Apple Records

• 1. Founding And Early Vision

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  The Beatles returned from India in 1968 and officially founded Apple Records as a division of Apple Corps Ltd. This British record label emerged after the death of their manager Brian Epstein in 1967. The group conceived Apple Corps that same year to create a tax-effective business structure with multiple sub-divisions like Apple Retail and Apple Electronics. Their first project under the new company was the film Magical Mystery Tour, produced by Apple Films. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr intended the label to serve as a creative outlet for themselves and other artists. They personally discovered or supported acts such as Mary Hopkin, James Taylor, Badfinger, and Billy Preston. In most recording sessions involving these signings, at least one Beatle participated directly. The very first catalogue number assigned to Apple Records was 1. It marked a single pressing of Frank Sinatra singing "Maureen Is a Champ" as a surprise gift for Maureen Starkey's twenty-first birthday. Sammy Cahn wrote the lyrics while the melody came from "The Lady Is a Tramp." EMI and Capitol Records agreed to distribute Apple Records until 1976 under a new deal. EMI retained ownership of the band's recordings while Apple owned rights to videos and movie clips.

• 2. Management And Financial Turmoil

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  Allen Klein took control of Apple in 1969 after being approached by John Lennon during a period when the Beatles needed financial direction. Three members supported Klein's appointment while Paul McCartney opposed it and suggested Lee Eastman instead. Klein shut down several sub-divisions including Apple Electronics and dropped some artistic roster members. New signings became less numerous and arrived through individual actions by former Beatles rather than collective decisions. Elephant's Memory joined via Lennon while Ravi Shankar came through Harrison. McCartney had little input into the label's roster after 1970. Klein managed Apple Corps until his contract expired in March 1973. During this era, the entire pre-Apple catalogue on Capitol was reissued on the Apple label in May 1971. These releases included singles from "I Want to Hold Your Hand" to "Lady Madonna" plus albums from Meet the Beatles! to Magical Mystery Tour. The album covers remained unchanged with Capitol logos still visible. Neil Aspinall began managing Apple on behalf of the four Beatles and their heirs following Klein's departure. The distribution contract with EMI expired in 1976 when control of the Beatles' catalogue reverted to that company. Paul McCartney acquired ownership of his solo recordings when he re-signed with Capitol in 1975. In 2007, longtime chief executive Neil Aspinall retired and was replaced by Jeff Jones. Jones stepped down on the 21st of October 2024 and Tom Greene took over as CEO in September 2025.

• 3. Visual Identity And Design Evolution

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  Paul McCartney discovered Belgian surrealist René Magritte's work during the sixties and started collecting paintings by the artist. A friend bought Le Jeu De Mourre for McCartney in 1967. This artwork represented a green apple with the text Au Revoir placed on top. McCartney felt impressed by the iconic look of the image upon first seeing it. He still owns the 1966 painting today. The big green apple later became the inspiration for the Apple Records company logo. Standard Apple album and single labels displayed a bright green Granny Smith apple on the A-side while the flipside showed the cross section of the fruit. The bright green apple returned for Beatles CD releases in the 1990s following initial Parlophone editions. On the US issue of Let It Be, the Granny Smith apple appeared red instead. United Artists Records manufactured and distributed that album rather than Capitol Records due to contractual reasons. The red apple also appeared on the back cover and on the 2009 remastered edition back cover. EMI purchased United Artists Records in the late 1970s and gained American rights to the soundtrack along with another earlier United Artists LP from 1964 called A Hard Day's Night. George Harrison's triple album All Things Must Pass featured orange apples on its first two discs while the third had a jar label reading Apple Jam. Black and white apples appeared on John Lennon's album John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band and Yoko Ono's self-titled release. Ringo Starr's single "Back Off Boogaloo" carried a blue apple. Harrison's Extra Texture album showed an apple eaten away at its core as a joke since the label was beginning to fold. In 1971, Lennon's Imagine and Ono's Fly featured pictures of the artists themselves on their respective apples.

