Apple Records | |
---|---|
Parent company | Apple Corps |
Founded | 1968 |
Founder | The Beatles |
Distributor(s) |
Capitol Records Universal Music Group |
Genre |
Rock Pop Experimental Indian Classical |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Official website | www |
Apple Records is a record label founded by the Beatles in 1968, as a division of Apple Corps Ltd. It was initially intended as a creative outlet for the Beatles, both as a group and individually, plus a selection of other artists including Mary Hopkin, James Taylor, Badfinger, and Billy Preston. In practice, by the mid-1970s, the roster had become dominated with releases by the former Beatles as solo artists. Allen Klein managed the label from 1969 to 1973. It was then managed by Neil Aspinall on behalf of the four Beatles and their heirs. He retired in 2007 and was replaced by Jeff Jones.
Apple Corps was conceived by the band by 1967, after the death of their manager Brian Epstein; the first project the Beatles released after the formation of Apple Corps was their film Magical Mystery Tour, which was produced under the Apple Films division. Apple Records was officially founded by the group after their return from India in 1968, as another sub-division of Apple Corps, which was established as a small group of companies (Apple Retail, Apple Publishing, Apple Electronics and so on), as part of Epstein's plan to create a tax-effective business structure.
At this time, the Beatles were contracted to EMI's Parlophone label in the United Kingdom and Capitol Records in the United States. In a new distribution deal, EMI and Capitol agreed to distribute Apple Records until 1975, while EMI retained ownership of the Beatles' recordings. Beatles recordings issued in the United Kingdom on the Apple label carried Parlophone catalogue numbers, while US issues carried Capitol catalogue numbers. Apple Records owns the rights to all of the Beatles' videos and movie clips, and the rights to recordings of other artists signed to the label. The first catalogue number, Apple 1, was a one-off pressing of Frank Sinatra singing "Maureen Is a Champ" (with lyrics by Sammy Cahn) to the melody of "The Lady Is a Tramp" for Ringo Starr's then-wife Maureen. BeatlesandBeyond Radio presenter Pete Dicks reports that the title is actually "Lady is a Champ"; it was a surprise gift for Maureen's 21st birthday.