Lesson plan
Seltaeb
Seltaeb was a company set up in 1963 by Nicky Byrne (né Douglas Anthony Nicholas Byrne) to exclusively look after merchandising interests on behalf of Brian Epstein, who managed NEMS Enterprises and the Beatles. Directly prior to the Beatles' first American visit, Brian Epstein wanted someone to manage the escalating volume of merchandising requests that NEMS found itself unable to cope with, and asked his lawyer, David Jacobs, to oversee this task. Jacobs knew Nicky Byrne and asked him if he would be interested in taking over the merchandising subdivision from NEMS altogether, paying NEMS a commission. Byrne accepted the offer subject to a 90% rate, leaving only 10% for the Beatles and NEMS combined. Completely unaware of the potential market that existed, particularly in the United States, Epstein agreed to the deal, and subsequently lost the Beatles an estimated $100,000,000 in possible income. In December 1963, Byrne took over the control of Stramsact in the UK, and then set up Seltaeb (Beatles spelt backwards) in the United States. Epstein was able to renegotiate a more favourable commission of 49% in August 1964, but then became embroiled in a three-year court battle with Byrne regarding payment of monies due, during which time potential sponsors lost interest. In August 1967 Epstein died, from what was ruled an accidental overdose of a prescribed drug.…
Article summary
Seltaeb was a company set up in 1963 by Nicky Byrne (né Douglas Anthony Nicholas Byrne) to exclusively look after merchandising interests on behalf of Brian Epstein, who managed NEMS Enterprises and the Beatles. Directly prior to the Beatles' first American visit, Brian Epstein wanted someone to manage the escalating volume of merchandising requests that NEMS found itself unable to cope with, and asked his lawyer, David Jacobs, to oversee this task. Jacobs knew Nicky Byrne and asked him if he would be interested in taking over the merchandising subdivision from NEMS altogether, paying NEMS a commission. Byrne accepted the offer subject to a 90% rate, leaving only 10% for the Beatles and NEMS combined. Completely unaware of the potential market that existed, particularly in the United States, Epstein agreed to the deal, and subsequently lost the Beatles an estimated $100,000,000 in possible income. In December 1963, Byrne took over the control of Stramsact in the UK, and then set up Seltaeb (Beatles spelt backwards) in the United States. Epstein was able to renegotiate a more favourable commission of 49% in August 1964, but then became embroiled in a three-year court battle with Byrne regarding payment of monies due, during which time potential sponsors lost interest. In August 1967 Epstein died, from what was ruled an accidental overdose of a prescribed drug.…
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Discussion questions
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- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
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