Yoko Ono: 'Don't hold your breath' for Beatles on Apple's iTunes

"Steve Jobs has his own idea and he's a brilliant guy," Ono said in an interview with Reuters. "There's just an element that we're not very happy about, as people. We are holding out."

She continued: "Don't hold your breath... for anything."

Last year, the entire Beatles catalog was remastered and re-released in a box set that came on on Sept. 9. That was the same date that Apple introduced its updated line of iPods, and the timing led some to expect that a deal would be announced. But the dates turned out to be purely coincidence.

Rumors of the band's songs appearing on iTunes have existed for years. Apple and the parent company of The Beatles, Apple Corps, were engaged in a lengthy and bitter trademark dispute for decades, but that issue was resolved in 2007.

Even though those issues were patched up years ago, the legendary band has been reluctant to allow its recordings to be made available in a digital format.

Reuters noted that Apple Corps has been unable to come to terms for digital downloads with EMI Group, which licenses the Beatles' recordings. From there, another deal with iTunes would need to be struck.