The Birth of Northern Songs: A Deathful Commercial Decision
At the height of Beatlemania in 1963, John Lennon and Paul McCartney signed a publishing contract that would later trouble them. Along with music publisher Dick James and Charles Silver, Brian Epstein, their manager, helped them form Northern Songs LTD. to handle their rights to their composition library. At the time, the transaction sounded advantageous, but Lennon and McCartney actually had a minority share in the business—just 15% apiece. James and Silver kept a controlling shareholding, and this would shortly show to be an expensive mistake.
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Northern Songs: A Betrayal in Business
Lennon and McCartney desired ownership over their publishing rights by 1969. Dick James and Charles Silver, meanwhile, had different ideas. James and Silver sold their controlling portions of Northern Songs to the British media company Associated Television (ATV) without consulting the Beatles. This action stunned the Beatles and deprived them of any influence over their own tunes. Feeling deceived, Lennon publicly declared his contempt for James, but the harm had already been done.
Key words: ATV acquisition; loss of publishing control; business treachery; frustration of Lennon and McCartney; Dick James sale.
Michael Jackson’s Shrewd Move: The Surprising Purchase Made by The King of Pop
More than ten years after the Beatles’ breakup, in 1985, their catalog was once more sold in an unexpected turnabout. Once, Paul McCartney had told Michael Jackson, a buddy, to make investments in music publishing. Following this guidance, Jackson outbid McCartney and bought ATV for $47.5 million, including Northern Songs. Jackson, despite their personal connection, was not slow in claiming ownership of the Beatles’ repertoire. Deeply annoyed, McCartney complained that Jackson never even offered him an opportunity to personally negotiate for the rights.
Sony/ATV Merger: The Rights Slip Further Away
Eventually in 1995, Michael Jackson combined ATV with Sony Music Publishing to create Sony/ATV. Jackson kept a half-interest in the newly established business, but his financial problems ultimately drove him to sell his half. Following the purchase of Jackson’s estate by Sony in 2016, Sony/ATV became the sole proprietor of the Beatles archive. Thanks to U.S. copyright law, McCartney was at last able to recover part of his rights in 2017 after years of battling for ownership. Still, full control stayed in business hands, showing how big music corporations profit from the archives of great performers.
Notes from the Loss of the Beatles: The Music Industry Today
The publishing problems of The Beatles provide musicians of today a vital lesson. Long-term financial success and artistic control depend on one keeping ownership of their songwriting portfolio. Many contemporary musicians, including Taylor Swift, have battled to retain or restore their rights after learning from the tragedies of the Beatles. The music business is still a complicated and sometimes merciless one where intellectual property ownership may either propel or destroy an artist’s career.
The narrative of the Beatles losing their publishing rights is a sobering lesson in commercial ignorance, corporate takeovers, and the always-changing music business. It emphasizes the need for artists to know the legal and financial sides of their professions—before it’s too late.
That their manager, Brian Epstein, was still alive was a strong belief of mine. The events that transpired with regard to their publishing would not have taken place under Epstein’s supervision. It was true that his passing in 1967 was a lingering death for the Beatles as a whole, and they kind of hobbled along until John Lennon made the official news to his bandmates in late September 1969 that he was departing the band at that time.
