What Constitutes A Beach Boys Album?

[curth]

Since Mike and Bruce can tour as the Beach Boys simply by paying a licensing fee, I was wondering if anyone knows if there is some kind of contractual agreement as to what constitutes a Beach Boys album. Do all living members, less Blondie and Ricky, have to appear, or can some deviation , ie Brian, Al, Dave and Blondie, release an album as the Beach Boys?

[Lowbacca]

As far as I know there's no existing agreement on that. New albums would be negotiated anew from case to case. No incarnation of the BBs, no matter how many BRI members involved, could just go ahead and release a new BBs album under that name.

[Stephen W. Desper]

Since Mike and Bruce can tour as the Beach Boys simply by paying a licensing fee, I was wondering if anyone knows if there is some kind of contractual agreement as to what constitutes a Beach Boys album. Do all living members, less Blondie and Ricky, have to appear, or can some deviation , ie Brian, Al, Dave and Blondie, release an album as the Beach Boys?

COMMENT: 

Question:  What constitutes a Beach Boys album?

Answer:  Whatever the record company says constitutes a Beach Boy album.

In many releases, especially compulations, the group members, the actual Beach Boys themselves, know nothing about a release of their stuff. Rights have been signed away or sold to the highest bidder. There may be no permission to put together a collection of past releases, but there are copyrights, intellectual property rights, and writer's rights. The brand name also has rights.

You may find the following of interest -- from a previous post of another thread.

Perhaps one measure of value that could be placed on the Beach Boy brand, and thus act as a guide to its monetary value – in exchange for its removal from your awareness – would be to examine the actual world value of the brand.

Since 1998, the corporate entity Brothers Record Inc (BRI), equally owns, in 25% shares by Brian Wilson, the estate of Carl Wilson, Mike Love, and Al Jardine, the registered trademark of “The Beach Boys.” Brian’s personal worth is estimated to be 75 million and growing. Michael continues to use the trademark in concert tours keeping a net of 15% of all gross receipts, so his worth is growing and is now estimated at 50 million. According to court documents Mike contends that between 1998 and 2005 he made around 55 million in royalities alone. Carl’s estate and Alan come in at an estimated 35 million. Dennis’ estate at around 20 million. Bruce is worth more, but his estate is made up of properties outside the Beach Boys, due to his success with writing songs for other people. So even though only Mike and Bruce are on stage, everyone shares in the income and is therefore still gaining from live events. That’s around 200 million for the group’s members and their survivors.

Usually you can figure that any artist will retain about 10% of the intellectual property rights of their endeavors if involved in commerce, which when extrapolated would place a value of two-billion dollars on that part of all income for the various record companies that have owned the rights to distribution. This is, of course, a projection or supposed value based on a general history of how it all works. Over the last 50 years the Beach Boy brand has had a cyclic ride, sum highs and some lows, so a more realistic projection may be a total more like one-billion dollars for the last 50 years. One billion over a 50-year lifespan is 20 million per year of income from this brand. That may seem a bit too much, but consider that this treasure represents worldwide sales of their entire catalog, plus royalty payments from broadcasts, plus concert income. We’re talking gross here, not after taxes or after expenses. The figures drop considerably when deductions are made.

I have not included Ricky or Blondie in the brand, as they are salaried employees of the corporation. Not being participants in the trademark or having any seat on the BRI board of directors they are as much “Beach Boy” as Tony Asher, Van Dyke Parks or Jack Rieley – sort of the CC” of the authentic group or token visitors from another group, The Flame. Besides, their worth is minor compared to the original group of six. Many of you relate to the brand through CD’s or the Internet and may take issue with my views, but I relate to the brand through LP’s 45’s and live shows featuring the three brothers and three friends of long standing.