• 4. The Zapple Sublabel Experiment

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  Zapple Records operated as an Apple subsidiary run by Barry Miles starting on the 3rd of February 1969. It closed down in June 1969 after only four months of activity. The label intended to release spoken word and avant-garde records as a budget line styled like a magazine or journal. Only two albums were released before Klein shut it down though several projects were announced and recording sessions undertaken. The label launched with Lennon and Ono's Unfinished Music No. 2: Life with the Lions marked as Zapple 1 plus George Harrison's Electronic Sound as Zapple 2. An album of readings by Richard Brautigan recorded for Zapple 3 never saw official release under that name. Miles stated that Klein folded the label before the record could be issued. None of the Beatles ever heard Brautigan's material. His recordings eventually appeared as Listening to Richard Brautigan on Harvest Records in the US only. Field recordings made for Zapple began in January 1969 when Miles toured America's east coast with a portable tape recorder. He captured poets including Ken Weaver from the Fugs and Charles Olson from Black Mountain. A spoken word album by Lawrence Ferlinghetti planned as Zapple 4 remained unreleased while Michael McClure also had a recorded album ready. A UK appearance by comedian Lenny Bruce was never completed despite being planned. Pablo Casals was named as an expected guest in an early 1969 press release. American author Ken Kesey received a tape recorder to document his London impressions but those tapes were never released. Miles intended to bring world leaders to the label before Klein closed operations down.

• 5. Artist Roster And Key Signings

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  Badfinger originally known as the Iveys signed after road manager Mal Evans brought demo tapes approved by McCartney, Harrison, and Lennon. They scored several top 10 hits in the UK and US including "Come and Get It" written by McCartney. The group recorded five albums for Apple. Mary Hopkin appeared on a UK television talent show and was suggested by model Twiggy. Her early recordings included McCartney-produced versions of "Goodbye" and her hit "Those Were the Days." She released a Eurovision entry called "Knock, Knock Who's There?" plus two studio albums. Billy Preston joined the Beatles during January 1969 sessions for Get Back and Let It Be before signing as a solo artist. Harrison produced Preston's 1969 single "That's The Way God Planned It" which preceded Harrison's own version of "My Sweet Lord." Preston issued two albums on Apple featuring collaborations with Eric Clapton and Keith Richards alongside Harrison. Ravi Shankar arrived at the label in 1971 through Harrison who produced releases including the Raga soundtrack and In Concert 1972. Radha Krishna Temple devotees received production from Harrison in 1969 resulting in hit singles like "Hare Krishna Mantra." James Taylor launched his career with an LP that featured McCartney appearing on it. Jackie Lomax recorded Is This What You Want? in 1969 with contributions from Starr and McCartney. Doris Troy worked with Harrison and Preston while releasing one album and two spin-off singles in 1970. Lon and Derrek Van Eaton signed in September 1971 when Harrison produced their debut single "Sweet Music." Black Dyke Mills Band performed on McCartney's "Thingummybob"/"Yellow Submarine" single near Bradford where they were based.

• 6. Legal Battles And Catalog Reissues

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  Apple Records faced a decade-long lawsuit against EMI that concluded with a settlement in 1989. New projects began moving forward after this legal resolution including The Beatles Anthology series spearheaded by Neil Aspinall. The company resumed making significantly large profits following the Anthology project launch. A long-running dispute between Apple Corps' parent company and Apple Inc reached the High Court in 2006. The Beatles' catalog was remastered and reissued in September 2009 before becoming available on iTunes in November 2010. Universal Music Group acquired EMI and the Beatles' recorded music catalogue leading to formation of Calderstone Productions in 2012. That entity now administers the band's catalogue. Apple Records published its last album Let it Roll: Songs by George Harrison in June 2009. Original UK versions of Beatles albums released worldwide by EMI on compact disc during 1987 and 1988 carried Parlophone labels. Abbey Road had been issued earlier in Japan on CD via Toshiba-EMI in 1983 though not authorized by the Beatles or their companies. Capitol gained American rights to the Let It Be soundtrack along with another United Artists LP from 1964 called A Hard Day's Night after purchasing United Artists Records in the late 1970s.