Jackson Sued Over Beatles Library Finances

[Benchwarmerjim]

hmm. Will Sir Paul finally get his songs back?

--

 

NEW YORK - A financial company specializing in asset acquisition sued Michael Jackson on Monday, saying it is owed $48 million in fees for rescuing the singer's stake in the publishing rights to songs by the Beatles.

 

Prescient Acquisition Group Inc. said in its lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Manhattan that the pop music celebrity enlisted it in November 2004 to provide financial advice and to secure refinancing of a $272 million debt to Bank of America.

 

On behalf of Jackson and his company MJ Publishing Trust, Prescient secured $537 million in financing from Fortress Investment Group LLC, enough for Jackson to pay off the debt and exercise an option to buy the remaining 50 percent of the Beatles library he didn't already own, the lawsuit said.

 

Prescient said it was entitled to an immediate payment of $24.8 million, which is 9 percent of the financing used to pay off the Bank of America debt and a $3.3 million advance to Jackson and his company.

 

Prescient accused Jackson of breach of contract, saying that it had done what was expected in a written agreement and that Jackson and his company were not entitled to "retain the benefits of those services in equity and good conscience without paying to Prescient an amount to be determined at trial."

 

A lawyer for Jackson did not immediately return a telephone message for comment Monday.

 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050711/ap_en_...HNlYwMlJVRPUCUl

[Middle Buffalo]

There's something so crazy about a songwriter not owning the songs that he wrote. Even crazier is that McCartney gave MJ the advice that owning song publishing is a great investment.

[WilliamTell]

There's something so crazy about a songwriter not owning the songs that he wrote.  Even crazier is that McCartney gave MJ the advice that owning song publishing is a great investment.

 

 

Yeah, I'm still mad about that and probably always will be. They're the Beatles songs, they should always be theirs.

[FlaSoxxJim]

I believe it is still unsure whether Jackson ever did buy the remaining song rights with that money. Just a couple of months ago there was a story describing how Sony/BMG (is that what they are called now?) as half-owner would have the right of first refusal if Jackson had to sell the catalog. That story made it sound like Paul was very unlikely to get a crack at buying the catalog back even if Jackson had to sell.

 

The whole history of EMI/Northern Songs/ATV - through the Beatles' failed 1968/1968 attempts to get ownership - is an amzing roller coaster ride in and of itself. They (John and Paul... George and Ringo did not re-up when the Northern contract expired in 1968) were very close to getting control with the financial aid of as well-heeled investor consortium, and then at the last minute John's brusque negotiating tactics ("I'm not going to be f***ed around by men in suits sitting on their fat asses in the city") drove the consortium to side with ATV and they lost the takeover bid. Meanwhile, they were also losing rights to the NEMS empire that Brian Epstein had masterminded. I've always thought that the fractured, erratic genius of the White Album was the perfect mucical mirror to that period of post-Epstein tummault. Hammerhead might be able to fill in some more details, but with thugs like Allen Klein and shysters like Dick James and Lew Grade to deal with, it wasn't likely to end well for the lads.

 

The 1985 Jacko debacle is just another chapter in a crazy story.

[southsider2k5]

Even if Paul doesn't get the catelog back, get it away from Michael Jackson... The sheer memory of "Revolution" being used in a f***ing Nike commercial boils my blood to this day.