The Beatles earned a total of $10,000 from three performances on “The Ed Sullivan Show” in 1964. A month before the 50th anniversary of their debut on the show, they're still making millions.
Starr has Beatles money! In addition, he's worked consistently since the band's breakup, releasing numerous albums, both solo and with his band. Starr narrated Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends (and starred in its spinoff, Shining Time Station) and appeared in numerous films.
6 Earns: Beatles Royalties
Sir Paul McCartney earns an estimated $70 million annually through royalties from various sources, including Beatles song rights, merchandise, and album sales. He owns the most expensive Beatles catalog of 251 songs worth $1 billion and artists Buddy Holly and Carl Perkins's music rights.
Mr. Byrne quickly signed dozens agreements with merchandisers that subsequently cost the Beatles approximately $100,000,000 in lost royalties. Mr. Epstein later re-negotiated the Beatles' share to 45%, but by then, Beatlemania was on the wane and the financial damage had been done.
In their original contract with manager Brian Epstein in 1962, Epstein got 25 percent of the gross money, and the four Beatles evenly split the remaining 75 percent. The Beatles stayed even-steven, equally splitting concert fees, record royalties and merchandising profits.
How much do the Beatles make in royalties? The Beatles make tens of millions in royalties every year, raking in a whopping $67 million in 2019 alone. McCartney and Lennon's estate get larger shares of royalties since they're credited as writers on more songs than Harrison or Starr.
A decade after the initial deal, Jackson sold 50 percent of ATV to Sony for $95 million, creating the music publishing company Sony/ATV. Today, the company owns the rights to the Beatles' songs, as well as those from artists like Bob Dylan, Marvin Gaye, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, Hank Williams, and Roy Orbison.
Ringo Starr: US$350 million
He also founded Ringo Starr & His All Starr Band, with whom he has earned millions from almost 200 gigs that gross an average of US$300,000 per night, according to Forbes.
Copyright is a confusing subject in and of itself, and the saga of the Beatles catalog is a particularly complicated case. The short answer is that Paul McCartney and Sony/ATV both own publication rights to the Beatles catalog, but this was not always the case.
It was sound financial advice that McCartney may have come to regret giving on August 14, 1985, when Michael Jackson purchased the publishing rights to the vast majority of the Beatles' catalog for $47 million, outbidding McCartney himself.
At the age of 58, George Harrison passed away after battles with lung and brain cancer. He left a will directing his estate to his wife, Olivia, and his son, Dhani.
The group once held the top five spots on Billboard 100—in April 1964—an achievement that's likely to remain unmatched. They made $25 million in earnings that year, which translates to almost $188 million today.
This gave Yoko vast control over John's assets, including many of his song rights. He left all his wealth to Yoko and their son, Sean, as the only beneficiaries of his estate.
The two have said over the years that they stay in touch and Starr told Jimmy Kimmel in 2021 that they FaceTime "regularly." “I was just in England and we actually saw each other physically,” Starr said at the time, adding that they'd gone to dinner with their wives and George Harrison's widow, Olivia.
Ringo Starr and John Lennon held a strong bond that was never in doubt and, following the split of The Fab Four, the success that Starr had in his solo career made Lennon immensely happy.
Conclusion: Paul Was The Greatest Beatle
There simply is no clear winner, but if pressed, I would say this analysis shows Paul as the slightly better song writer.
Ownership of The Beatles catalogue would remain unchanged from 1969 to 1981, when ATV was sold to an Australian business tycoon named Robert Holmes à Court. Prior to the sale, McCartney had the opportunity to purchase the catalogue from ATV for $40 million.
The solo catalog of George Harrison has moved to Dark Horse Records via BMG, the company announced on Tuesday. Harrison's family retains the rights to the catalog.
Yoko Ono sold the rights to his music to Sony/ATV Music in 2009, those rights lasting the entire copyright's lifetime (70 years).
Ringo. One future Beatles did experience a Dickensian childhood combining poverty, ill health and paternal abandonment. Richard Starkey grew up in an area of the city notorious for crime and poverty. But he would not meet the other Beatles until October, 1960.
Despite being the favorite of one in four, Lennon is also the least favorite Beatle of nearly half (49%) of people who say they are "not a fan" of at least one of the band members.
As part of the 1967 divorce, Lennon created a trust for Julian to receive 100,000 pounds when he turned 21, but he had to split that equally with any other children born to Lennon.
He was inducted twice into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as a Beatle in 1988 and as a solo artist in 2015, and appointed a Knight Bachelor in the 2018 New Year Honours for services to music. In 2020, he was cited as the wealthiest drummer in the world, with a net worth of $350 million.
The former Beatles bandmates have remained great friends over the years and Sir Paul even makes an appearance on Ringo's new album 'Give More Love' but the iconic duo don't get to spend a lot of time together these days. Asked about the experience of working with Sir Paul, Ringo shared: "He's an incredible musician.
McCartney said Lennon's decision to leave the band was driven by his pursuit of social justice, including movements such as “bagism,” where he and his wife, Yoko Ono, wore bags to urge people not to judge others based on their appearance.