Why did the Beach Boys/BRI go with Capitol this time around?

[b00ts]

I would imagine that the Boys' deal with Capitol included Capitol laying out the money for the recording sessions, in exchange for exclusive rights to the new album for "X" amount of years, after which it will revert to BRI. Other than that, why did BRI go with Capitol this time?

Do they need Capitol to help bankroll the tour? It is a lot of mouths to feed, but Brian and Mike/Bruce have been doing it on their own for years.

What does Capitol (a record label that is a shell of its former self) have to offer The Beach Boys/BRI in 2012 that BRI couldn't have done themselves? Strategic marketing? Merchandising opportunities? I am genuinely curious.

[SMiLE Brian]

The two were partners in the glory days, so maybe they want to try to return to better times.

[anazgnos]

I don't know for sure that what they got was a 360 deal, but that's what it sounded like to me when it was first announced. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/360_deal

a 360 deal is a business relationship between an artist and a music industry company. The company agrees to provide financial support for the artist, including direct advances as well as funds for marketing, promotion and touring. The artist agrees to give the company a percentage of all of their income, including sales of recorded music, live performances and any other income.

The business arrangement is an alternative to the traditional recording contract. During the first decade of the 21st century, revenues from recorded music fell dramatically and the profit margins traditionally associated with the record industry disappeared. The 360 deal reflects the fact that much of a musician's income now comes from sources other than recorded music, such as live performance and merchandise.

[Ron]

I think it just keeps it much more simpler to go with Capitol, because they're going to be doing so much with all the classic songs.  They've probably got several archival things going on in the next year, and it just puts a big red bow on the top that they're using the same record company.... they can just go full blown and endorse everything, all the time, by the same people involved, etc.  So every press release can mention the tour, and the old songs, and the new songs, etc. and every poster can be similar, etc.

[b00ts]

I think it just keeps it much more simpler to go with Capitol, because they're going to be doing so much with all the classic songs.  They've probably got several archival things going on in the next year, and it just puts a big red bow on the top that they're using the same record company.... they can just go full blown and endorse everything, all the time, by the same people involved, etc.  So every press release can mention the tour, and the old songs, and the new songs, etc. and every poster can be similar, etc.

True, it is very consistent for them to stick with Capitol, and as with That Lucky Old Sun, Capitol is part of the overall branding. Still, I wonder if they just went with Capitol by default, or perhaps if they considered going it alone or going with Warners, etc...

[Ron]

I doubt it bOOts because of the situation we're talking about.  Think about it, they weren't going to do a reunion unless Capitol paid them what they wanted.  So their negotiation tool wasn't that another record company would give them a better deal: their negotiation tool was that they weren't going to do a tour unless capitol gave them the deal they wanted.  Hell Brian paid hardball up until about two months ago or something, lol.