Paul McCartney - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: "McCartney's friendship with Jackson was short-lived. Not long afterward, Jackson paid a huge sum to acquire the Northern Songs catalogue, which included the publishing rights to most of The Beatles' songs. McCartney has made it clear that he does not wish to have the catalogue back. According to Contact Music [2], McCartney said 'I do get some cash from the publishing already. And in a few years more of the rights will automatically be reverting to me. The only annoying thing is when I tour America I have to pay to play some of my own songs.'"