The Beatles song catalogue cleared for American Idol
The Beatles' songs have finally been cleared to be performed on Fox's American Idol. Eoline.com reported that Sony/ATV music, which co-owns John Lennon and Paul McCartney's Beatles songwriting catalogue with Michael Jackson, has finally granted permission for the show to use the songs for an upcoming episode.
Idol producer Nigel Lythgoe appeared on host Ryan Seacrest's Los Angeles radio show and explained, "It's something we've waited for seven seasons now. Sony has agreed to release the Lennon and McCartney songbook to us. Everyone's so good this season they're saying, 'Yeah, go ahead, please sing the songs.'"
Last year Paul McCartney turned down an invitation to mentor the Idol contestants and perform on the show.
At the end of the 2007 season, the finale did include a tribute to the Beatles' Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, featuring former and current contestants and guest stars singing snippets of songs from the album.
Sony/ATV Music Publishing owns the copyright to all of the songs written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney between 1963 and 1970. It also holds the copyright to some early George Harrison compositions.
Lennon and McCartney, who were minority owners of their publishing companies Northern Songs and Maclen Music after the company went public to avoid taxes, sold their shares in the company during a complicated hostile takeover in 1969. They continued to collect artists' royalties on their songs, but the company ATV Music held actual ownership of the songs, and kept most of the money the songs earned.
In 1985, Michael Jackson outbid McCartney and others to buy a controlling interest in ATV Music, which then owned Northern Songs, for a reported $64 million. He has since merged ATV Music with Sony Music's publishing company, to finance ongoing debt.
The Northern Songs catalogue, which includes nearly all of John Lennon and Paul McCartney's 1960s compositions, is reportedly worth about $390 million.
Idol producer Nigel Lythgoe appeared on host Ryan Seacrest's Los Angeles radio show and explained, "It's something we've waited for seven seasons now. Sony has agreed to release the Lennon and McCartney songbook to us. Everyone's so good this season they're saying, 'Yeah, go ahead, please sing the songs.'"
Last year Paul McCartney turned down an invitation to mentor the Idol contestants and perform on the show.
At the end of the 2007 season, the finale did include a tribute to the Beatles' Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, featuring former and current contestants and guest stars singing snippets of songs from the album.
Sony/ATV Music Publishing owns the copyright to all of the songs written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney between 1963 and 1970. It also holds the copyright to some early George Harrison compositions.
Lennon and McCartney, who were minority owners of their publishing companies Northern Songs and Maclen Music after the company went public to avoid taxes, sold their shares in the company during a complicated hostile takeover in 1969. They continued to collect artists' royalties on their songs, but the company ATV Music held actual ownership of the songs, and kept most of the money the songs earned.
In 1985, Michael Jackson outbid McCartney and others to buy a controlling interest in ATV Music, which then owned Northern Songs, for a reported $64 million. He has since merged ATV Music with Sony Music's publishing company, to finance ongoing debt.
The Northern Songs catalogue, which includes nearly all of John Lennon and Paul McCartney's 1960s compositions, is reportedly worth about $390 million.
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