Cilla Black unveiling London plaque for Brian Epstein, 28 September 2010
Cilla Black unveiling London plaque for Brian Epstein, 28 September 2010
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DonFriday 4 December 2015
Hmm. I think the big mystery & brouhaha revolves around the 1964 Dick James, Ltd. acquisition of 51% of the Beatle Publishing (and corporate control) through 1973.Northern Songs also went public with this deal, thus immediately losing the Beatles hard cash. Mr. Epstein ended up with 9% of the publishing. This deal made NO SENSE -even to an inexperienced business person. Publishing has always been where the money is in music. The Beatles and Mr. Epstein were looking forward to a run of another successful year, perhaps two. I.e., they assumed they would fade like ALL acts eventually did. Before this deal, the Beatles were sitting pretty and all they had to do was their thing and hire accountants to count the piles money. Dick James offered NO BENEFITS. NONE. NADA.
Unfortunately, perhaps, The Beatles trusted Mr,. Epstein implicitly. Worse, I cannot think that Mr. Epstein would knowingly enter into to such an absurdly one-sided business deal, but that is the mystery with which we historians must contend. Was Epstein being blackmailed for being gay? Such a revelation in the tabloids could have ruined the Beatles at that time, but I think NOT; although Brian could not have known this. Mr. Epstein was very much “in the closet’.
Still, he had set up the mechanics of Northern Songs, Ltd. PRIOR to Dick James and they had 100% of publishing! Why GIVE it away??????!!!!!!! They were certainly not strapped for cash. “Can’t Buy Me Love” had just went Triple Platinum BEFORE they had even written the song!!!
If Mr. Epstein had approached the band and requested that he receive 9% of their publishing, John and Paul would not have thought twice and would have given him far MORE. They were DEEPLY grateful to Mr. Epstein. Yet, this man, Brain Epstein, in 1964, with but modest and unusual experience with the entertainment business & show-biz law (all success!), negotiated a WILD publishing deal with Dick James Music, Ltd. that had absolutely NO MERIT for The Beatles.
Mr. Epstein had certainly known of the trials of artists such as Richard Penniman and other R&B and Jazz greats robbed of their publishing royalties,. Plus, Mr. Epstein surely knew that publishing was THE money-making proposition in the music industry. Record sales and concerts take a far back-seat to publishing, and Mr. Epstein knew this on spades.
Why, why, why?!!! By 1970, the infighting combined with a a horrible shark named Alan Klein and a poorly run Apple Corp.could have easily bankrupted the Beatles had they not possessed good product still in the can and a fan following far beyond anything the world had ever seen.
BUT, in 1964, none of this was known. There were simply the latest show biz thing, up now; but, due to plummet in a year or two,
No one will ever discover WHY Mr. Epstein struck this curious, insane deal with the Devil, i.e. Dick James. The Beatles had no idea. The simply signed any contract that Brian put before them without reading a word. The trust was complete. Theories will abound, but it remains the ULTIMATE MYSTERY of THE BEATLES. More over, Sir Paul had the opportunity to buy the entire catalogue for 40 million USD ca. 1981. His net worth would have made the deal a no-brainer and would not have affected his money situation AT ALL. Being the nice guy he is, he offered the newly widowed Yoko Ono half the deal, but she demurred saying that it was worth only 20 million. Paul felt that she knew more about its worth than he did! Why did he not consult others?!!! Of course, later, Micheal Jackson ended up out-bidding Sir Paul -at 500 million USD.
Sir Paul simply said, “Golly, we wrote the songs for NOTHING! How could they possibly be worth that sort of money??!!” (a bad economy in 1981). If Sir Paul had consulted with experts, he would have learned how it could be worth that much money! Alas, Micheal Jackson, sure as heck knew. Plus, Jackson was worth FAR LESS THAN Sir Paul at that time. Paul had two opportunities to acquire his ENTIRE catalogue; 100% for himself and he passed it up TWICE. The second time, I sort if understand why. But, why in the name of Sam Snead did he pass up the 1981 offer for, 40 million USD??!! This will always remain a mystery to me,
BUT NOT NEARLY THE MYSTERY THAT BRAIN EPSTEIN CREATED IN 1964! I can only think that Mr. Epstein was stoned or being subtly blackmailed.
Weird. YOU figure it out! However,Sir Paul remains darn wealthy; —even Ringo has more than ample F-U money. So I shan’t worry about Sir Paul. There are 100’s of songwriters that were sooo screwed by the colour of their skin that i only write about the 1964 Epstein-Dick James mystery for historical interest and so that the world can put their collective brain to this mystery.
I thought Michael Jackson outbid Paul with an offer of $44 million US. It can’t be the figure you mention. That figure looks like the current value of Northern Songs. While the bidding was going on maybe Paul was handicapped by the feeling that why the hell should he have to pay for his and John’s songs. As for your overall question? Either someone knows and isn’t saying anything. Or no one knows anything. Or last but not least, perhaps someone did know but is no longer with us.
