Paul McCartney buys Adagrose Limited

On this day, Paul McCartney acquired Adagrose Limited, a company originally created by Leonard Lewis and Francis Dean and incorporated on December 30, 1968. According to the incorporation document, the company’s stated purpose was:

To employ and exploit and turn to account the services of actors, composers, authors and other professional persons and to carry on business as theatrical employment and literary agents and artistes and author’s personal representatives and managers in all their branches, distributors, agents and managers for theatrical, film and television productions and to act as agents for the purchase, sale, hiring and exploitation thereof; to manufacture, buy, hire, sell, let on hire and deal in all kinds of literary, musical, dramatic and other entertainments, cinematograph and other films and pictures, plays, opera, comedy, stage piece or musical composition and any photographic and other apparatus capable of being used in connection therewith, to construct, equip and carry on theatres, cinemas and other buildings and conveniences for that purpose; to acquire the copyright of any opera, comedy, play, stage piece, or musical compositions and to publish, distribute, sell and transcribe on to recordings any and all musical compositions and to secure copyrights thereof; to enter into any agreements thought desirable with authors, composers, actors or others; and to produce, distribute, rent or otherwise deal in cinematograph films, and to act as a holding company for any company.

From MPL COMMUNICATIONS LIMITED filing history – Find and update company information – GOV.UK

Following discussions with Lee Eastman — his future father-in-law — and John Eastman — his future brother-in-law — Paul had developed a growing interest in the music publishing business. Owning his own company would serve as the vehicle to begin acquiring the copyrights of other artists.

This move can also be seen in the context of Allen Klein’s rising influence. Just days later, on February 3, 1969, Klein would officially become The Beatles’ business manager. Paul may have already sensed the direction things were heading and acted to establish more control over his personal business affairs.

In August 1969, Adagrose Limited was renamed McCartney Productions Limited, which would eventually evolve into MPL Communications — one of the world’s largest privately-owned music publishing companies.

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