Does Michael Jackson control the Beatles music library?
Dear Cecil:My understanding is that Michael Jackson slyly acquired the copyrights to the entire Beatles library, much to the dismay of his ex-friend Paul McCartney. I also hear that despite much pleading, he refuses to sell any of them back. Does this mean that he can overdub the masters with his own voice? Are we liable to see copies of “Abbey Road” with five people crossing the street and mysterious falsettoes throughout? — Saddened fan from Oregon Cecil replies: Come on. Think of the Sgt. Pepper cover, with all the boys in uniform. Michael Jackson would fit right in. (Although you’d want the guy missing the glove to be Paul.) Don’t worry, no musical travesties are going to happen, or at least they’re not going to happen as a result of Jackson owning the Beatles library. What Michael Jackson bought for $47.5 million in 1985 was the publishing rights to 159 or 251 Beatles songs, depending on who’s counting. To maybe oversimplify a complicated business, publishing rights are basically
