Rumors about the Beatles on iTunes fly, again

The tired, years-old rumor is making the rounds yet again, yet there's still no official word on when—or even if—the Beatles will finally debut on iTunes. And honestly...do you really care?

The feeding frenzy started over the weekend, when several British newspapers—citing unnamed sources, of course—reported that Paul McCartney had agreed to release the Beatles back catalog online, and that the albums could arrive on iTunes "within months." Also rumored: a special-edition Yellow Submarine iPod.

Naturally, nobody is commenting on the rumors—not Apple, not Apple Corps (the company that handles the Beatles' music), and not EMI/Capitol (the Beatles' record label). 

And as for the rumors, well...the Yellow Submarine iPod is an oldie-but-goody, most recently rehashed last September before an Apple event that brought us the iPod Touch, but no Beatles.

Meanwhile, the we've been teased with word of the Beatles on iTunes for years now, often fueled by Steve Jobs himself, who delights in dropping the odd Beatles reference during his appearances and keynotes.

And as Forbes points out, McCartney said last November that a deal to sell Beatles albums online was "primed, ready to go" and likely to happen this year.

Getting the Beatles on iTunes—and online in general—would certainly be an industry milestone. The Fab Four are among the final online music holdouts (even Led Zeppelin caved last year), and the deal would be (in some ways, at least) the equivalent of "Star Wars" finally arriving on DVD.

That said, ripping a crystal-clear copy of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" onto your iPod is a snap, and perfectly legal. Indeed, if you're a die-hand Beatles fan, you've probably done it already. Hence, as a consumer...I'm having a hard time getting all worked up about buying "Hey Jude" on iTunes.

That's my take, at least. What about you? Is there anyone out there who hasn't already ripped their Beatles collections onto their iPods?

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