History: Early Years Of The Beatles

Harrison did not renew his contract with Northern Songs when it ended in March 1968, signing with Apple Publishing instead while retaining the copyright to his work from that point forward. Harrisongs thus owns the rights to his later Beatles songs such as "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and "Something". That year, as well, Starr created Startling Music, which holds the rights to his solo Beatles compositions, "Don't Pass Me By" and "Octopus's Garden".
In March 1969, James arranged to sell his and his partner's shares to British television company Associated Television (ATV) without informing the band members. The Beatles then bid to gain a controlling interest in Northern Songs by working out a deal with a consortium of London brokerage firms that had accumulated a 14% holding. The deal collapsed in May over the objections of Lennon, who declared, "I'm sick of being fucked about by men in suits sitting on their fat arses in the City." By September ATV had acquired a majority stake in Northern Songs. Lennon and McCartney sold their shares to ATV one month later.
Financial losses by the parent company of ATV Music prompted the sale of the division in 1981. McCartney made a bid for Northern Songs but the entire ATV Music division was sold to Australian business magnate Robert Holmes à Court. In 1985, ATV Music was sold to Michael Jackson for a reported $47 million, trumping a joint bid by McCartney and Yoko Ono. The acquisition gave Jackson control over the publishing rights to more than 200 songs composed by Lennon and McCartney.
Jackson and Sony merged their music publishing businesses in 1995, becoming joint owners of most Lennon-McCartney songs, although Lennon's estate and McCartney still receive their respective share of the royalties. Some of their earliest songs were published by an EMI subsidiary, Ardmore & Beechwood, before Lennon and McCartney signed with James. McCartney acquired the publishing rights to "Love Me Do" and "P.S. I Love You" from Ardmore in the 1980s.