# Is McCartney rich enough to buy 'em back from Jacko? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 14, 2005, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mccartney-rich-enough-to-buy-em-back-from-jacko/308291 "2005-06-14T23:33:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![B.Serum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/b.serum/32/14266_2.png) [@B.Serum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/B.Serum)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2005, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mccartney-rich-enough-to-buy-em-back-from-jacko/308291/1 "2005-06-14T23:33:19Z")
So now that Michael Jackson got acquitted, his troubles are just beginning. The guy is in debt up to his eyeballs and he hasn’t made a dent on the pop charts in quite some time. People expect he’s going to have to sell off some assets to get back in the black. I heard that Jackson only owns half of the rights of the Beatles catalogue and Sony owns the other half. McCartney strikes me as the type who would go after 'em. And whereas Sir Paul is reportedly one of the most wealthy musicians around, does even he have the scratch to meet the starting bid? Say say say what you think. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2005, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mccartney-rich-enough-to-buy-em-back-from-jacko/308291/2 "2005-06-14T23:36:02Z")
I think that not only will Paul try to get the catalog back, I think that he’ll make a low ball offer. IIRC, Paul isn’t to happy that MJ bought the catalog to begin with. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2005, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mccartney-rich-enough-to-buy-em-back-from-jacko/308291/3 "2005-06-14T23:46:25Z")
Yes, he’s a billionaire. But I don’t see Paul getting involved. It sounds to me like Jackson used his share of the music catalogyes as collateral on a $200 million loan he’s going to have trouble paying back. So if he can’t pay, Bank of America owns them. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2005, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mccartney-rich-enough-to-buy-em-back-from-jacko/308291/4 "2005-06-14T23:48:02Z")
I meant to link to this story about that whole deal: [http://www.cnn.com/2005/BUSINESS/06/09/jackson.finances/index.html](http://www.cnn.com/2005/BUSINESS/06/09/jackson.finances/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![minty\_green](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@minty\_green](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minty_green)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2005, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mccartney-rich-enough-to-buy-em-back-from-jacko/308291/5 "2005-06-15T01:45:21Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Yes, he’s a billionaire. But I don’t see Paul getting involved. It sounds to me like Jackson used his share of the music catalogyes as collateral on a $200 million loan he’s going to have trouble paying back. So if he can’t pay, Bank of America owns them. Easily solved. Macca pays Jacko enough cash to pay off the loan, plus some substantial gratuity on top. Presto, the lien on the catalog goes away, and Macca gets the whole shebang. ---
**Author:** ![Metacom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecae2f/32.png) [@Metacom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Metacom)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2005, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mccartney-rich-enough-to-buy-em-back-from-jacko/308291/6 "2005-06-15T01:55:55Z")
> [@minty green](#): > > Easily solved. Macca pays Jacko enough cash to pay off the loan, plus some substantial gratuity on top. Presto, the lien on the catalog goes away, and Macca gets the whole shebang. And the catalog promptly gets renamed the “Paul McCartney & The Beetles” catalog. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![middleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@middleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/middleman)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2005, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mccartney-rich-enough-to-buy-em-back-from-jacko/308291/7 "2005-06-15T02:33:47Z")
There was talk that McCartney, Yoko, the Widow Harrison, and Ringo would get together to buy them. Or at least Paul and Yoko (the other two are way behind in cash). ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2005, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mccartney-rich-enough-to-buy-em-back-from-jacko/308291/8 "2005-06-15T02:44:29Z")
I’ll bet that the deal will be structured as a loan with the catalog itself used as collateral. The catalog makes enough money back to pay for the loan with interest and whoever buys it isn’t out a penny. Ah, the simple joys of being rich. ---
**Author:** ![minty\_green](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@minty\_green](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minty_green)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2005, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mccartney-rich-enough-to-buy-em-back-from-jacko/308291/9 "2005-06-15T03:34:38Z")
In reality, I seriously doubt that McCartney will be willing to shell out the cash necessary to repurchase the Beatles publishing catalog. Those rights are far more valuable to a well-heeled business (i.e., Sony) with no qualms about exploiting them for their maximum dollar value. To match such a price, McCartney would have to place a giant premium on what he would pay for the rights, simply for the sake of taking the songs (though not the performances) out of advertising/movie/broadcast/whatever circulation. He’d be a fool to do it, but god bless him if he does. ---
**Author:** ![middleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@middleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/middleman)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2005, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mccartney-rich-enough-to-buy-em-back-from-jacko/308291/10 "2005-06-15T12:54:44Z")
Paul already makes a ton of money from that catalog as one of the main writers of the material. **Minty Green** is correct to say that he would make a lot less owning it. He’d probably be less likely to license it to a dog food commercial… ---
**Author:** ![Tuco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tuco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuco)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2005, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mccartney-rich-enough-to-buy-em-back-from-jacko/308291/11 "2005-06-15T14:00:57Z")
McCartney tried to buy them with Yoko Ono at auction when Jackson bought them. Apparently McCartney told Jackson that music rights were a good investment, he didn’t expect Jackson to buy the Beatles stuff though, and was seriously pissed off when a song was put in an advert. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2005, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mccartney-rich-enough-to-buy-em-back-from-jacko/308291/12 "2005-06-15T15:18:11Z")
