For decades, The Beatles was run like an elite brand – you couldnt get their records on those “10 for a penny” clubs, their music wasn’t played-out in movies & commercials like that of other 60s icons, and the licensing of their image seemed to be rare. In the past few years there’s been a huge shift: songs covered in commercials, the movie “Across the Universe” based around their music, the Vegas show “Love” and now a video game.
Although I’ve never seen anything written about this change, I do know that longtime Apple Records CEO/ex-road manager/childhood pal Neil Aspinall retired from Apple and died this year. Sony exec Jeff Jones took over the Beatles back-catalog in 2007, so I’d guess that’s what’s behind the shift away from the subtle approach.
For decades, The Beatles was run like an elite brand – you couldnt get their records on those “10 for a penny” clubs, their music wasn’t played-out in movies & commercials like that of other 60s icons, and the licensing of their image seemed to be rare. In the past few years there’s been a huge shift: songs covered in commercials, the movie “Across the Universe” based around their music, the Vegas show “Love” and now a video game.
Although I’ve never seen anything written about this change, I do know that longtime Apple Records CEO/ex-road manager/childhood pal Neil Aspinall retired from Apple and died this year. Sony exec Jeff Jones took over the Beatles back-catalog in 2007, so I’d guess that’s what’s behind the shift away from the subtle approach.