'Mad Men' creator MATTHEW WEINER has revealed to The New York Times that he paid a whopping $250,000 in order to use the Beatles song 'Tomorrow Never Knows' on the most recent edition of the show. That's a pretty hefty sum for just one track, most songs are normally licensed at under $100,000.
"It was always my feeling that the show lacked a certain authenticity because we never could have an actual master recording of the Beatles performing," Weiner told the the paper, pointing out that he'd previously been turned down by Apple Corps when requesting to use a song. "Not just someone singing their song or a version of their song, but them, doing a song in the show. It always felt to me like a flaw. Because they are the band, probably, of the 20th century."
"Whatever people think, this is not about money," he went on to insist. "It never is. They are concerned about their legacy and their artistic impact." The move didn't come cheap on many levels; Weiner had to share story details with Apple Corp. "It was hard because I had to, writing-wise, commit to the story that I thought was worthy of this incredible opportunity," he said. "The thing about that song in particular was, the Beatles are, throughout their intense existence, constantly pushing the envelope, and I really wanted to show how far ahead of the culture they were. That song to me is revolutionary, as is that album."