watsonwil writes: \> There was talk that McCartney, Yoko, the Widow Harrison, and Ringo would get \> together to buy them. Or at least Paul and Yoko (the other two are way behind \> in cash). Do you have a cite for the relative wealth of McCartney, Ringo, the Lennon estate, and the Harrison estate? Years ago I read that McCartney was (of course) the richest of them by far and Lennon was the poorest. (Of course, poor is relative. I only mean that he or his estate was worth about a tenth of McCartney’s.) Do you have a cite the relative values of the estates? ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2005, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mccartney-rich-enough-to-buy-em-back-from-jacko/308291/13 "2005-06-15T16:34:17Z")
I’ve heard the catalog is worth about $700 million. If Jackson put them up as collateral for $200 in loans, then, if he has to sell it, isn’t he still $500 million in the clear? ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2005, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mccartney-rich-enough-to-buy-em-back-from-jacko/308291/14 "2005-06-15T18:32:53Z")
> [@Wendell Wagner](#): > > Do you have a cite for the relative wealth of McCartney, Ringo, the Lennon estate, and the Harrison estate? Years ago I read that McCartney was (of course) the richest of them by far and Lennon was the poorest. (Of course, poor is relative. I only mean that he or his estate was worth about a tenth of McCartney’s.) Do you have a cite the relative values of the estates? I don’t have any cites, but my understanding is that, owing to some shrewd investments and management by Yoko, John’s estate was worth a good couple hundred million by the time of his death. ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2005, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mccartney-rich-enough-to-buy-em-back-from-jacko/308291/15 "2005-06-15T19:08:19Z")
> [@Spectre of Pithecanthropus](#): > > I’ve heard the catalog is worth about $700 million. If Jackson put them up as collateral for $200 in loans, then, if he has to sell it, isn’t he still $500 million in the clear? Yeah, but only if he can actually get that. Typically the way it works is that the creditor can force the collateral property to be sold at auction. If the property doesn’t cover the loan, the balance is still outstanding, but no longer secured by collateral. If the auction exceeds the loan amount (or rather, the amount due, which won’t be the same), then the debt is erased, the creditor takes his $$, and the debtor retains the excess. But ultiamtely, there is an actual auction of the property, and if there’s no one bidding that day for $700M, c’est la vie, even if there is someone who would be willing to pay $700M under different circumstances. (E.g., if that potential buyer’s $$ is tied up in other investments when the auction happens.) –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2005, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mccartney-rich-enough-to-buy-em-back-from-jacko/308291/16 "2005-06-15T19:10:34Z")
> [@Spectre of Pithecanthropus](#): > > I’ve heard the catalog is worth about $700 million. If Jackson put them up as collateral for $200 in loans, then, if he has to sell it, isn’t he still $500 million in the clear? If the whole thing is worth $700 million, he only owns $350 m of it. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2005, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mccartney-rich-enough-to-buy-em-back-from-jacko/308291/17 "2005-06-15T19:15:45Z")
> [@Cliffy](#): > > Yeah, but only if he can actually get that. Do you really think the Beatles catalog will go to a lowball bidder? I predict it goes well above the projected market value. ---
**Author:** ![FisherQueen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/58f4c7/32.png) [@FisherQueen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FisherQueen)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2005, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mccartney-rich-enough-to-buy-em-back-from-jacko/308291/18 "2005-06-15T20:13:23Z")
So, is my money going to Jackson when I buy a Beatles album? Or does he only make money selling the songs to be used in ads and similar? I don’t want to have to boycott the Beatles, but I will if buying them means giving money to Jackson. ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2005, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mccartney-rich-enough-to-buy-em-back-from-jacko/308291/19 "2005-06-15T20:38:42Z")
> [@FisherQueen](#): > > So, is my money going to Jackson when I buy a Beatles album? Or does he only make money selling the songs to be used in ads and similar? > > I don’t want to have to boycott the Beatles, but I will if buying them means giving money to Jackson. Yes, Jackson and Sony (they co-own the catalog together) earn a small royalty for every Beatles album sold (as do the songs’ composers). ---
**Author:** ![JohnBckWLD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d6d6ee/32.png) [@JohnBckWLD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnBckWLD)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2005, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mccartney-rich-enough-to-buy-em-back-from-jacko/308291/20 "2005-06-15T20:47:36Z")
Just to name a few: A Day In The Life – Time Warner A Hard Day’s Night - Sominex A Taste Of Honey – Golden Blossom Back In The USSR – Aeroflot Bad Boy - Suzuki Birthday – Chuck E Cheese Boys – Catholic Charities Carry That Weight – Bally’s Do You Want To Know A Secret - Procter & Gamble Doctor Robert – The Atkins Diet Drive My Car – General Motors Everybody’s Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey Fixing A Hole – US Gypsum Good Morning, Good Morning – The Today Show Happiness Is A Warm Gun – Smith & Wesson Hello, Goodbye - MCI I Feel Fine – Blue Cross / Blue Shield I Want To Tell You - Sprint I’m Looking Through You – Bausch & Lomb I’m Only Sleeping – Tempur Pedic Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds - DeBeers Matchbox - Mattel Maxwell’s Silver Hammer – Stanley Tools Mean Mr Mustard – Gulden’s Money (That’s What I Want) – Charles Schwab Paperback Writer – Barnes & Noble Piggies – Oscar Meyer Please Mr Postman - USPS Run For Your Life - Adidas Sargeant Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band § With A Little Help From My Friends Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band – Dr Pepper She’s Leaving Home – Atlas Van Lines Sun King – Coppertone The Fool On The Hill – McCain For President 2008 Yellow Submarine - Subway You Never Give Me Your Money – MastercardAnd I can’t see any of those even pissing off Bill O’Reilly [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mccartney-rich-enough-to-buy-em-back-from-jacko/308291.md?page=2)