On August 14, 1985, Michael Jackson completed the acquisition of ATV Music Publishing for approximately $47.5 million through a company he controlled, ATV Music. The purchase gave Jackson ownership of a vast song catalog that included the publishing rights to about 250 songs written largely by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, which had been controlled by Northern Songs and later consolidated under ATV. The deal was a landmark moment in popular-music business history because it transferred control of the publishing rights to a single buyer who was also a prominent performing artist. Background The Beatles' songwriting partnership generated a valuable catalog of compositions whose rights had been managed separately from the recording masters. In the 1960s, Northern Songs was created to publish Lennon–McCartney compositions; by the 1970s and early 1980s, ownership of publishing interests had shifted through corporate sales and consolidation. ATV Music, a British music-publishing company, held a substantial portion of those publishing rights by the mid-1980s. The Purchase Jackson had been advised by music-business figures and advisers who saw the acquisition as a strategically valuable investment: song publishing provides ongoing royalty income from covers, recordings, radio play, licensing for film and television, and other uses. Jackson negotiated to buy ATV after learning the catalog was for sale and arranged financing and corporate structures to complete the transaction. Reactions and Consequences The acquisition drew intense public and industry attention. Some observers criticized the move on cultural or personal grounds because the catalog included the work of the Beatles, one of the most celebrated songwriting partnerships in popular music. Others viewed the purchase as a savvy business decision that reflected the commercial value of publishing rights. Paul McCartney later said publicly that he had considered buying the catalog himself but was outbid, and the episode affected his and others' views on music-rights ownership. In subsequent years, the ownership of the Beatles' songs remained a subject of legal and commercial activity. Jackson later arranged a joint venture combining ATV with Sony's music-publishing business, creating Sony/ATV in 1995, a company that continued to manage the catalog. Over time, portions of the catalog were sold or transferred as corporate structures changed, but Jackson's 1985 purchase marked a pivotal transfer of publishing control that reshaped conversations about artists' rights, catalog valuation, and the business of songwriting. Legacy The 1985 acquisition is widely cited in music-industry histories as a turning point demonstrating the financial significance of song catalogs. It influenced how artists, managers, and investors approached publishing rights and underscored that control of compositions can be as commercially important as control of recorded performances. The transaction remains a notable example of an artist making a high-profile investment in the music-rights marketplace. Notes on accuracy Known facts about the purchase date, buyer, and approximate purchase price are widely reported in contemporary news coverage and later music-industry accounts. Details about subsequent corporate arrangements (including the later Sony/ATV joint venture) are matters of public record. Some personal motivations and behind-the-scenes negotiations have been reported differently in various sources; where accounts conflict, industry summaries and contemporaneous reporting provide the basis for the timeline above.