Faxon, Jones made deal happen

TICKET TO RIDE: While Apple Corps, EMI and Apple have been discussing a deal to get The Beatles into the iTunes Store for years, the endgame began this summer when Roger Faxon took over EMI and made the matter a top priority, EMI reps told the bible. Faxon met with Apple Corps CEO Jeff Jones in September and "in a matter of hours" worked out the broad strokes of the agreement. "Jeff and I sat down shortly after I arrived," Faxon told the Wall Street Journal’s Ethan Smith in another behind-the-scenes story. "We agreed this really was the moment to do this. After that it was very easy to cut a deal." They code-named the initiative "Bastille," because it coincided with Bastille Day. The other key was Jones, whose predecessor, Neil Aspinall, was behind the 30-year trademark battle between Apple Corp and Apple. "Jeff Jones did what many people thought was impossible," one industry insider said. "He was critical to making this happen." The exact terms of the deal remain unknown, but Apple is assumed to have paid a "substantial" advance for both the catalog and the exclusive rights to sell it digitally until sometime next year. (11/17a)