In the past, the Beatles have been notoriously tight with releasing their catalog online and licensing their songs — try finding them on iTunes — but Apple, keeper of the Fab Four's name, has been loosening up lately.

The newest twist comes courtesy of the Financial Times, which reports Beatles reps are in talks with Activision, makers of Guitar Hero, and MTV Games, distributors of Rock Band, to create a video game similar to both. The deal could be worth several million dollar.

Many industry experts see this move as the next step down the path towards the inevitable licensing of Beatles music across a wider spectrum. "To my view, it's only a matter of time before we see Beatles songs that are the original recordings in motion pictures, in television work, and yes, maybe even one day in a commercial," Martin Bandier, chief executive of Sony/ATV Music Publishing, which controls more than 200 Beatles copyrights, told FT.

$1 billion-plus in sales is certainly enticing.