The figure we keep hearing is $250,000, though “Mad Men” mastermind Matthew Weiner says that figure is wrong.
A Lionsgate spokeswoman told the Wall Street Journal it was the most expensive music deal the TV studio has made to date.
Sunday’s “Mad Men” concluded with Megan Calvet Draper giving her husband a copy of “Revolver,” what was in late 1966 the latest Beatles long-playing record. Don Draper dropped the needle on “Tomorrow Never Knows,” a tune that many say served as a turning point in the band’s rapid musical evolution.
The show had last season licensed the Rolling Stones’ much bigger hit “(Cant’t Get No) Satisfaction,” a period-specific rocker that mocked Don Draper’s industry. At the time I commented that it must have taken a massive bite out of that season’s budget.
Showrunner Matt Weiner says he made multiple prior attempts to license a Beatles song, but this was the first time he was able to get the necessary okays for its use from Olivia Harrison, Yoko Ono, Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney. (Does it gall Yoko that she now needs Olivia Harrison’s permission to license a John Lennon song? I wonder … )
Original Beatles recordings have been used plenty in movies, commericals and video games, but they’ve not popped up in a lot of TV shows since “All You Need Is Love” found its way onto the Feb. 4, 1968, series finale of “The Prisoner.”
“WKRP In Cincinnati,” shot on videotape to take advantage of an ASCAP licensing discount denied TV series shot on film, featured between 1979 and 1982 the Beatles’ original recordings of “I’m Down,” “Here Comes The Sun” and “Come Together.” The license fees didn’t cover multiple airings, however, and the Beatles music was removed for the series’ syndicated run and DVDs.
Remakes are a different matter. “American Idol” contestants perform Beatles classics all the time. Patti LuPone’s cover of Paul McCartney’s “Ob La Di, Ob La Da” served as the theme song for ABC’s 1989-1993 hourlong “Life Goes On.”
Crazily, “Tomorrow Never Knows” and dozens of other original Beatles recordings were licensed for and playing in their entirely during ABC’s 1965-67 “The Beatles” Saturday morning TV show (likely for a good deal less than $250,000). While the cartoon likely emboldened “Prisoner” producers to license “All You Need Is Love,” reacquiring the song rights for “The Prisoner’s” home entertainment release could explain why the 16-episode set carries such a high SRP.
The Wall Street Journal:
The general reaction on Twitter was, “Whoa.” That sentiment was immediately followed by something like, “How much did that cost them?” Answer: about $250,000, according to people familiar with the deal. That’s about five times as much as the typical cost of licensing a song for TV. In an interview, series creator Matthew Weiner disputed that figure, but declined to discuss financial details of the deal. […}
Lionsgate, the studio that produces “Mad Men” for AMC, wouldn’t confirm the amount paid to license “Tomorrow Never Knows,” but a spokeswoman said it was the most expensive music deal the TV studio has made to date. Just as significant, Lionsgate says the episode, titled “Lady Lazarus,” marks the first time a master recording by the Beatles has been licensed for a television show.
That Lionsgate spokeswoman is wrong.
Find all of the Journal’s story on the matter here.
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