Artwork to album covers by the Beatles and others

originally submitted by David Mellor:

You know... The Beatles!

Stifled uses

David Mellor:

Around 1998 I was writing a book about record production. I wanted to include panels on 'classic productions' each time including the cover artwork.

Unlike magazine publishers who (I was told) just publish without seeking clearance, my publisher required written clearance on every cover.

I contacted every record company concerned - all majors. The Beatles actually just said no, which is their right.

But other companies couldn't actually give me the permission. Commonly, they said that there was copyright in the components that made up the artwork, such as photographs, ownership of which would be too difficult to trace.

So although they obviously must have had licences to manufacture product, they couldn't actually license other uses of the artwork.

What a crazy world it would be if no-one could publish an album cover anywhere!

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