At the end of a long and winding road, Bravado scores North American merchandise rights for the Beatles, an arrangement that unites the legendary band’s records and merch under the one roof — Universal Music Group.
Through the new partnership, announced Thursday (Sept. 1), Bravado will develop new merchandise opportunities for the Fab Four across retail, licensing and e-commerce in the United States and Canada.
As part of that agreement with Apple Corp, UMG-owned Bravado will expand the Beatles’ presence across those markets by leveraging its retail and licensing partnerships and its ecommerce network to “supercharge direct-to-consumer efforts,” reads a statement.
It’s a coup for UMG, which has represented the Beatles’ recorded music catalog since 2012, and, three years later, facilitated the arrival of the Hall of Famers’ works on streaming platforms.
Now, a decade on, Bravado will handle shirts, hats and all the essential pieces of Beatles-branded kit which continues to prove popular with fans.
“Bringing the Beatles back to Bravado was a top priority of mine – not only as a fan of their music but as someone who is inspired by the creative and cultural impact they continue to have around the world,” comments Matt Young, president of Bravado in a statement. “The responsibility of representing such an iconic and beloved brand isn’t lost on me and we look forward to working with Jeff Jones and the Apple Corps team to continue to bring The Beatles’ vision to life.”
Today, notes a joint statement from UMG and Apple Corp., founded by the Beatles in 1968 to oversee the band’s own creative and business interests, the foursome of John, Paul, George and Ringo “remain one of the world’s most popular bands in the history of music.”
It’s impossible to deny. With a peerless bank of hits, and a classic, unchanged lineup, the Beatles set records everywhere. The band’s 15 No. 1 album in the U.K. is a record, and their dominance of the U.S. charts is without question, with 20 No. 1s on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and 19 leaders on the Billboard 200.
The group’s 1 compilation was the bestselling album of the 2000s, a remarkable achievement for a band that had announced its split in 1970.
The story behind the band’s final recording sessions and live performance was retold by New Zealand director Peter Jackson in the marathon three-part docuseries, Get Back, which debuted last year on Disney+.