9. Michael Jackson owns the Beatles' songs.
Sort of. It depends on what you mean by "own." This is more a misconception than an outright myth, one where distraught Beatles fans envision Wacko Jacko sitting in Neverland on a big pile of the Fab Four's rightful money.Here are the facts: Paul McCartney and Michael were friends in 1984 when the "Thriller" superstar asked Paul for ideas on how to invest his new-found windfall. McCartney advised him to go into song publishing, which is indeed the smartest move in the music business. Trouble is, Michael went ahead and bought publishing rights to most of the Beatles' catalog, which did not leave Paul amused.
All this meant was that Jackson would earn about half of the proceeds whenever a Beatles song was used or published in any form. The band themselves, notably principal songwriters Lennon and McCartney, never lost a dime from the deal. (Michael did infuriate many fans by licensing "Revolution" for use in a 1987 Nike ad, but in order to do so, he also had to get the permission of Capitol Records and Yoko Ono, as well.) Jackson has never owned all the Beatles music per se -- he merely owned the half of the publishing company, Northern Songs, that once belonged to Sir Lew Grade. (Grade bought the controlling shares in 1969 when John and Paul, already in the throes of breakup, couldn't muster an effective counteroffer.) Paul still owns full control of four songs written before Northern Songs was created: "Love Me Do," "Please, Please Me," "P.S. I Love You," and "Tell Me Why."
Here's the main reason not to get too upset about Jackson and the Beatles catalog: he doesn't really control it anymore. In 1995, Jackson merged his publishing company with Sony; over the years, escalating debts have forced him to use his half as collateral for loans. That means that Sony will soon own the rights, if it doesn't already. This may or may not help Beatles fans sleep better at night.
