Apple Corps Ltd. is a multi-armed multimedia corporation founded in January 1968 by British rock band The Beatles to replace their earlier company (Beatles Ltd.) and to form a conglomerate. Its name (pronounced "apple core", as in Peace Corps) is a pun. Its chief division (and the only profitable one) is Apple Records, which was launched in the same year. Other divisions included Apple Electronics, Apple Films, Apple Publishing, and Apple Retail, whose most notable venture was the ill-fated Apple Boutique in London. Apple's headquarters, in the late-1960s, was at 3 Savile Row in London, known as the Apple Building, which was also home to the Apple Studio.
From 1970-2007, Apple's chief executive was former Beatles road manager Neil Aspinall though he did not bear that title officially. The current CEO is Jeff Jones.
History
The Beatles' accountants had informed the group that they had a large amount of capital which they could either invest in a business venture or else lose to the tax man.[1] In addition to providing an umbrella to cover the Beatles' own financial and business affairs, Apple was intended to provide a means of financial support to anyone in the wider world struggling to get 'worthwhile' artistic projects off the ground[2]. It was pitched to the world's media by John Lennon and Paul McCartney as an attempt at 'Western Communism'.[3] The company name originated with McCartney, coming from a René Magritte painting he'd acquired; 'Apple "Core" (Corps)' was a play on words all the Beatles enjoyed. The ubiquitous logo was designed by Gene Mahon, with illustrator Alan Aldridge transcribing the copyright notice to appear on record releases.
The first two years of the company's existence coincided with a marked worsening of the band members' relationships with each other, ultimately leading to the break-up of the band in 1970. Apple quickly slid into financial chaos, which was resolved only after many years of litigation. When the Beatles' partnership was dissolved in 1975, dissolution of Apple Corps was also considered, but it was decided to keep it going, while effectively retiring all its divisions. The company is currently headquartered at 27 Ovington Square, in London's prestigious Knightsbridge district. Ownership and control of the company remains with McCartney, Starr and the estates of Lennon and Harrison.
Apple Corps has had a long history of trademark disputes with Apple Computer (now Apple Inc.). The dispute was finally resolved in 2007, with Apple Corps transferring ownership of the "Apple" name to Apple Inc., and Apple Inc. licencing it back to The Beatles' company. In April 2007, Apple also settled a long running dispute with EMI and announced the retirement of chief executive Neil Aspinall.[4][5] Aspinall was replaced by Jeff Jones.[6]
Subsidiaries
Apple Corps operated in various fields, mostly related to the music business, through a number of subsidiaries.
Apple Electronics
Apple Electronics was the electronics division of Apple Corps, founded as Fiftyshapes Ltd. and headed by Beatles associate Magic Alex (alias Yanni Alexis Mardas).
Intending to revolutionise the consumer electronics market, largely through products based on Magic Alex's unique (and, as it turned out, commercially impractical) designs, the electronics division did not make any breakthroughs. Even a planned apple-shaped radio could not be produced at a competitive price, and was ultimately beaten out by Panasonic's 'ball and chain' radio.
After the dismissal of Magic Alex in 1969, during Allen Klein's 'housecleaning' of Apple Corps, Apple Electronics fell victim to the same forces that troubled the company as a whole, including the impending Beatles breakup.
While it did not make a dent in the marketplace, Apple Electronics was still considered a viable business entity years later, when Apple Corps and Apple Computer (now Apple Inc.) went into litigation.
Apple Films
Apple Films was the filmmaking division of Apple Corps. Notable releases included Born To Boogie, Ringo Starr's 1972 documentary about the band T. Rex; The Beatles' Yellow Submarine; The Concert For Bangladesh by George Harrison And Friends (1972); and Son of Dracula, a 1974 horror-musical which teamed Starr with singer Harry Nilsson.
Apple Publishing
Apple's music publishing arm predated even the record company. One of the first artists on its publishing roster was the group Grapefruit. Apple published the group's self-penned songs from early 1968, though Grapefruit's records were mostly released on RCA.
Apple Publishing Ltd was also used as a publishing stop-gap by George Harrison and Ringo Starr, as they sought to shift control of their own songs away from Northern Songs, in which their status was little more than paid writers. (Harrison later started Harrisongs, and Starr created Startling Music.)
