MTV and Harmonix Come Together for Unprecedented Deal

Exclusive Agreement Set to Bring The Beatles Music to Fans for the First Time in Interactive Form Here, There and Everywhere in 2009 …

The Beatles’ extraordinary music and phenomenal legacy is set to rock across the universe in the form of a video game …”

– Excerpts from Apple Corps/MTV Games/Harmonix press release

So those reports that the Beatles’ Apple Corps was in talks with Rock Band developers MTV Networks and Harmonix over the creation of a Beatles-themed videogame? True.

According to a Beatles pun-riddled joint press release from Apple Corps Ltd., MTV and Harmonix this morning (what, no “Everybody’s Got Something to Hide Except for Me and My Monkey”?), the companies have inked an exclusive agreement to develop what they exuberantly describe as “an unprecedented, experiential progression through and celebration of the music and artistry of The Beatles.”

“The project is a fun idea which broadens the appeal of The Beatles and their music,” Beatle Paul McCartney said in a statement. I like people having the opportunity to get to know the music from the inside out.”

“It’s cool,” added Yoko Ono Lennon, perhaps dreaming of a “Rock Plastic Ono Band” edition of the game. “I love it and hope it will keep inspiring and encouraging the young generation for many decades.”

No word yet on how much of the Beatles catalog is involved here–or if it will feature a “Revolution 9″ minigame. But that’s beside the point, really. The fact that the band, which has long refused to distribute its music digitally, has licensed its catalog at all is a triumph for MTV Networks. This is a monumental adjustment in the Apple Corps approach to digital distribution and one that could herald future deals with Apple’s (AAPL) iTunes service (Beatles fan Steve Jobs must be beside himself today), Amazon and others.

This morning the video site, which is jointly owned by NBC Universal (GE) and News Corp. (NWS) (which also owns Dow Jones and this site), said it will offer full episodes of “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” and the “Colbert Report” beginning today. The deal, which brings the popular late-night satirists to the site just in time for the presidential election, is something of a surprise, since Comedy Central parent company Viacom (VIA) has so far refused to sign on to Hulu.

But that may change if this first tentative experiment bears fruit. “I think with success breeds success. It could open some other doors,” said Erik Flannigan, executive vice president of digital media at MTV Networks, the Viacom division that runs Comedy Central. “Hulu in many ways may put the shows in front of some people who might be more casual viewers but who might be interested in what’s going on with the elections.”