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TV's 'Mad Men' Pays To Play Beatles' Song

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Things are rarely quiet at the fictional advertising firm of Sterling Cooper, which brings us to today's last word in business: Mad Money.

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

The stylish AMC television series, "Mad Men," focuses on the lives of the ad executives at Sterling Cooper in the 1960s. And critics have applauded the show for its accuracy in representing the era. But up until last Sunday's episode, it was missing one key note of authenticity: a Beatles song.

INSKEEP: That's because Beatles tunes are very hard to license. The surviving band members and their heirs have been choosy about who can play their songs. Apparently, "Mad Men" made the cut. This week, the show's main character, Don Draper, put The Beatles' "Revolver" LP on a record player - heard of those - and cued up the song "Tomorrow Never Knows."

GREENE: The price for that authentic moment: reportedly, $250,000. A spokeswoman for Lions Gate, the studio that produces the show, wouldn't confirm the price, but did say that it was the most expensive music deal the studio had ever made.

INSKEEP: Which means The Beatles will not likely be getting the kind of heavy rotation on "Mad Men" that they had on '60s radio.

That's the business news on MORNING EDITION, from NPR News. I'm Steve Inskeep.

GREENE: And I'm David Greene. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.