Following that previously reported announcement by Microsoft that it is planning to launch an iPod style music player and download platform, rumours are starting to circulate about the possibility of a tie up with the Beatles to launch the new service.
Microsoft were reportedly in talks once before with the surviving Beatles, and the estates of Lennon and Harrison, about some kind of digital music promotion tied to the MSN Music service, but insiders at the time said the financial package being demanded by the fab four was just too costly. But Microsoft is expected to put a huge marketing spend behind its Zune service, leading some to speculate that they may now go ahead with the previously discussed deal.
Those rumours also follow recent comments by Neil Aspinal of Beatles company Apple Corps who said that a massive "re-mastering and digitization" process was underway with the Beatles catalogue with a view to some kind of digital launch, although he was vague on where and when that music would be made available. Obviously there is no love lost between Apple Corps and Apple Computers, of course, following their most recent trademark fallout, so some kind of deal with Microsoft would be an obvious choice for the Beatles company.
That said, despite reports on these rumours by the likes of the New York Post, all talk of a Microsoft Beatles tie up does seem to be highly speculative at this time.