Beatles (Catalog) for Sale

This might be old news to you folks, but just in case...

Michael Jackson Might Surrender Beatles Catalog
Mon Mar 4, 8:57 PM ET

(3/4/02, 6 p.m. ET) -- Michael Jackson could be forced to give up his share of the Beatles' song catalog to Sony Music Publishing. Jackson famously bought the catalog for $47.5 million in 1985, and then sold half of it to Sony in 1991 for a reported $100 million.


In the last several years, stories have circulated that Jackson is having money troubles. In the mid-'90s, the "King Of Pop" asked Sony to guarantee a $200 million loan from lenders, using his 50-percent ownership in the Beatles catalog as collateral, notes foxnews.com. It has been reported that Sony Music Publishing's president Richard Rowe is in constant contact with Jackson's reps over the remainder of the catalog, which is valued at somewhere between $400-$600 million. "Sony will either make (Jackson) a cash offer for the catalog or just call the note," says a source close to the situation. Sony's fiscal year ends March 31, so it is trying to work out the deal as quickly as it can. A spokesperson for Sony's corporate publicity told LAUNCH they had "no comment" on the deal.

Jackson was looking for sales of his latest album Invincible to pay off his debt, but the album, released in October, has not done as well as expected, selling fewer than 2 million copies to date.

In the last 20 years, Paul McCartney has twice attempted to buy back the Beatles songs, but he and John Lennon's widow Yoko Ono have been unable to come to an agreement about a partnership. As recently as last year, the two feuded over the song "Yesterday," which McCartney penned alone but which was credited to both Lennon and McCartney, like most Beatles songs. McCartney asked Ono when the Beatles Anthology came out if the songwriting credit could be adjusted, and she refused.

-- Sue Falco, New York

 

I thing that it is silly to renogotiate the deal that was stuck all those years ago , besides McCartnet will get 50% of all Lennons songs .The alternative is to let it go to someone else and then there will be nothing to fight about.

 

We are talking about the publishing,but who owns the original masters?

 

Beatles Masters

EMI owns every Beatles Master after they were signed in 1962 to the Let It Be LP.

 

Beatles

>>Gary, youre right on BOTH counts. Peter Mew, "Mr No Noise"
is the Beatles EMI Mastering Director.

You know, its just BEYOND me why, EMI, with a product worth as much as The Beatles Tapes, doesnt BUILD a custom Tube Mixing console to play those tapes back correctly.

Whats really galling is that EMI could build 4 of them in 1959, but they cant today, AFTER all the millions they have made on
re-issuing The Beatles LPs 4 zillion times.

 

Re: Beatles

Crap, no need to build a new one - just use one of the existing ones floating around from the '60s...

Besides, tube consoles won't do any good if they keep using stuff like noise reduction and poor mastering techniques. Between having Peter Mew use tube equipment and having someone better use brand new equipment, I'd take someone else with brand new equipment...

 

True

Thats true, Luk.

When they did Anthology, they found an original EMI Tube console in service in Switzerland, but EMI wouldnt pay the rental and shipping to use it. They should have just BOUGHT it, whatever the cost and reconditioned it.

It would have paid for itself many times over with all the Beatles remasters that would FINALLY sound decent.

Oh well. Maybe I'll buy it )

 

Re: True

They used an old console, it's just that it was an early transistor console, not a tube console...

Keep in mind that was for *mixing*, not mastering...

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think George Martin went into the Anthology project, planning to use EMI's old consoles, thinking he'd get the old vintage sound of the Beatles. Good, except some crazy reason, he believes that the Beatles used the old German solid state consoles when in fact they used the old tube ones (I think the solid state consoles weren't even installed until after the Beatles broke-up). Pffftt!

The only way that catalog will be done right is if they license to someone like Steve or if the heavens sends someone to take over their back catalog and do it right.

 

Maybe they can use Steve Hoffman's equipment

 

I *think* they went into things knowing they were using a transistor console rather than a tube one. I seem to remember them saying something to that effect - that the transistor one was less trouble or something.

Of course, they "re-created" the Abbey Road echo chamber, which sounded nothing like the original from the '60s...

 

Re: Re: True

>>>Right!! that was the problem!!!
The early transistor consoles sounded like HELL. The engineers didnt really know how to design a solid state console yet.

If they werent going to use a tube console, then they should have just used the NEVE console that was already in Abbey Road, at least it was transparent.

 

EMI probably won't ever bother with restoring the old machines. After all, the "Anthology" series and "1" sold a zillion copies sounding the way they did anyway.

 

Unfortunate but probably true. Money talked EMI listened.

 

Has anyone heard the german stereo greatest hits?

 

Do you mean the old stereo LP on German Odeon? The one with the hi-hat countoff to "All My Loving"? Great album.

 

I can't belive it!. That's the one.

 

Oh yeah, I think I have that but I thought it was Dutch

 

Damn, now I'm going to have to find another album.

 

The Dutch one might be good too. Play it!