources told the Post that Starbucks could announce the label as early as this week.