Beatles for Sale: How Everything They Touched Turned to Gold (Paperback)

~ John Blaney (Author) "In 1962 the British music industry was parochial and lacking in ambition..." (more)
Key Phrases: larry page, primary wave, merchandising licences, The Beatles, Northern Songs, United Artists (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

In Beatles for Sale, author John Blaney shows how the group and their inner circle invented so much of what we now recognize as the modern business of making and selling rock music. Beatles for Sale documents the ups and downs of the group as they promoted, advertised, and sold records, played concerts, sold merchandise, made films, and set up publishing and record companies of their own. More than just a business primer, this book tells and exciting story of naiveté and greed, inexperience and blind luck, gullibility and ingenuity. Beatles for Sale explores every aspect of how the group made vast fortunes — and provided the template for everyone who followed.

About the Author

John Blaney is the author of Jawbone's Lennon And McCartney - Together Alone: A Critical Discography Of Their Solo Work. He is a passionate Beatles fan who brings to his writing the expertise and rigour of a professional historian.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Jawbone Press; illustrated edition edition (May 5, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1906002096
• ISBN-13: 978-1906002091
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #820,636 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A top pick not just for popular music collections, but for business libraries as well, August 13, 2008

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This new examination of the history of the Beatles considers just how the Beatles and their manager Brian Epstein pioneered not just their music, but the modern music business itself. From how they promoted and sold records to playing concerts, making films, and setting up their own recording companies, BEATLES FOR SALE provides a very different focus from the many books which have revealed their music and lives, making it a top pick not just for popular music collections, but for business libraries as well.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars New ground broken in Beatle literature!, July 31, 2008

By	KT "Beatle Fan" (Michigan) - See all my reviews

As someone who's read just about everything out there on the Beatles, I was pleasantly surprised by the latest offering from John Blaney (Lennon and McCartney: Together Alone, previously published in separate iterations). There have been a few books out there addressing the business, as opposed to the musical end of the Beatles' career. But none has offered the amount of detail and insight while remaining steadfastly readable as this one.

Blaney takes us on a thorough investigation of how the Beatles became the success that they were in terms of their business dealings, be it through their club dates, their merchandising, their music publishing and so forth. At first glance, such a potentially "dry" study may seem to be of limited interest, but Blaney is such a masterful researcher with a sharp eye for the kind of minutia that fans find irresistible that you'll find yourself drawn in, as I was, to learn the nuts and bolts of how it all happened. (Did you know that the Beatles pioneered the concept of the tour bus?)

Another strength of the book is how it dissects and clarifies long-held myths about their history. The Beatles literary canon is replete with hearsay, but Blaney has done a great job in going back to the original sources to brush aside the shrouding fog of nostalgia, contextualizing their achievements (which only serves to make them more remarkable).

I highly recommend this work for anyone who's been baffled about the ins and outs of their business affairs or Brian Epstein's efforts on their behalf. The good, the bad, and the ugly is laid out in crystal-clear detail - this eminently readable work will stand as one of the more worthy additions to anyone's Beatle bookshelf.

5.0 out of 5 stars superb book, August 23, 2009

By	Juan Aulet "auletjohnast03638" (springhill, florida) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Enjoy this book very much, any book on the beatles is worth reading. I give this book 5 stars!