MPL Communications (which stands for McCartney Productions Ltd.) (NAICS 512230, SIC 2741) is the umbrella company for the business interests of

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

and was established in 1969. In addition to handling McCartney's post-

Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developm ...

work, MPL is one of the world's largest privately owned music publishers through its acquisition of other publishing companies. MPL is headquartered in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Profile

The company was founded in February 1969 as Adagrove Limited but changed its name to McCartney Productions Ltd. in August 1969. One of the company's first projects was the purchase of the rights to a film adaptation of ''

Rupert Bear Rupert Bear is a British children's comic strip character and franchise created by artist Mary Tourtel and first appearing in the ''Daily Express'' newspaper on 8 November 1920. Rupert's initial purpose was to win sales from the rival ''D ...

'' in early 1970.

Music publishing

MPL publishing owns a wide range of copyrighted material – covering nearly 100 years of music – by composers including McCartney,

Buddy Holly Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer and songwriter who was a central and pioneering figure of mid-1950s rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texas ...

Carl Perkins Carl Lee Perkins (April 9, 1932 – January 19, 1998)#nytimesobit, Pareles. was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rockabilly great and pioneer of rock and roll, he began his recording career at the Sun Studio, in Memphis, Tennes ...

Jerry Herman Gerald Sheldon Herman (July 10, 1931December 26, 2019) was an American composer and lyricist, known for his work in Broadway theatre. One of the most commercially successful Broadway songwriters of his time, Herman was the composer and lyrici ...

Frank Loesser Frank Henry Loesser (; June 29, 1910 – July 28, 1969) was an American songwriter who wrote the music and lyrics for the Broadway musicals ''Guys and Dolls'' and ''How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying'', among others. He won a Tony ...

, Meredith Willson,

Harold Arlen Harold Arlen (born Hyman Arluck; February 15, 1905 – April 23, 1986) was an American composer of popular music, who composed over 500 songs, a number of which have become known worldwide. In addition to composing the songs for the 1939 film ' ...

and many others, with songs, such as "

Rock-a-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody "Rock-a-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody" is a popular song written by Jean Schwartz, with lyrics by Sam M. Lewis and Joe Young. The song was introduced by Al Jolson in the Broadway musical '' Sinbad'' and published in 1918. Probably the best- ...

" (made famous by

Al Jolson Al Jolson (born Eizer Yoelson; June 9, 1886 – October 23, 1950) was a Lithuanian-American Jewish singer, comedian, actor, and vaudevillian. He was one of the United States' most famous and highest-paid stars of the 1920s, and was self-billed ...

), "

I'm Glad There Is You "I'm Glad There Is You (In This World of Ordinary People)" is a song written by Jimmy Dorsey and Paul Madeira (sometimes credited as Paul Mertz) first published in 1941. It has become a jazz and pop standard. Original recording The song was rele ...

", "

Blue Suede Shoes "Blue Suede Shoes" is a rock and roll standard (music), standard written and first recorded by American singer, songwriter and guitarist Carl Perkins in 1955. It is considered one of the first rockabilly records, incorporating elements of blues ...

", and "

That'll Be the Day "That'll Be the Day" is a song written by Buddy Holly and Jerry Allison. It was first recorded by Buddy Holly and the Three Tunes in 1956 and was re-recorded in 1957 by Holly and his new band, the Crickets. The 1957 recording achieved widespr ...

Lennon–McCartney Lennon–McCartney was the songwriting partnership between English musicians John Lennon (1940–1980) and Paul McCartney (born 1942) of the Beatles. It is the best-known and most successful musical collaboration ever by records sold, with the ...

songs such as " Love Me Do" and " P.S. I Love You" became part of the catalog in the late 2010s after McCartney reached a settlement with longtime Beatles catalog holder

Sony/ATV Music Publishing Sony Music Publishing (formerly Sony/ATV Music Publishing) is the largest music publisher in the world, with over five million songs owned or administered as of end March 2021. US-based, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is itself owned ...

allowing the co-author to reclaim his songs fifty-six years from their initial publication. MPL also controls 25 subsidiary companies.List of MPL subsidiary companies
In 1976 MPL bought the rights to most of Buddy Holly's compositions, and in 2003 the rights to Carl Perkins' works. The Holly acquisition was followed by McCartney's launch of 'Buddy Holly Day' with a concert presented annually from 1976 to 1999. Additionally, MPL has acquired rights to other cover songs recorded by the Beatles, and on solo recordings by

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

, McCartney,

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...

, and

Denny Laine Denny Laine (born Brian Frederick Hines, 29 October 1944) is an English musician, singer, and songwriter, known as a founder of two major rock bands: the Moody Blues, with whom he played from 1964 to 1966, and Wings, with whom he played from 1 ...

as follows:

Buddy Holly songs

*" Words of Love" (''

Beatles for Sale ''Beatles for Sale'' is the fourth studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. It was released on 4 December 1964 in the United Kingdom on EMI's Parlophone label. The album marked a departure from the upbeat tone that had characterised ...

'', 1964) *"

Crying, Waiting, Hoping "Crying, Waiting, Hoping" is a song written by Buddy Holly. It was released in 1959 as the B-side to " Peggy Sue Got Married". Three versions of Holly's recording were released: the 1959 commercial release, the 1964 reissue with different orches ...

" (''

Live at the BBC {{Unreferenced, date=May 2019, bot=noref (GreenC bot) Live at the BBC or BBC Recordings are recordings originally made for or by BBC Radio 1. Many recordings were released under several name variants. Live at the BBC *Live at the BBC (The Beatles ...

