Justin Hayward
How are Rock bands owned? Please see below for more details about this question.?
OK, I know that The Beatles each owned an equal share in the business that was The Beatles. Other groups are more confusing. Are Henley & Frey the only "Eagles" and the others merely employees? How could Mike Anthony be ordered to take a "pay cut" before he quit? Was he just working for the Van Halen brothers all that time, not really a member of the group? Sure, I know it's all about the money but one supposes that these "groups" at least with the original members are more or less equals. How come Justin Hayward was able to make the other Moody Blues pretend that there was no band before he joined? Please answer these questions and any others that I have forgotten to ask here.
The other two you could have asked:
"Who owns the name "Pink Floyd"?
"Why is Ron Wood only a paid employee of the Rolling Stones?" (Keith Richards' answer: "Well, Mick is a graduate of the London School Of Economics, you know...")
The general principle:
"Unless a group expressly agrees to the contrary, the members that become the original band, all of whom essentially join at the same time, are considered in law to be partners with the right to share equally in the profits of the partnership. This means that all members are deemed to be equal owners in all the assets of the partnership, the group name being one of those assets. (Additionally, the band will also be deemed to be the owners, in equal shares, of the band's interest in all contracts into which the band enters, such as a recording contract, contracts with agencies and the like.)"
Taken from:
http://www.ivanhoffman.com/names.html
So the answer is that the basic legal presumption can be varied by contract. And if Mick & Keef (without whom there would be no Stones) can negotiate Ron into a corner, well, that's the free market at work, I guess...as it is in the other cases you've mentioned.
 |
 THE MOODY BLUES Candid Photo JUSTIN HAYWARD Signing JOHN LODGE Grahame Edge $14.95 Time Remaining: 9d 5h 53m Buy It Now for only: $14.95 |
 THE MOODY BLUES Photo JUSTIN HAYWARD Yoko Ono JOHN LODGE John Lennon Tribute $24.95 Time Remaining: 11d 16h 57m Buy It Now for only: $24.95 |
 JUSTIN HAYWARD Rare VINTAGE PHOTO The Moody Blues ORIGINAL personal head shot $29.95 Time Remaining: 19d 22h 26m Buy It Now for only: $29.95 |
 THE MOODY BLUES John Lodge CANDID PHOTO Justin Hayward ROCK n ROLL Guitar RARE $19.95 Time Remaining: 19d 22h 43m Buy It Now for only: $19.95 |
 1978 Press Photo John Lodge Justin Hayward Patrick Edge $13.88 Time Remaining: 24d 18h 49m Buy It Now for only: $13.88 |
 1981 Press Photo Moody Blues Patrick Moraz Ray Thomas Graeme Edge Justin Hayward $33.88 Time Remaining: 27d 17h 17m Buy It Now for only: $33.88 |