Probably Apple's greatest publishing successes were the Badfinger hits "No Matter What", "Day After Day" and "Baby Blue", all written by group member Pete Ham, and Badfinger's "Without You", a song penned by Ham and Badfinger bandmate Tom Evans. "Without You" became a worldwide #1 chart hit for Harry Nilsson in 1972 and Mariah Carey in 1993. In 2005, however, Apple lost the US publishing rights for the work of Ham and Evans.[7]
Apple also undertook publishing duties, at various times, for other Apple artists, including Yoko Ono, Billy Preston, Doris Troy, and the Radha Krsna Temple. Apple received a large number of demo tapes; some songs were published, some were issued on other labels and only Gallagher & Lyle were retained as in-house writers before going on to co-found McGuinness Flint. Many of these demos have been collected on a pair of Cherry Red CDs, entitled 94 Baker Street and An Apple for the Day.
Apple Records and Zapple Records
Main Article: Apple Records. From 1968 onwards, new releases by the Beatles were issued by Apple Records, although the copyright remained with EMI, and Parlophone/Capitol catalogue numbers continued to be used. Apple releases of recordings by artists other than the Beatles, however, used a new set of numbers, and the copyrights were held mostly by Apple Corps Ltd. Unlike a mere 'vanity label', Apple Records developed an extremely eclectic roster of their own, releasing records by artists as diverse as Indian sitar guru Ravi Shankar, Welsh easy listening songstress Mary Hopkin, the power-pop band Badfinger, classical music composer John Tavener, soul singer Billy Preston, the Modern Jazz Quartet, and even London's Radha Krsna Temple. A short-lived subsidiary, Zapple Records, was intended to release spoken word and avant garde records, but folded after just two releases: Lennon's and Yoko Ono's Life with the Lions, and Harrison's Electronic Sound.
Apple Retail
Main Article: Apple Boutique.
The Apple Boutique was a retail store, located at 94 Baker Street in London, England, and was one of the first business ventures by the fledgling Apple Corps. The store opened on December 7, 1967, and closed its doors for the last time on July 30, 1968. The boutique was never profitable, largely due to shoplifting. Perhaps bowing to this, the store's remaining stock was liquidated by giving it away.
Apple Studio
Apple Studio was a recording studio, located in the basement of the Apple Corps headquarters at 3 Savile Row.
Originally designed by Magic Alex (of Apple Electronics), the initial installation proved to be unworkable, with almost no standard studio features (such as a patch bay, or a talkback system between the studio and the control room, let alone Alex's promised innovations), and had to be scrapped. The Beatles recorded (and filmed) portions of their album Let It Be in the Apple Studio, with equipment borrowed from EMI, and during takes they had to shut down the building's central heating (also located in the basement), because the lack of soundproofing allowed the heating system to be heard in the studio.
Redesigning and rebuilding the basement to accommodate proper recording facilities took eighteen months, and necessitated ‘floating’ the townhouse; a difficult engineering task. The work was completed in 1970 and 1971, and the rebuilt studio (including its own natural echo chamber) offered a wide range of recording and mastering facilities, and could turn out mono, stereo and quadrophonic master tapes and discs. In 1971, it would have cost £37 an hour to record to 16 track, £29 an hour to mix to stereo, and £12 to cut a 12” master.
The studio became a second home for Apple Records artists (though they also used Abbey Road and other studios) and other artists such as Harry Nilsson, Wishbone Ash, Viv Stanshall, Lou Reizner, Clodagh Rodgers, Kilburn and the High Roads, the Sensational Alex Harvey Band and Marc Bolan (as shown in the movie Born To Boogie) also worked there; the existence of acetates by numerous performers is evidence the studio was widely used.
When the disbanded Beatles finally moved their offices away from Savile Row in the mid-1970s, the studio was closed permanently.
