Maximus Enterprises
In 1967, the legal wranglings were finally settled, and Epstein launched Maximus Enterprises Ltd., (now that Stramsact and Seltaeb were dissolved) to try to capitalize on the merchandising boom, but by this time the interest of many corporations had wilted following the Seltaeb debacle. Also at this time, Lennon had enraged part of the American fan-base with his suggestion that The Beatles were "more popular than Jesus." Epstein was well aware that his own contract was up for renewal with the band in August 1967, and he feared with all of this bad timing on business issues and his keeping the truth about Seltaeb hid that the group would not renew his services. The Seltaeb issue and subsequent problems would haunt Epstein until his death in August 1967 (ruled an accidental overdose of prescription medication).
On the business side, stakeholders themselves missed huge payouts when contracts were canceled. Byrne later claimed he received two prophetic “mysterious phone calls” about …show more content…
In the 1960’s very few (if none) managers of musical groups could foresee the impact and commercial potential that marketing items surrounding a band would bring. Even if they did, most acts didn’t last long enough to warrant this type of investment. As far as Epstein (and his naivete) was concerned, it was merely good public relations to give the public items related to his band, and any profits from the sale of Beatle products were viewed as just extra money to supplement the Beatles' incomes from live performances and records sales. Epstein, like almost everyone else, had not recognized an industry to maximize their profitability. Alistair Taylor (Epstein's assistant) later admitted that economic errors happened: "We did our best; some people have said it wasn't good enough. That's easy to say with 20/20 hindsight but remember that there were no rules. We were making it up as we went
In 1967, the legal wranglings were finally settled, and Epstein launched Maximus Enterprises Ltd., (now that Stramsact and Seltaeb were dissolved) to try to capitalize on the merchandising boom, but by this time the interest of many corporations had wilted following the Seltaeb debacle. Also at this time, Lennon had enraged part of the American fan-base with his suggestion that The Beatles were "more popular than Jesus." Epstein was well aware that his own contract was up for renewal with the band in August 1967, and he feared with all of this bad timing on business issues and his keeping the truth about Seltaeb hid that the group would not renew his services. The Seltaeb issue and subsequent problems would haunt Epstein until his death in August 1967 (ruled an accidental overdose of prescription medication).
On the business side, stakeholders themselves missed huge payouts when contracts were canceled. Byrne later claimed he received two prophetic “mysterious phone calls” about …show more content…
In the 1960’s very few (if none) managers of musical groups could foresee the impact and commercial potential that marketing items surrounding a band would bring. Even if they did, most acts didn’t last long enough to warrant this type of investment. As far as Epstein (and his naivete) was concerned, it was merely good public relations to give the public items related to his band, and any profits from the sale of Beatle products were viewed as just extra money to supplement the Beatles' incomes from live performances and records sales. Epstein, like almost everyone else, had not recognized an industry to maximize their profitability. Alistair Taylor (Epstein's assistant) later admitted that economic errors happened: "We did our best; some people have said it wasn't good enough. That's easy to say with 20/20 hindsight but remember that there were no rules. We were making it up as we went