**From Hitmakers to Heartbreak: How a Business Deal Broke the Beatle Bond Between Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney**
In the early 1980s, Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney were more than just musical collaborators—they were friends. Their joint hits like “Say Say Say” and “The Girl Is Mine” showcased a mutual respect between two of the most influential artists of their time. Offstage, they shared laughs, songwriting tips, and even business advice. Ironically, it was one of those business conversations that would ultimately tear them apart.
According to McCartney, he once gave Jackson friendly advice about the value of music publishing, sharing how he had been steadily buying song rights over the years. Jackson listened—and took it to heart. In 1985, when the ATV Music catalog, which included over 250 Beatles songs, went up for sale, Jackson outbid McCartney and others with a staggering \$47.5 million offer, securing the rights for himself.
For McCartney, it felt like a deep betrayal. He had hoped to reclaim rights to the songs he had written with John Lennon, or at least be consulted. Instead, his trusted friend had swooped in and bought them out from under him. “It was just business,” Jackson reportedly said at the time, but McCartney saw it differently. Their friendship never recovered.
The fallout was swift and permanent. The two legends drifted apart, never recording together again. McCartney remained vocal about his disappointment in interviews, calling Jackson’s actions “dodgy” and hurtful. Jackson, for his part, maintained that it was a smart investment—and a move any businessman would have made.
Their story is a cautionary tale of how even the closest of friendships can be undone by money and ambition. Though their songs still echo with harmony, the silence between them in later years was perhaps the loudest no
te of all.
