The Beatles join iPod revolution

London: The Beatles have settled a £30 million (Dh217.7 million) row over royalty payments with record company EMI, clearing the final obstacle to the release of the band's entire back catalogue over the internet.

Executives at the group's company Apple Corps Limited and EMI can now sit down and work out a new royalties deal to cover music downloads of their hit singles and albums by websites like iTunes.

The highly anticipated internet release is likely to net millions for surviving members of the band and their relatives and propel former Beatles' hits to the top of the download charts.

The band issued legal proceedings against EMI in December 2005 in the High Court in London and the Supreme Court in New York to recover the alleged missing cash.

Sir Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and relatives of John Lennon and George Harrison had alleged that EMI underpaid £30 million in record royalties on sales of Beatles' records between 1994 and 1999.