Michael Jackson made a shockingly bold move against The Beatles that later ended his friendship with the group’s Paul McCartney

Music icon Michael Jackson threw his friendship with Paul McCartney out the window when he made a shockingly bold move against The Beatles.

The pair of legends first formed a successful collaboration on The Girl Is Mine, which appeared on Jackson’s 1982 album Thriller, and then, in 1983, they worked together on Say Say Say for McCartney’s 1983 album, Pipes of Peace.

However, during that last collaboration, McCartney did something he would later regret: giving Jackson some music publishing advice.

After hearing McCartney say that owning publishing rights could be lucrative, the Jackson 5 alum joked: “One day, I’ll own your songs.”

McCartney thought nothing of it, until it actually happened.

Paul McCartney was angry that Michael Jackson bought the rights to The Beatles’ music (Image: Getty)

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In 1963, Dick James was new to the music publishing world, but knew he wanted to be The Beatles’ publisher. So, to wow the band’s manager, Brian Epstein, he organized the group’s first TV performance on Thank Your Lucky Stars.

Later, James suggested he and Epstein start Northern Songs to house Lennon-McCartney songs (as well as George Harrison and Ringo Starr’s). Epstein and The Beatles signed the necessary contracts “not really knowing what it was at all about,” McCartney later said (per Beatles Bible).

“John and I didn’t know you could own songs,” the Wings frontman said. “We thought they just existed in the air, we could not see how it was possible to own them. We could see owning a house, a guitar or a car, they were physical objects.

“But a song, not being a physical object, we couldn’t see how it was possible to have a copyright in it. And therefore, with great glee, publishers saw us coming.

“We said to them, ‘Can we have our own company?’ They said, ‘Yeah.’ We said, ‘Our own?’ They said, ‘Yeah, you can. You’re great. This is what we’re going to do now.’

“So we really thought that meant 100 percent owned. But of course, it turned out to be 49 percent to me and John and Brian, and 51 percent to Dick James and Charles Silver.”

By 1965, the company had been restructured, with John Lennon and McCartney each owning 15%, Dick James Music 7%, his family 15%, Dick James Music’s co-director Emmanuel Charles Silver 15%, and NEMS Enterprises 7%. Harrison and Starr held only 1.6% between them, per Beatles Bible.

In 1968, Harrison and Starr opted not to renew their contracts with Northern Songs.

The following year, The Beatles’ relationship with James soured when he sold Northern Songs to Sir Lew Grade, who ran the British television network ATV, without offering the group an opportunity to buy it. He profited hugely from the sale, and Lennon and McCartney lost control of the rights to The Beatles’ biggest hits.

In 1985, the rights to 4,000 songs, including The Beatles’ catalog of 250 songs, went up for public auction. Jackson purchased the collection for $47.5 million.

In 1988, Harrison told CNN that it was strange that Jackson bought The Beatles’ catalog because he was supposed to be McCartney’s friend.

He said: “I thought it was very strange because he was supposed to be Paul’s friend. Personally, I only have about 10 or 12 songs that was in that catalog. I’d still like them back, Michael. They don’t make him that much money. I want them to give to my boy in my will.”

According to Far Out Magazine, once the sale of The Beatles’ catalog was final, Jackson said: “You can’t put a price on a Picasso… you can’t put a price on these songs, there’s no value on them.”

However, Jackson never wanted to sell the catalog back to the group. So, his relationship with McCartney crumbled.

On The Howard Stern Show, McCartney said he’d written Jackson many times offering to buy the catalog back, but the Thriller singer repeatedly refused.

“The trouble is I wrote those songs for nothing and buying them back at these phenomenal sums, I just can’t do it,” McCartney said.

McCartney waited for the right moment, though, and eventually something happened that ensured he’d get The Beatles’ catalog back. Jackson fell into financial ruin.

According to American Songwriter, Jackson sold 50% of ATV to Sony for $95 million. At Jackson’s death, Sony fully controlled all of The Beatles’ songs.

After a 2017 lawsuit, McCartney reached a settlement with Sony/ATV over copyright to The Beatles’ catalog under the US Copyright Act of 1976, which states that songwriters can reclaim copyright from music publishers 35 years after they gave them away.

So, McCartney finally got The Beatles’ catalog back.