Michael Jackson and the Beatles Catalogue: The Deal That Made a Singer Sony’s Rival

In 1985, Michael Jackson paid $47.5 million for ATV Music Publishing. The catalogue contained nearly 4,000 songs, including most of the songs John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote for The Beatles. Jackson did not buy the studio master tapes. He bought publishing rights: the right to collect money whenever a song was broadcast, placed in a film or advertisement, or performed by someone else. A young singer bought the asset record companies usually kept under their control.

The Beatles had created Northern Songs to manage their publishing rights. The company went public, and a controlling stake eventually moved to Associated Television, known as ATV. Lennon and McCartney wanted their rights back but could not buy the whole company. When ATV went on sale, McCartney tried again. Jackson had a different advantage: he was ready to buy the entire company and had the cash and lawyers to close the deal quickly.