Grace Productions Acquires Rights to The Beatles’ Music Catalogue

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Grace Productions Acquires Rights to The Beatles’ Music Catalogue
Nikara Johns
MARCH 11, 2014

Filmmaker Josh Wakely’s production company, GRACE, has acquired the worldwide rights to The Beatles’ music catalogue in an agreement with Sony/ATV Music Publishing.

GRACE will have the rights to the group’s song catalogue for an animated children’s series called “Beat Bugs.”  The series will be based on the original characters and world created by Wakely.

While GRACE has acquired rights to Beatles’ songs, however, they have not acquired rights to the recordings. Other artists will have to perform the songs.

“Josh’s ingenuity and creative exploration of these iconic songs in a wholly imaginative world was too good to pass up and the idea of opening up the single greatest music catalogue of the 20th Century to the next generation is something we are particularly excited about. We are thrilled to be working with Josh and the team at GRACE,” said Damian Trotter, managing director of Sony/ATV.

“Beat Bugs” is aimed at children and uses original narratives intertwined with The Beatles songs to tell the story of young bugs that live and learn life lessons in the magical universe of an overgrown backyard. The series is designed to encourage a new generation of children and parents to share the music of The Beatles.

GRACE is in discussions with various animation studios and licensees for distribution of the series. Worldwide distribution rights for “Beat Bugs” are being sold by CAA and Hirsch, Wallerstein, Hayum, Matlof & Fishman.


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