Short answers, pulled from the story.
Startling Music Ltd is a music publishing company founded by Ringo Starr, the drummer of the Beatles. Starr established the company after declining to re-sign with Northern Songs when the band's publishing deal expired in 1968.
Starr and George Harrison found their songs under-promoted and their interests treated as secondary within the Northern Songs arrangement. When Northern Songs went public, Starr and Harrison together held only about 1.8 percent of the company, while Lennon and McCartney each owned about 15 percent. Founding Startling Music gave Starr a larger income share and direct control over his own catalogue.
Startling Music published "Don't Pass Me By" and "Octopus's Garden," the two Ringo Starr compositions from the Beatles' recording sessions. The company also handled the royalties for Starr's co-written material with the other Beatles on their final albums.
ATV's acquisition of Northern Songs in 1969 did not affect Startling Music directly. Starr had already placed his primary catalogue under Startling Music, outside the reach of any Northern Songs transaction. He and George Harrison retained their minority stakes in Northern Songs, while Lennon and McCartney cashed out their shares.
Vini Poncia became a longtime collaborator on Starr's solo recordings. George Harrison co-wrote "Photograph" and other songs with Starr during that period, with that material managed through Startling Music.
Beaucoups of Blues was Ringo Starr's second solo album, recorded in 1970, and marked his venture into country and western music. Starr bought the publishing rights to the songs from that album, adding them to Startling Music's catalogue.