New Merchandise Collection to be Introduced at Beatles Holiday Pop-Up Store in New York City
Apple Corps, Ltd. and The Thread Shop, Sony Music Entertainment’s merchandising division, today announced a broad partnership to develop new merchandise, licensing, retail and ecommerce opportunities for The Beatles in North America.
The Thread Shop will work closely with Apple Corps to expand The Beatles’ brand presence in the U.S. and throughout the region by creating unique apparel, products and collaborations that celebrate the band’s indelible cultural and musical legacy and further the reach and impact of its iconography with fans. The Thread Shop will leverage its market expertise and its individualized, artist-first approach to merchandise design, development, sales and licensing to produce all-new original offerings from The Beatles, as well exciting new Beatles partnerships.
New merchandise from The Beatles will be made available across The Thread Shop’s robust network of major retail chains and leading independent retailers. The Thread Shop will also operate The Beatles North America direct-to-consumer commerce site, usastore.thebeatles.com.
Richard Story, President, Commercial Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment said, “More than a half-century after Beatlemania first broke out in the U.S., The Beatles remain an unmatched cultural force in our society. Their revolutionary achievements continue to inspire artists and thinkers across borders, cultures, and generations. We are tremendously honored that they have entrusted The Thread Shop with their iconic brand, and we look forward to sharing their extraordinary vision with fans.”
The Thread Shop will introduce its first wave of The Beatles merchandise collection with a Beatles holiday pop-up store in New York City from December 11 through December 22. The pop-up will showcase new apparel designs as well an assortment of licensed Beatles clothing, toys, and other branded products including turntables and a pinball machine, and more.
In connection with the agreement between Apple Corps and Sony Music, Joe Marziotto has joined the Thread Shop Team as Vice President, Licensing & Marketing to continue active Beatles licensing relationships and develop new opportunities for the band in partnership with Apple Corps. He reports to Howard Lau, Head of The Thread Shop.
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About Apple Corps Limited
Apple Corps Ltd. was founded by The Beatles in 1968 to oversee the band’s own creative and business interests. As part of its management of The Beatles’ entire intellectual property canon, the London-based company has administered the legendary band’s recorded catalogue, with more than 800 million physical and digital albums sold to date.
Apple Corps has also piloted innovative Beatles projects, which have become benchmarks for pioneering accomplishment, including the record-breaking, 30 million-selling album The Beatles 1, the universally acclaimed The Beatles Anthology series, the Grammy®-winning CD, vinyl, digital and streaming release of The Beatles’ 13 remastered studio albums, and 2017 and 2018’s chart-topping remixed and expanded Anniversary Editions for Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and The BEATLES (‘White Album’), respectively. Abbey Road’s remixed and expanded Anniversary Edition was released September 27, 2019.
In 2016, Apple Corps partnered with Imagine Entertainment, White Horse Pictures and Polygram Entertainment/UMG for the release of the Grammy®-winning feature documentary, The Beatles: Eight Days A Week – The Touring Years, directed by Ron Howard. In January 2019, Apple Corps and WingNut Films Ltd. announced a new feature film collaboration between The Beatles and director Sir Peter Jackson. The new film will be based around never-released footage of The Beatles in the studio, shot in January 1969.
In Apple Corps’ first major theatrical partnership, The Beatles LOVE by Cirque du Soleil® has staged 6,000 performances for 10 million audience members since its June 2006 opening at the Mirage in Las Vegas. The Beatles’ LOVE also resulted in a double Grammy®-winning album and a Grammy®-winning feature film, All Together Now, which details the fascinating story behind the unique partnership between The Beatles and Cirque du Soleil that resulted in the creation and launch of LOVE.
The Beatles debuted for streaming worldwide on December 24, 2015 with the band’s 13 U.K. studio albums and Past Masters (Volumes 1 & 2), The Beatles 1962-1966, The Beatles 1967-1970, and The Beatles 1, followed by The Beatles’ Anthology, Volumes 1-3 music collections and the LOVE album. Songs by The Beatles were streamed more than four billion times in the first two years.
And continuing the commitment to preserving the archives and legacy of The Beatles’ catalogue, The Beatles’ Help!, Yellow Submarine, and Magical Mystery Tour feature films have in recent years been painstakingly digitally restored for DVD, Blu-ray™, and iTunes release.
About The Thread Shop
The Thread Shop is a leading music merchandising company from Sony Music Entertainment focused on enhancing artist revenue, branding and marketing through the development of high-quality products and compelling shopping experiences. The Thread Shop designs, manufactures and markets fashionable and functional merchandise and lifestyle goods that reflect the vision and aesthetic of its artist and brand partners. It offers artist-specific product lines, limited-edition customized merchandise and full-scale tour merchandising through a variety of online and physical retailers, as well as through artist e-commerce sites and pop-up retail environments in tour venues and stores. Its artist partners include A$AP Ferg, Bob Dylan, Camila Cabello, DJ Khaled, Foreigner, Led Zeppelin, Lil Nas X, Maluma, Ozuna, P!nk, Rosalia, Shania Twain, and Zayn among others.
About Sony Music Entertainment
Sony Music Entertainment is a global recorded music company with a current roster that includes a broad array of both local artists and international superstars. The company boasts a vast catalog that comprises some of the most important recordings in history. It is home to premier record labels representing music from every genre, including Arista Records, Arista Nashville, Beach Street Records, Black Butter Records, BPG Music, Bystorm Entertainment, Century Media, Columbia Nashville, Columbia Records, Day 1, Descendant Records, Disruptor Records, District 18 Entertainment, Epic Records, Essential Records, Essential Worship, Fo Yo Soul Recordings, House of Iona Records, Insanity Records, Keep Cool, Legacy Recordings, Masterworks, Masterworks Broadway, Ministry of Sound Recordings, Monument Records, OKeh, Palm Tree Records, Polo Grounds Music, Portrait, RCA Inspiration, RCA Nashville, RCA Records Relentless Records, Reunion Records, Same Plate Entertainment, Six Course Music Group, Sony Classical, Sony Music Latin, Star Time International, Syco Music, Verity Records and Visionary Records. Sony Music Entertainment is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America.