Hmm. I think the big mystery & brouhaha revolves around the 1964 Dick James, Ltd. acquisition of 51% of the Beatle Publishing (and corporate control) through 1973.Northern Songs also went public with this deal, thus immediately losing the Beatles hard cash. Mr. Epstein ended up with 9% of the publishing. This deal made NO SENSE -even to an inexperienced business person. Publishing has always been where the money is in music. The Beatles and Mr. Epstein were looking forward to a run of another successful year, perhaps two. I.e., they assumed they would fade like ALL acts eventually did. Before this deal, the Beatles were sitting pretty and all they had to do was their thing and hire accountants to count the piles money. Dick James offered NO BENEFITS. NONE. NADA.
Unfortunately, perhaps, The Beatles trusted Mr,. Epstein implicitly. Worse, I cannot think that Mr. Epstein would knowingly enter into to such an absurdly one-sided business deal, but that is the mystery with which we historians must contend. Was Epstein being blackmailed for being gay? Such a revelation in the tabloids could have ruined the Beatles at that time, but I think NOT; although Brian could not have known this. Mr. Epstein was very much “in the closet’.
Still, he had set up the mechanics of Northern Songs, Ltd. PRIOR to Dick James and they had 100% of publishing! Why GIVE it away??????!!!!!!! They were certainly not strapped for cash. “Can’t Buy Me Love” had just went Triple Platinum BEFORE they had even written the song!!!
If Mr. Epstein had approached the band and requested that he receive 9% of their publishing, John and Paul would not have thought twice and would have given him far MORE. They were DEEPLY grateful to Mr. Epstein. Yet, this man, Brain Epstein, in 1964, with but modest and unusual experience with the entertainment business & show-biz law (all success!), negotiated a WILD publishing deal with Dick James Music, Ltd. that had absolutely NO MERIT for The Beatles.
Mr. Epstein had certainly known of the trials of artists such as Richard Penniman and other R&B and Jazz greats robbed of their publishing royalties,. Plus, Mr. Epstein surely knew that publishing was THE money-making proposition in the music industry. Record sales and concerts take a far back-seat to publishing, and Mr. Epstein knew this on spades.
Why, why, why?!!! By 1970, the infighting combined with a a horrible shark named Alan Klein and a poorly run Apple Corp.could have easily bankrupted the Beatles had they not possessed good product still in the can and a fan following far beyond anything the world had ever seen.
BUT, in 1964, none of this was known. There were simply the latest show biz thing, up now; but, due to plummet in a year or two,
No one will ever discover WHY Mr. Epstein struck this curious, insane deal with the Devil, i.e. Dick James. The Beatles had no idea. The simply signed any contract that Brian put before them without reading a word. The trust was complete. Theories will abound, but it remains the ULTIMATE MYSTERY of THE BEATLES. More over, Sir Paul had the opportunity to buy the entire catalogue for 40 million USD ca. 1981. His net worth would have made the deal a no-brainer and would not have affected his money situation AT ALL. Being the nice guy he is, he offered the newly widowed Yoko Ono half the deal, but she demurred saying that it was worth only 20 million. Paul felt that she knew more about its worth than he did! Why did he not consult others?!!! Of course, later, Micheal Jackson ended up out-bidding Sir Paul -at 500 million USD.
Sir Paul simply said, “Golly, we wrote the songs for NOTHING! How could they possibly be worth that sort of money??!!” (a bad economy in 1981). If Sir Paul had consulted with experts, he would have learned how it could be worth that much money! Alas, Micheal Jackson, sure as heck knew. Plus, Jackson was worth FAR LESS THAN Sir Paul at that time. Paul had two opportunities to acquire his ENTIRE catalogue; 100% for himself and he passed it up TWICE. The second time, I sort if understand why. But, why in the name of Sam Snead did he pass up the 1981 offer for, 40 million USD??!! This will always remain a mystery to me,
BUT NOT NEARLY THE MYSTERY THAT BRAIN EPSTEIN CREATED IN 1964! I can only think that Mr. Epstein was stoned or being subtly blackmailed.
Weird. YOU figure it out! However,Sir Paul remains darn wealthy; —even Ringo has more than ample F-U money. So I shan’t worry about Sir Paul. There are 100’s of songwriters that were sooo screwed by the colour of their skin that i only write about the 1964 Epstein-Dick James mystery for historical interest and so that the world can put their collective brain to this mystery.
Surely someone knows something that i do not!?
I thought Michael Jackson outbid Paul with an offer of $44 million US. It can’t be the figure you mention. That figure looks like the current value of Northern Songs. While the bidding was going on maybe Paul was handicapped by the feeling that why the hell should he have to pay for his and John’s songs.
As for your overall question? Either someone knows and isn’t saying anything. Or no one knows anything. Or last but not least, perhaps someone did know but is no longer with us.