The Piece of Advice Paul McCartney Regretted Giving Michael Jackson

We’ve all said things we wished we could take back. Having the foresight to see how everything that comes out of your mouth will pan out is not something many of us possess. Paul McCartney found himself in such a situation while collaborating with Michael Jackson.

The pair have several hit duets together. Their mutual respect for one another fostered a great working relationship. That closeness prompted McCartney to dish out some advice to the younger musician. McCartney came to regret that advice. Find out what helpful hint Jackson made use of–and why it caused a rift between the two icons–below.

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The Piece of Advice Paul McCartney Regretted Giving Michael Jackson

McCartney once made a habit of buying the rights to other artists’ music. It’s a lucrative practice that has made some serious cash for whomever decides to capitalize on it. The former Beatle decided to share that sage wisdom with a young Jackson. A little while later, that seemingly innocuous bit of information would come back to bite McCartney.

In the late ’60s, McCartney and his bandmates lost the biggest share of their songwriting royalties. Given how many hits McCartney has written in his lifetime, you can see how that would be quite the blow.

In the ’80s, Jackson started making moves to acquire the Beatles’ catalog. He took what McCartney had told him to heart, looking to cushion his finances with the help of the foursome’s beloved songs. The move came as a shock to McCartney. In the end, Jackson took the lot for $47.5 million.

Naturally, McCartney felt betrayed by the action. After years of successful collaboration, Jackson decided to go behind the Beatle’s back.

“I think it’s dodgy to do something like that,” McCartney once said of the situation. “To be someone’s friend, and then buy the rug they’re standing on…The trouble is I wrote those songs for nothing and buying them back at these phenomenal sums, I just can’t do it.”

The move caused an irreparable rift between McCartney and Jackson. The Thriller singer paused communication with McCartney, who wrote him trying to figure out why he bought the catalog. Jackson only gave vague–and frankly, blasé–reactions to the backlash.

“Paul and I both learned the hard way about business [and the] importance of publishing and royalties and the dignity of songwriting,” Jackson once said. “You can’t put a price on a Picasso… you can’t put a price on these songs, there’s no value on them. They’re the best songs that have ever been written.”

Following Jackson’s death, Sony Music Publishing bought the Beatles’ music for a whopping $750 million. Clearly, as time has gone on, the value of the Beatles’ timeless catalog has only grown.

Photo by Neville Marriner/Daily Mail/Shutterstock