The sale includes master recordings, a portion of the band’s publishing, memorabilia and the Beach Boys name itself. The sum Iconic paid in the deal has not been disclosed.
Beach Boys members Mike Love, Brian Wilson and Al Jardine, as well the sons of the late Carl Wilson, Jonah and Justyn, will retain an interest in the band’s assets. However, all business decisions will be left to Iconic.
The first order of business is celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Beach Boys’ founding in Southern California in 1961. Potential plans include a documentary, a television tribute special, a touring exhibit, and more — and maybe, if everything lines up just right, their first reunion shows in nearly a decade.
When Carl Wilson died of cancer in 1998, his sons Jonah and Justyn became heirs to their father’s estate. That meant joining with surviving Beach Boys founders Mike Love, Brian Wilson, and Al Jardine to vote on key business decisions, from archival releases to commercials. It wasn’t easy. “The dynamic changed a lot after our father passed,” says Jonah, who was in his late twenties at the time. “Not to say it was all negative, but we had a lot of challenges.” Adds Justyn, “In the beginning, it was just trying to navigate a very complicated group of individuals.”
