Julian Lennon and Courtney Love have both lost loved ones who were revered as musical geniuses.

Julian and John Lennon

Now they have something else in common, because John Lennon's 44-year-old elder son has sold a financial stake in his late father's compositions for the Beatles to Primary Wave Music Publishing, the same firm that purchased a 50 percent stake in the music-publishing catalog of late Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain from Love, his widow.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Primary Wave characterized the share as "significant." The deal centers on songwriting royalties, meaning that Primary Wave will share in the revenue from the sale of Beatles songs. UK label giant EMI and Apple Corps, the Beatles' record company, settled a legal dispute over royalties this week.

The Lennon sale does not, however, include publishing rights, which are owned by Sony/ATV Music Publishing, a division of Sony Corp. that is partly owned by Michael Jackson. That means Primary Wave has not gained a stake in control of how the Beatles' songs can be sold or licensed.

Julian Lennon is the only son John Lennon had with his first wife, Cynthia. When John Lennon was killed in 1980, his share of his compositions was passed down to his widow, Yoko Ono, his son Julian, and Julian's half-brother.

Julian Lennon enjoyed brief success as a singer in his own right in the 1980s, largely from the hit "Too Late for Goodbyes" on the album Valotte. As part of the deal, Primary Wave has agreed to help Julian Lennon market an as-yet-untitled forthcoming album, his first since 1999's Photograph Smile.

Primary Wave has licensed Cobain's songs for Nirvana to 2K Sports' MLB 2K7 video game and to CBS for use in the show .