For the American author, see Allen Klein (author). For the English singer-songwriter, see Alan Klein.
Allen Klein
Klein (center) signing the Beatles in 1969
Born
(1931-12-18)December 18, 1931
Newark, New Jersey, U.S.
Died
July 4, 2009(2009-07-04) (aged 77)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Alma mater
Upsala College
Occupation(s)
Accountant, record label executive, business manager
Years active
1956–2009
Organization
ABKCO Records
Allen Klein (December 18, 1931 – July 4, 2009) was an American businessman whose aggressive negotiation tactics affected industry standards for compensating recording artists. He founded ABKCO Music & Records Incorporated. Klein increased profits for his musician clients by negotiating new record company contracts.[1] He first scored monetary and contractual gains for Buddy Knox and Jimmy Bowen, one-hit rockabillies of the late 1950s, then parlayed his early successes into a position managing Sam Cooke, and eventually managed the Beatles and the Rolling Stones simultaneously, along with many other artists, becoming one of the most powerful individuals in the music industry during his era.[2]
Rather than offering financial advice and maximizing his clients' income, as a business manager normally would, Klein set up what he called "buy/sell agreements" where a company that Klein owned became an intermediary between his client and the record label, owning the rights to the music, manufacturing the records, selling them to the record label, and paying royalties and cash advances to the client. Although Klein greatly increased his clients' incomes, he also enriched himself, sometimes without his clients' knowledge.[3] The Rolling Stones' $1.25 million advance from the Decca Records label in 1965, for example, was deposited into a company that Klein had established, and the fine print of the contract did not require Klein to release it for 20 years.[4] Klein's involvement with both the Beatles and Rolling Stones would lead to years of litigation and, specifically for the Rolling Stones, accusations from the group that Klein had withheld royalty payments, stolen the publishing rights to their songs, and neglected to pay their taxes for five years; thus had necessitated their French "exile" in 1971.[5]
After years of pursuit by the IRS, Klein was convicted of the misdemeanor charge of making a false statement on his 1972 tax return, for which, in 1980, he was jailed for two months.[6]
AllenKlein (December 18, 1931 – July 4, 2009) was an American businessman whose aggressive negotiation tactics affected industry standards for compensating...
ABKCO Music & Records, Inc. (Allen & Betty Klein Company) is an American independent record label, music publisher, and film and video production company...
by the mid-1970s with releases of the former Beatles as solo artists. AllenKlein managed the label from 1969 to 1973, then it was managed by Neil Aspinall...
garnered high praise from John Lennon, who convinced former Beatles manager AllenKlein to provide Jodorowsky with $1 million to finance his next film. The result...
Cooke signed a five-year contract for AllenKlein to manage Kags Music and SAR Records and made him his manager. Klein negotiated a five-year deal (three...
until 1969, when AllenKlein was hired as a manager to reorganise the whole company. Evans was fired by Klein the next year, because Klein complained to...
but were denied permission from the Rolling Stones' former manager, AllenKlein. Following a lawsuit, the Verve relinquished all royalties and the Rolling...
"Jeremy Allen White – Campaign Collection". Calvin Klein. Archived from the original on January 15, 2024. Retrieved January 14, 2024. "Jeremy Allen White's...
Black's competing version. In 1965, Oldham hired AllenKlein as his business manager. On Oldham's behalf Klein renegotiated the Rolling Stones' contract with...
Neil Aspinall, although he did not officially bear that title until AllenKlein had left the company. The current CEO is Jeff Jones. In 2010, Apple Corps...
Money". McCartney has said the band's dispute over AllenKlein and what McCartney viewed as Klein's empty promises were the inspiration for the song's...
AllenKlein dealt the group a major blow when they discovered that they had inadvertently signed over their entire 1960s American copyrights to Klein...
It was Andrew Oldham's last venture as the Rolling Stones' producer. AllenKlein took over his role as the band's manager in 1965. Richards recalled,...
another way", which references a long legal meeting with music publisher AllenKlein. The last lines in the Dire Straits song It Never Rains on the album...
was approached by AllenKlein, who had managed the Rolling Stones and other bands during the British Invasion. In early 1969, Klein was appointed as Apple's...
head Apple Records, the label set up by The Beatles in 1968. In 1969, AllenKlein was appointed The Beatles' business manager. He viewed Kass as a threat...
Tuesday, 27 July, Harrison and Shankar, accompanied by a pipe-smoking AllenKlein, held a press conference to promote the two shows; notoriously performance-shy...
Donovan to American businessman AllenKlein (later manager of the Rolling Stones and, in their final months, the Beatles). Klein in turn introduced Donovan...
Corps. On behalf of Apple, Aspinall was involved in court cases against AllenKlein, EMI and Apple Computer. He supervised the marketing of music, videos...
Lew Grade ensured that Northern Songs passed into the control of ATV. AllenKlein (then de facto Beatles manager) attempted to set up a deal for Apple...
his bandmates in his opposition to their choice of business manager, AllenKlein, and distraught at Lennon's private announcement that he was leaving...
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