Legal battles with Apple Computer
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In 1978, Apple Records filed suit against Apple Computer (now Apple Inc.) for trademark infringement. The suit was settled in 1981 with the payment of $80,000 to Apple Corps. As a condition of the settlement, Apple Computer agreed to stay out of the music business. A dispute subsequently arose in 1989 when Apple Corps sued, alleging that Apple Computer's machines' ability to play back MIDI music was a violation of the 1981 settlement agreement. In 1991 another settlement, of around $26.5 million, was reached.[8][9] In September 2003 Apple Computer was again sued by Apple Corps, this time for introducing the iTunes Music Store and the iPod, which Apple Corps asserted was a violation of Apple's agreement not to distribute music.[10] The trial opened on March 29, 2006 in the UK[11] and, in a judgement issued on May 8, 2006, Apple Corps lost the case.[12][13][9]
On 5 February 2007, Apple Inc. and Apple Corps announced a settlement of their trademark dispute under which Apple Inc. will own all of the trademarks related to “Apple” and will license certain of those trademarks back to Apple Corps for their continued use. The settlement ends the ongoing trademark lawsuit between the companies, with each party bearing its own legal costs, and Apple Inc. will continue using its name and logos on iTunes. The settlement includes terms that are confidential.[14][15]
Apple versus EMI
The Beatles alleged in a 1979 lawsuit that EMI and Capitol had underpaid the band by more than £10.5 million. A settlement was reached in that case in 1989, which granted the band an increased royalty rate and required EMI and Capitol to follow more stringent auditing requirements.[16]
Apple, on behalf of the surviving Beatles and relatives of the band's late members, again sued EMI for unpaid royalties, in a case beginning in 2005.[17][16] The case was settled in April 2007 with a "mutually acceptable" conclusion, but one that would remain confidential.[5]
Bibliography
References
- ^ 'Our accountant came up and said, We got this amount of money. Do you want to give it to the government or do something with it?" So we decided to play businessmen for a bit, because we've got to run our own affairs now. So, we've got this thing called 'Apple' which is going to be records, films, and electronics - which all tie up.' John Lennon, Beatles interview on The Tonight Show, 14 May, 1968. (link)
- ^ Lennon: 'It's a company we're setting up, involving records, films, and electronics, and - as a sideline - manufacturing or whatever. We want to set up a system where people who just want to make a film about anything, don't have to go on their knees in somebody's office. Probably yours.'Said Paul McCartney: 'It's just trying to mix business with enjoyment. We're in the happy position of not needing any more money. So for the first time, the bosses aren't in it for profit. We've already bought all our dreams. We want to share that possibility with others.'Beatles press conference, announcing the launch of Apple, 1968 (link)
- ^ Paul McCartney: 'A beautiful place where you can buy beautiful things… a controlled weirdness… a kind of Western communism.' "Uncontrolled weirdness", New Internationalist, October 1990. (link)
- ^ Kozinn, Allan, "Magical Mystery Tour Ends for Apple Corps Executive", New York Times, 12 April 2007, passim. (link)
- ^ a b Evans, Jonny, "EMI, Apple Corps deal good news for iTunes?", Macworld, 12 April 2007 (link)
- ^ Beatles' friend quits top job at Apple Corps. New Musical Express (2007-04-10). Retrieved on 2007-04-10.
- ^ Dan Matovina, Badfinger biographer and representative for the Ham and Evans estates (link)
- ^ news.com: Apple vs. Apple: Perfect harmony?
- ^ a b Transcript of full judgement in the 2006 case. The Times, 8 May 2006 ([1])
- ^ legalzoom.com: Apple v Apple: What is at the core of The Beatles’ Apple Records vs. Apple iPod…
- ^ Apple giants do battle in court
- ^ Breaking news: "Apple Computer wins court battle with Beatles", Reuters, 8 May 2006 (link)
- ^ Brandle, L. "Apple Computer Triumphs In Beatles Case", Billboard, 8 May 2006 (link)
- ^ Apple Inc. and The Beatles’ Apple Corps Ltd. Enter into New Agreement. Apple Inc.. Retrieved on 2008-05-10.
- ^ Mark Sweney (2007). Apple trademark dispute resolved. Guardian News. Retrieved on 2008-05-10.
- ^ a b The Beatles and EMI’s court cases: bbc.co.uk 16 December 2005 Retrieved: 3 February 2007
- ^ EMI court case, bbc.co.uk: 31 August 2006 Retrieved: 29 January 2007
External links
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