Businessman Buys up Rights to Lennon’s Solo Recordings

New Zealand businessman Sir Douglas Myers has secured the rights to John Lennon’s music and some early Beatles records, he says in an exclusive interview with the Herald on Sunday.

Meyers owns Downtown Music, a New York recording studio and music publishing company. This year it secured the US administration rights to all of Lennon’s music after he left The Beatles, and to Yoko Ono’s song catalogue.

As well, it has the rights to two 1962 Beatles singles, featuring four songs, including Please Please Me and Love Me Do.

Most of the Beatles back-catalogue was bought by US pop superstar Michael Jackson.

But after Lennon was shot dead in New York in 1980, his widow Yoko Ono kept control of his solo recordings – including such anthems as Instant Karma, Give Peace a Chance and Imagine.

Now Downtown Music has bought them.

“We’re quite small but we have three young guys and they’re very good,” Meyers says. “We’re looking at expanding that.”

In 1998, Meyers sold his 45 per cent share holding in Lion to Kirin Brewery Company (creating the fourth largest brewing firm in the world) for $312 million. He lives in London.