Northern Songs - Early History and Foundation

Early History and Foundation

As EMI's Ardmore & Beechwood publishing company had done almost nothing to promote "Love Me Do", Martin advised Epstein to find a good publisher, telling him about three publishers who, in Martin's opinion, would be fair and honest, which led Epstein to James. Epstein turned up at James' office with an acetate of "Please Please Me", but was reluctant to let James publish it without any proof of his publishing power. James immediately picked up the phone and called Philip Jones, the producer of the prestigious TV show, Thank Your Lucky Stars, playing him the acetate over the phone, and saying the song was "a guaranteed future hit". Jones agreed, and promised a spot on the show. Epstein, suitably amazed at the speed of the booking, decided that James was a man he could trust.

On 22 February 1963, James suggested to Epstein that forming a company with Lennon, McCartney and Epstein would accrue more money in the long run. Lennon and McCartney thought they would own the whole company, but were given 20 shares each, Epstein 10 shares, and James and his partner, Charles Silver, 50. The company's shares were to be owned for a period of 10 years, which controlled the copyrights of 56 songs, and stipulated that a minimum of six new songs by Lennon and McCartney were to be written each year. Another company, Maclen Music—which published Lennon and McCartney's music in the US—was also controlled by Northern Songs. Both Northern Songs and Maclen Music were administered by Dick James Music. Northern Songs also published Harrison's early compositions, as well as Starr's.

McCartney later explained that they signed all the contracts Epstein presented to them without reading them first, with Lennon adding, "We had complete faith in him when he was running us. To us, he was the expert". James offered producer Martin shares as well, but he turned them down, saying it might well be unethical as he worked for EMI. The monies gathered by Northern Songs were channelled into a second company, Lenmac Enterprises; owned by Lennon and McCartney (40% each) and NEMS (North End Music Stores) 20%. The company would collect profits from the UK only.

During 1965 it was decided to make Northern Songs a public company to save on capital gains tax. 1,250,000 shares were traded on the London Stock Exchange, which were worth 17 pence each ($0.28), but were offered at 66 pence ($1.09) each. Although the trade was scoffed at by various financial institutions, it was expected that the application lists would not remain open for more than 60 seconds, which is exactly what happened, as the lists were oversubscribed. After the offer was closed, Lennon and McCartney owned 15% each, worth £195,200 ($320,000), NEMS a 7.5% interest, and James and Silver (who served as Northern Songs' chairmen), controlling 37.5%, with Harrison and Starr sharing 1.6%. The remaining shares were owned by various financial institutions. At the same time, Lennon and McCartney renewed their previous three-year publishing contracts, binding them to Northern Songs until 1973. Harrison also signed with the company in 1965, for a period of three years. To protect his interests, James took out a life insurance policy (£500,000—$819,725) on Lennon and McCartney. By the summer of 1966, 88 songs by Lennon and McCartney had been recorded and released, amounting to 2,900 versions by different artists.

Harrison founded his own publishing company, Mornyork Ltd. in September 1964, and had its name changed to Harrisongs by December of that year. Sing Song Ltd. was used for a brief time, and Ringo Starr formed a publishing company called Startling Music. Harrison wrote "Only a Northern Song", which was to appear on the album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. The lyrics express his disappointment with his publishing contract and with the company's handling of his songs. The song was left off the album, but later appeared in the 1968 film Yellow Submarine and its soundtrack.