Swan Records

But even this was not enough to push the Los Angeles headquarters into action.

She Loves You was released in the US by the tiny independent label Swan Records, who failed to get major radio airplay or press, so the single missed the Billboard charts and sold less than a thousand copies.

All the evidence Capitol needed to justify their stance.

As far as they were concerned, English acts didn't sell in the States.

And this wasn't just the attitude of Capitol Records.

Brian Epstein had tried.

All the major US labels had rejected the band through 1963.

Getting the music out in the States was a parallel story to their UK experience.

So the reason for that is, um, well, a little bit of background on that.

Swan, Swan Records had, um, for instance, had Bob Crewe, who we've talked about, was a staff songwriter, producer.

He was part of The Four Seasons.

So they, you know, they had someone who knew pop on there-

This led into the Beatles' break into the American market in early 1964 and their increasingly global appeal.

With Capitol Records now the Beatles' official US label, and the rights to the previous singles held by VJ and Swan Records, other major American labels looked for any possible way they could find to cash in on this new phenomenon.

MGM was the first American label in 1964 to license half the available German recordings.

They released two singles, My Bonnie Backed with the Saints and Why Backed with Cry for a Shadow.

EMI's subsidiary Transglobal Music Company oversaw licensing EMI records in America and vice versa American records for EMI in the UK.

It was Transglobal, not Martin, that placed the Beatles' first two Capitol-rejected singles with VJ Records, with whom they had a strong affiliation, and She Loves You with Swan Records.

Mark Lewison notes in Tune In, however, that EMI assistant Ronald Rennie also had direct communication with Dexter and sent him British singles for consideration by post.

Andrew Cook notes that George Martin also claimed that EMI Records managing director L.G. Wood flew to New York, summoned Livingston from Los Angeles to meet him, and forced Capitol to release I Want to Hold Your Hand.