Sony/ATV’s head of sync and creative licensing, Nick Oakes, has spoken to Music Week about the publisher’s unprecedented approval of Beatles songs for a major movie.

While the band’s iconic songs have appeared in their own films over the years, director Danny Boyle’s Yesterday is a rare non-Beatles project to license their music.

“In terms of films, it’s the first time it’s happened,” said Oakes. “Lots of people have asked about it in the past, but we guard the catalogue ...