Sony/ATV Music Publishing has owned the rights to the Beatles’ catalog since 2017, when it acquired full ownership. The individual Beatles or their estates still receive the songwriting royalties, though Sony/ATV owns the publishing rights.

Northern Songs Sets the Stage

Let’s hop in our time machine back to 1963 when the Beatles were just becoming mega-stars. John Lennon and Paul McCartney penned most of the band’s hits, including “She Loves You” and “I Want to Hold Your Hand.” Anytime a band writes an original song, they own the publishing rights to that tune. That means they earn royalties or money each time that song gets played on the radio, television, film soundtracks, and more.

So Lennon and McCartney set up a company called Northern Songs to manage the publishing rights of all the early Beatles tracks. Northern Songs also owned the publishing for songs written by George Harrison and Ringo Starr too. Clever business move since the band’s popularity was skyrocketing!

ATV Music Snatches Up the Catalog

But then in 1969, a company called Associated Television (ATV) purchased the majority stake or over 50% of Northern Songs. This meant ATV basically owned the publishing rights to icons like “Hey Jude,” “Let It Be,” “Come Together,” and more Beatles smash hits!

Ten years later in 1979, ATV acquired even more shares to take full command of the Northern Songs catalog. At this point, the rights to the Beatles tunes were completely out of McCartney and Lennon’s hands (bummer!). Little did the world know, the catalog would soon fall into very unexpected hands…

The King of Pop Captures the Crown Jewels

In 1985, late legend Michael Jackson teamed up with a guy named Martin Bandier to purchase ATV Music, including the entire Beatles collection! This seismic business deal cost them a massive $47.5 million. With one signature, Jackson instantly became owner of highly valuable songs that still drive popularity and sales today. Music historians even nickname the catalog the “crown jewels” of the music industry!

For Jackson, a diehard Beatles fan, owning these historic tunes was a dream come true. However, his risky spending habits soon forced a sale of portions of the beloved catalog. This took place in the mid 1990’s long before Jackson’s untimely death in 2009 at age 50.

Sony Music Snaps Up Most of the Catalog

In the decades after Jackson originally scored the legendary Lennon-McCartney tracks, Sony Music obtained ownership bit by bit through a serious of transactions. This began as early as 1995 when Jackson started facing major money issues. Today, industry experts confirm that Sony Music now retains control of the rights to the vast majority or almost all of the Beatles hits!

Sony Music Publishing currently pays out writer royalties to Paul McCartney and to the estate of the late John Lennon. That means Sir Paul and Yoko Ono, Lennon’s widow, still receive compensation whenever a Beatles tune plays thanks to Sony’s ownership!

Macca and Sony Strike a Secret Chord

Now here’s where things get interesting! Several years back in 2017, reports claimed Paul McCartney actually wanted to try to get back his half of the ownership rights using a legal loophole. This is allowed under the “Copyright Act” here in the U.S. But it looks like that rumored lawsuit never happened.

Instead, it seems Macca and the big wigs at Sony came to some sort of confidential agreement regarding the future of the catalog. Though they didn’t share the exact details publicly, McCartney seemed happy with the end result! This could have implications on who takes over control after McCartney eventually calls it a day. But for now, it remains Sony Music’s show, yeah yeah yeah!

Harrisongs & Startling Music: Special Exceptions

Now I did promise we’d cover all the key details in this Beatles rights breakdown. So real quick, I want to mention the 24 songs George Harrison penned for the band as well as Ringo’s 2 track contributions. The publishing ownership for those tunes lies with George’s company Harrisongs Ltd and Ringo’s firm Startling Music Ltd respectively.

All other Beatles originals are in Sony’s corner though. Just had to clarify that small print!

What Does This All Mean for the Future?

As any Beatles fan knows, this iconic band seems to live on and on despite ending decades ago. Their music keeps attracting generation after generation of new listeners too! Given how treasured and valuable their catalog remains even today, who knows if ownership will ever shift gears again down the road.

In fact, analysts predict the full catalog could sell for upwards of a whopping $2 billion in the coming decades. Now that’s a lot of gold records! Many people believe Sony will likely hang onto their prized possession unless an offer comes along exceeding that unheard of sum.

But for now, the Fab Four’s hits like “Can’t Buy Me Love,” “Yesterday,” “Help!” and “Twist and Shout” belong to Sony. And we fans get to enjoy those catchy Beatles tracks to our heart’s delight – singing loudly and terribly off-key of course! Somehow I don’t think John, Paul, George and Ringo would mind. Let’s just hope this iconic music remains available forevermore to entertain future generations!