Sea of Tunes
StatusDefunct (1969)
Founded1962 (1962)
FounderMurry Wilson
Country of originUnited States
Headquarters locationLos Angeles
Publication typesSongs

Sea of Tunes was a music publishing company founded in 1962 by Murry and Brian Wilson.[1] Murry was the first manager of the Beach Boys, the father of Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson and the uncle of Mike Love. The intention of Sea of Tunes was to publish and promote the songs written primarily by Brian.

Sale to Irving Almo Music

After the Beach Boys dismissed Murry Wilson as their manager in 1964, he continued to serve as their publisher.[2] In July 1965, he sent a letter to Brian requesting sole ownership of the company per a verbal agreement that they had reached in 1962.[3] According to historian Keith Badman, "Brian allowed Murry to take total control to stop his father's continual hassling on the matter."[4]

In May 1969, Brian told the music press that the group's funds were so depleted that they were considering filing for bankruptcy at the end of the year, which Disc & Music Echo called "stunning news" and a "tremendous shock on the American pop scene."[5] In August (or November[4]), Murry sold Sea of Tunes to Irving Almo Music for $700,000 (equivalent to $5.59 million in 2022), believing that the catalog's value had peaked.[6][7] Brian, according to his wife Marilyn Wilson, was devastated by the sale.[8]

Mike Love wrote in his 2016 memoir that the group had signed away their rights to the songs under duress, and that in the late 1980s, it was discovered that the exchange was part of an elaborate plan orchestrated over two years by Abe Somer, the Beach Boys' lawyer. Somer concealed the fact that he was also Irving Music's lawyer, which was a conflict of interest.[9] Over the years, the catalog would generate more than $100 million in publishing royalties, none of which Murry Wilson or the band members ever received.[10] By 1994, the catalog was estimated to be worth $40 million ($79 million in 2022).[11]

In the early 1990s, years after Murry's passing, Brian claimed fraud and sued for the return of his song copyrights.[2] The suit suggested that Brian's signature may have been forged, "plus malpractice, misrepresentations, suppression of facts, breach of contract and conflicts of interest," making the sale illegal.[12][13] While he failed to recover them in court, he was awarded $25 million in damages, including unpaid and underpaid royalties.[14]

Mike Love credits

Love v. Wilson
CourtU.S. District Court
DecidedDecember 12, 1994 (1994-12-12)
DefendantBrian Wilson
Plaintiff(s)Mike Love
Court membership
Judge(s) sittingWilliam J. Rea

Mike Love alleged that he was owed credit to 79 Beach Boys songs.[15] Love explained that Murry had never credited him for many of the songs that he had cowritten with Brian, and therefore, he had not been paid royalties.[11] Love said he "didn't know how badly I had been abused until I was deposed in Brian's pursuit of his claims against Irving Almo and Mitchell Silverburg and Nutt, which was the attorney representing the Beach Boys and Irving Almo. An inherent conflict of interest there."[16] Love hoped that "we don't have to go to trial because it's going to destroy Brian. He's going to be destroyed in depositions, first of all, let alone getting him in court."[16]

The parties were unable to reach a settlement, and Love filed suit against Wilson in 1992.[11] After an eight-week-long trial and eight days of deliberation, Love won the case on December 12, 1994.[11] The jury ruled that Love and Wilson were partners, that Wilson or his agents concealed material facts with the intention of defrauding Love, that they engaged in promissory fraud with respect to publishing credits and royalties and that Love was owed the 35 songs disputed. Love later called it "almost certainly the largest case of fraud in music history".[17] He was subsequently awarded a cowriting credit to 35 songs that were published from 1962 to 1966, as well as $13 million.[11]

Awarded credits[18]

Other disputed credits

  • "Surfin' U.S.A." – Love alleged that he was owed credit for the song.[19] His contribution was supported by Wilson in a 1974 interview.[20]
  • "The Little Girl I Once Knew" – Love alleged that he was owed credit for the song.[21]
  • "Wouldn't It Be Nice" – Love alleged that he was owed credits for additional parts of the song that he was not granted in the 1994 suit. Cowriter Tony Asher denied the claim, stating that Love was not present during the Pet Sounds songwriting sessions.[22]

Bootleg label

In 1997, a label named after the publishing company issued a slew of unauthorized bootleg recordings sourced from Beach Boys archives.[23]

References

Citations

  1. ↑ Badman 2004, p. 23.
  2. 1 2 Van Matre, Lynn (October 13, 1991). "Child Of Abuse: Beach Boy Brian Wilson Finally Tells His Story, And It Isn't Pretty". Chicago Tribune.
  3. ↑ Badman 2004, p. 95.
  4. 1 2 Badman 2004, p. 258.
  5. ↑ Wilson, Brian (May 31, 1969). "Why we're in such a struggle for cash". Disc & Music Echo. p. 7.
  6. ↑ Carlin 2006, p. 145.
  7. ↑ Love 2016, p. 226.
  8. ↑ Gaines 1986, p. 224–225.
  9. ↑ Love 2016, pp. 225–226, 376–377.
  10. ↑ Love 2016, p. 227.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 "Beach Boys' Mike Love Wins His Case, Stands to Collect Millions". Los Angeles Times. December 13, 1994. Retrieved October 1, 2012.
  12. ↑ Letovski, Irv (September 19, 1989). "Brian Wilson Sues Music Publisher". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 17, 2011.
  13. ↑ Heller, Karen (October 23, 1991). "A Beach Boy's Blues For Brian Wilson, The Days Of "Fun, Fun, Fun" Have Ebbed. Although He Has A New Book, He's Also Involved In Several Lawsuits. "drugs," He Says, "put A Gash In My Mind."". The Philadelphia Inquirer.
  14. ↑ "Beach Boy Wilson Sues Law Firm Over 1969 Sales". Los Angeles Times. September 18, 1990. Retrieved 2012-10-01.
  15. ↑ Bates, James (October 4, 1994). "COMPANY TOWN : No Harmony in Beach Boy Suit Between Cousins Love and Wilson". Los Angeles Times.
  16. 1 2 "Good Vibrations? The Beach Boys' Mike Love gets his turn". Goldmine. September 18, 1992.
  17. ↑ Love 2016, p. 373.
  18. ↑ Doe, Andrew G. "Album Archive". Bellagio 10452. Endless Summer Quarterly.
  19. ↑ Hedegaard, Erik (February 17, 2016). "The Ballad of Mike Love". Rolling Stone.
  20. ↑ Wilson, Brian (September 1974). "KRTH" (Interview: Audio). Interviewed by Jim Pewter. New York City.; Brian Wilson - Jim Pewter Interview 1974 (audio) on YouTube
  21. ↑ Dillon, Mark (2012). Fifty Sides of the Beach Boys: The Songs That Tell Their Story. ECW Press. p. 72. ISBN 978-1-77090-198-8.
  22. ↑ Carlin 2006, p. 278.
  23. ↑ Wilonsky, Robert (December 23, 1999). "The Forever Frown". Phoenix New Times Music. phoenixnewtimes.com. Retrieved July 29, 2013.

Bibliography

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