This total figure, whatever it is, one could say represents the value that the planet places on the Beach Boy brand. However the Genie isn’t wiping the Beach Boy brand from the entire planet in exchange for a lump sum, rather just one fan – you. So at first, asking for a billion dollars in exchange may seem way out of proportion, but when looking at the overall fifty years of activity, one billion could be warranted. Even if we exclude all the income from concerts tours and performances, over all the years they have sold over 100 million units at an average price of ten bucks each. That is one billion dollars gross.~ swd

Quote from: john k on April 25, 2014, 12:19:50 PM
Did I dream it, or did I read the words "Beach Boy brand" somewhere in this topic? Brand?? Luckily i also read the word "hypothetical". ;=)

COMMENT:   You did read "brand" and it's not hypothetical, it is very real.  The Beach Boy brand covers any and all commercial products that bear the registered trademark "Beach Boys®" That is the proper business term for any trademark used in commerce.  The Beach Boys® or Beach Boys® is a considered a brand. If you are not involved in business it may seem strange, but it is the proper term just as Ford®, Apple® or Coke® are brands.

US GOVERNMENT TRADEMARK RESISTRATION

MARK-----------------   SERIAL NUMBER--------REGISTRATION NUMBER

Beach Boy------------   86053221
The Beach Boys------   85702419---------------44333632
The Beach Boys------   76363052---------------2631628
The Beach Boys------   73059442---------------73059442
Beach Boy------------   86053221
The Beach Boys------   85702419---------------4433632

If you go to the US Government Trademark Office link (below) and click on any of the numbers, it will tell you the date and use of each mark. The site may time-out. If so, click on the blue "trademark" box and then re-enter "Beach Boys" in the query box.

Some of the registration of BB marks are for songs. But some are for clothing, some for games, some for pinball machines, some for etc.

http://tmsearch.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=toc&state=4806%3A1y1t8e.1.1&p_search=searchss&p_L=50&BackReference=&p_plural=yes&p_s_PARA1=&p_tagrepl%7E%3A=PARA1%24LD&expr=PARA1+AND+PARA2&p_s_PARA2=Beach+Boys&p_tagrepl%7E%3A=PARA2%24COMB&p_op_ALL=AND&a_default=search&a_search=Submit+Query&a_search=Submit+Query

The business of music is a business.

~SWD

[Andrew G. Doe]

Since Mike and Bruce can tour as the Beach Boys simply by paying a licensing fee...

As is inevitable with The Beach Boys, nothing is ever that simple. Mike & Bruce pay BRI a licensing fee, no argument, but the license itself was voted to them by the four BRI corporate members (3-1, apparently): they didn't just buy the license.

... I was wondering if anyone knows if there is some kind of contractual agreement as to what constitutes a Beach Boys album. Do all living members, less Blondie and Ricky, have to appear, or can some deviation , ie Brian, Al, Dave and Blondie, release an album as the Beach Boys?

This is only my woefully badly understanding based on decidedly shaky foundations, but I think there's an informal agreement that all surviving members have to appear on an new album project for it to be marketed as by "The Beach Boys". Certainly the BRI license only relates to touring. As SWD says, the band can be unaware of any new compilation until it hits the shops/Amazon (or they read about it here...), but as the material was recorded under the BB banner, no (legal) sweat.

[Andrew G. Doe]

Since Mike and Bruce can tour as the Beach Boys simply by paying a licensing fee...

As is inevitable with The Beach Boys, nothing is ever that simple. Mike & Bruce pay BRI a licensing fee, no argument, but the license itself was voted to them by the four BRI corporate members (3-1, apparently): they didn't just buy the license.

... I was wondering if anyone knows if there is some kind of contractual agreement as to what constitutes a Beach Boys album. Do all living members, less Blondie and Ricky, have to appear, or can some deviation , ie Brian, Al, Dave and Blondie, release an album as the Beach Boys?

This is only my woefully poor understanding based on decidedly shaky foundations, but I think there's an informal agreement that all surviving members have to appear on an new album project for it to be marketed as by "The Beach Boys". Certainly the BRI license only relates to touring. As SWD says, the band can be unaware of any new compilation until it hits the shops/Amazon (or they read about it here...), but as the material was recorded under the BB banner, no (legal) sweat.

[Stephen W. Desper]

COMMENT:  I'm going to ask a question partaining to the subject in discussion, but I will ask the question on a seperate thread.

The question is about album covers.

~ swd