Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson’s relationship cooled after Jackson bought ATV Music in 1985, a publisher whose catalog included the rights to most Lennon–McCartney songs. McCartney’s own publishing company, MPL, was reportedly among the bidders, and McCartney later said he had asked Jackson for a raise after years of success for the company. Those events help explain why the sale felt personal to McCartney, but they do not prove Jackson bought ATV to hurt him.
They were friends and collaborators before the dispute
Jackson contacted McCartney in 1980 about making hits, according to McCartney’s official website. They later recorded “Say Say Say,” and Jackson appeared on McCartney’s “The Girl Is Mine.” McCartney recalled spending time with Jackson at his home and enjoying both their work and their play. McCartney’s 2009 remembrance looks back warmly on that period.
What Jackson bought—and what he did not
In 1985, Jackson acquired ATV Music, a music publishing company whose catalog included most Lennon–McCartney songs. Contemporary Los Angeles Times reporting on August 15, 1985 said McCartney’s publishing company, MPL, was among the competing bidders. That meant Jackson’s successful bid also ended McCartney’s chance to acquire ATV through that sale.
The Beatles songs were part of a much larger catalog, not the whole purchase. A September 22, 1985 Los Angeles Times report described ATV as a catalog of nearly 4,000 songs. Jackson bought publishing rights through ATV; that is not the same as buying The Beatles as a band or acquiring all the original Beatles recordings. Publishing rights and recorded-master rights are distinct.
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Why the purchase could feel personal to McCartney
McCartney had discussed music publishing with Jackson
Retrospective accounts describe McCartney explaining the value of music publishing to Jackson during their friendship. That context may have made Jackson’s eventual purchase especially pointed to McCartney, but it does not establish that Jackson acted with a plan to provoke him.
McCartney said he asked Jackson for a raise
In an account reported by ABC News on October 19, 2001, McCartney said he had written to Jackson asking whether, after roughly 30 years of success for the company, he could receive a raise. ABC quoted McCartney asking, “don’t you think I could have a raise?” This is McCartney’s recollection of the letters and exchange, not independent confirmation of their contents. ABC News reported his account.
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Why accounts of the sale give different figures
Contemporary reporting did not use one universally stated transaction figure. The August 15 Los Angeles Times report put the purchase in a $40 million to $50 million range. The September 22 report described the size of the catalog rather than establishing a final price. Those figures describe what the newspaper reported at the time; they should not be treated as interchangeable catalog counts or as a single uncontested final price.
How the relationship ended
McCartney later said that he and Jackson “drifted apart in later years.” In his 2009 remembrance, he still described their shared time with affection: “Although we drifted apart in later years I will always remember fondly the fun we had working and playing together.” The statement conveys distance without presenting the relationship as a simple story of lifelong hostility.
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- 80 Pages
- Includes 18 Songs
- Publisher:Alfred Publishing Co.
- Arranger: Dan Coates
- Softcover
Was it betrayal?
That is an interpretation, not a proven motive. The evidence supports a more precise account: McCartney and Jackson had collaborated; McCartney discussed publishing with him; Jackson later won a sale that McCartney’s company also pursued; and McCartney said he felt enough of a personal sting to ask Jackson for a raise. The available accounts do not show that Jackson bought ATV in order to betray or punish McCartney.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What happened to the rights afterward?
The sources cited here establish the 1985 acquisition and the nature of ATV’s holdings, but they do not establish the precise current ownership or legal status of every Lennon–McCartney composition. They therefore do not support saying that McCartney later recovered the entire catalog.
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- Format: Book & CD
- Instrumentation: Trumpet
- Instrument: Trumpet
- Category: Instrumental Series
- Contributors: Michael Jackson
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