The Beatles’ operating company Apple Corps Ltd. has announced that CEO Jeff Jones is stepping down.
The company hasn’t announced a successor.
“The whole Apple Corps family wishes Jeff Jones all the very best and would like to express our sincere gratitude for his invaluable contributions to the company and the legacy of The Beatles,” the company said in a statement on Monday (October 21).
Jones, a veteran of CBS Records, MCA Universal Records and PolyGram, joined Apple Corps in 2007 after serving as an Executive Vice President at Sony/BMG. He spearheaded a number of initiatives, including the launch of The Beatles’ official website, TheBeatles.com, and the debut of The Beatles’ music on iTunes (now Apple Music).
Jones has been involved in several Beatles documentaries, including as executive producer on The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years, directed by Ron Howard. He was also executive producer on the Emmy-winning three-part docuseries The Beatles: Get Back, directed by Peter Jackson and released in 2021.
He is currently an executive producer on the upcoming documentary Beatles ‘64, produced by Martin Scorsese and directed by David Tedeschi.
Apple Corps was founded in 1968 to oversee The Beatles’ creative and business interests. As part of its management of The Beatles’ IP portfolio, the London-based company has administered the legendary band’s recorded catalog.
The company’s current directors include John Lennon’s widow, Yoko Ono, and his son, Sean Ono Lennon.
Its subsidiaries include Apple Records Inc., which administers recorded music copyrights, as well as film copyright company Apple Films Inc., and film production companies Apple Films Production and Apple Films Production 64.
It also includes the dormant Apple Music Publishing Inc.; the vast majority of The Beatles’ publishing copyrights are held by Sony Music Publishing.
“The whole Apple Corps family wishes Jeff Jones all the very best and would like to express our sincere gratitude for his invaluable contributions to the company and the legacy of The Beatles.”
Apple Corps
Apple Corps Ltd., along with the company’s share of joint ventures, reported revenues of GBP £45.898 million for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2024, according to a recent filing with the UK’s Companies House. At the average exchange rate for 2023, that equals USD $57.09 million.
The company reported an after-tax profit of £6.6 million in fiscal 2024, down slightly from £7.9 million the year before (see below).
Among Apple Corps’ more notable activities in recent years was the November 2023 release of Now and Then, marketed as The Beatles’ last song. The track, originally recorded on a boombox by John Lennon in 1978, was mastered thanks to AI-driven technology.
The song topped the UK charts, which gave The Beatles the distinction of having the longest gap between number one hits – 54 years.
Apple Corps is also working with Sony Pictures Entertainment on four new biopics, to be directed by Sam Mendes, each of which will focus on one of the four Beatles: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr.Music Business Worldwide