'', 1994) *"

" ('' Anthology 1'', 1995) *" Peggy Sue" (Lennon's ''

Rock 'n' Roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm an ...

'', 1975, and ''

John Lennon Anthology ''John Lennon Anthology'' is a four-CD box set of home demos, studio outtakes and other previously unreleased material recorded by John Lennon over the course of his solo career from "Give Peace a Chance" in 1969 up until the 1980 sessions for ' ...

'', 1998) *Denny Laine's album '' Holly Days'' (1976)

Carl Perkins songs

*" Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby", (''Beatles for Sale'', 1964, and '' Live at the Hollywood Bowl'', 2016) *" Honey Don't" (''Beatles for Sale'', 1964) *"

Matchbox Phillumeny (also known as phillumenism) is the hobby of collecting different match-related items: matchboxes, matchbox labels, matchbooks, matchcovers, matchsafes, etc. Matchbox A matchbox is a box made of cardboard or thin wood and designe ...

" ('' Long Tall Sally'' EP, 1964 and '' Past Masters'', 1988) *" Sure to Fall" (''Live at the BBC'', 1994, and Starr's '' Stop and Smell the Roses'', 1981) *"

" (''

Anthology 3 ''Anthology 3'' is a compilation album by the Beatles, released on 29 October 1996 by Apple Records as part of ''The Beatles Anthology'' series. The album includes rarities and alternative tracks from the final three years of the band's c ...

'', 1996, '' The Beatles: Get Back'', 2021, and Lennon's ''

Live Peace in Toronto ''Live Peace in Toronto 1969'' is a live album by the Plastic Ono Band, released in December 1969 on Apple Records. Recorded at the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival festival, it was the first live album released by any member of the Beatles separa ...

'', 1969)

Other songs

Twist and Shout "Twist and Shout" is a 1961 song written by Phil Medley and Bert Berns (later credited as "Bert Russell"). It was originally recorded by the Top Notes, but it did not become a hit in the record charts until it was reworked by the Isley Brothers ...

" ('' Please Please Me'', 1963, '' The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl'', 1977, ''Anthology 1'', 1995, ''The Beatles: Get Back'', 2021)MPL Communications music search
/ref> *"

Till There Was You "Till There Was You" is a show tune written in 1950 by Meredith Willson, originally entitled "Till I Met You." It was originally recorded October 25, 1950, by Meredith Willson & his Orchestra and Eileen Wilson. The song was retitled and used ...

" (''

With the Beatles ''With the Beatles'' is the second studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. It was released in the United Kingdom on 22 November 1963 on Parlophone, eight months after the band's debut '' Please Please Me''. Produced by George Mar ...

'', 1963, ''Live at the BBC'', 1994, ''Anthology 1'', 1995) *"

Ain't She Sweet "Ain't She Sweet" is a song composed by Milton Ager, with lyrics by Jack Yellen. It was published in 1927 by Ager, Yellen & Bornstein, Inc. It became popular in the first half of the 20th century and typified the Roaring Twenties. Like ''Happy ...

" (''Anthology 1'', 1995, ''Anthology 3'', 1996, and the ''John Lennon Anthology'', 1998) *"

Hi-Heel Sneakers "Hi-Heel Sneakers" (often also spelled "High Heel Sneakers") is a blues song written and recorded by Tommy Tucker in 1963. Blues writer Mary Katherine Aldin describes it as an uptempo twelve-bar blues, with "a spare, lilting musical framework", ...

" (''The Beatles: Get Back'', 2021, and McCartney's ''

Unplugged (The Official Bootleg) ''Unplugged (The Official Bootleg)'' is a live unplugged performance by Paul McCartney, recorded and released in 1991. Following the vastness of his world tour recently captured on '' Tripping the Live Fantastic'', McCartney relished the oppor ...

'', 1991) *" Bluejean Bop" (McCartney's '' Run Devil Run'', 1999) *"

Let's Have a Party "Let's Have a Party" is a 1957 song written by Jessie Mae Robinson and recorded by Elvis Presley for the movie '' Loving You''. It was released as a single in the United Kingdom under the title "Party" and peaked at #2 in the UK Singles Chart. W ...

" aka "Party" (McCartney's ''Run Devil Run'', 1999) *" Sentimental Journey" (Starr's '' Sentimental Journey'', 1970) *" Blue, Turning Grey Over You" (Starr's ''Sentimental Journey'', 1970) *" Blue Christmas" (Starr's ''

I Wanna Be Santa Claus ''I Wanna Be Santa Claus'' is the 12th studio album by Ringo Starr. A Christmas album, it was issued in 1999. Background and recording Ringo Starr and musical partner Mark Hudson composed "Dear Santa" and "Christmas Eve" in July 1998 at Starr's ...

'', 1999) *" Carolina Moon" (''The Beatles: Get Back'', 2021)

Mary McCartney Picture department

McCartney's second eldest daughter, photographer and photo editor

Mary McCartney Mary Anna McCartney (born 28 August 1969) is a British photographer, documentary filmmaker, cookbook author, and Global Ambassador for Meat Free Monday. She is also the host for the Discovery+/Food Network vegan cooking show, ''Mary McCartney S ...

, runs the picture department.

Trademark

In October 2006, the

Trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from ot ...

Registry in London reported that MPL Communications had started a process to trademark McCartney's name on saleable goods.

Notes and references

External links

* {{Authority control Music publishing companies of the United Kingdom Paul McCartney Soho Square Entertainment companies established in 1969 Mass media companies established in 1969 IFPI members

Profile

Music publishing

Buddy Holly songs

Carl Perkins songs

Other songs

Mary McCartney Picture department

Trademark

See also

Notes and references

External links