Producing intelligent and entertaining
Beatles-related content (interviews, presentations, discussion panels) for a worldwide audience. This takes the form of live events, online content, books and podcasts, and content forming the basis of a streaming service (Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, etc) docu-series. A six-part series stemming directly from this event was scripted this summer and is awaiting further development, pending the funding for Fab4ConJam.
A prototype run of the
Fab4ConJam event was held online on a weekend in February 2021 (see
fab4conjam.com ), which drew over
80K visitors to the site with less than two weeks notice, with only token promotion. Guests were comprised of a number of Beatle witnesses (friends and those who worked with them), scholars and authors, filmmakers, and Beatle-influenced musicians. These included producer and recording artist
Alan Parsons -
Robyn Hitchcock - producer
John Leckie - journalist Ivor Davis - Chris O'Dell - Nancy Lee Andrews - Beatles equipment manager Kevin Harrington - artist and author Carol Tyler - Simpsons show runner Jeff Martin - Jack Petruzzelli of the Fab Faux - academics Erin Weber, Kenneth Womack, Christine Feldman-Barrett and Duncan Driver - filmmaker
Paul Saltzman, and former and current members/sidemen with Joe Jackson, Jellyfish, Smashmouth, Smashing Pumpkins, Third Eye Blind, Stevie Wonder, No Doubt, all among many others. The event was presented online, featured pre-taped and live segments (for real time interaction), and originated from
Australia,
London,
Liverpool, Toronto,
Chicago,
Los Angeles and
New York City. Over twenty hours of content were produced and curated and await further development. An
online store producing all manner of Beatles-themed merchandise has been set up, but awaits further expansion.
Beatles fandom encompasses the globe and continues to grow, with 2021 shaping up as yet another year of major projects and releases driving interest across cultures and generations. In addition to the long-awaited reboot of their
Let It Be project from director
Peter Jackson coming at Thanksgiving, there have been any number of other projects along the way, including new music from Ringo - the Hulu documentary series on
Paul McCartney - deluxe reissues sets of John Lennon's
Plastic Ono Band and George Harrison's
All Things Must Pass - The Beatles' Let It Be - many new books, including The Beatles' Get Back and photo collections from Mike McCartney and Pattie Boyd Harrison, and so forth. Interest in the group and their history continues to crest, demonstrated by the seemingly endless stream of projects and releases.
All of this comes as an outgrowth of award-winning Beatle author
Robert Rodriguez's podcast,
Something About The Beatles, praised by
Forbes as "...the best hour of creative inspiration you can find anywhere."
The Beatles' message has always been about hope, inspiration, optimism, love and positivity, as well as community and sharing; all things the world can use right now. By presenting their story and music to fans ranging from first generation to children, we can unite with a spirit of uplift - "come together, right now," you can say. We have the opportunity to present their message smartly across an array of media - the potential reach is boundless. This initial investment will be used to build out the website, pay contributors and vendors, and secure visibility through branding and promotion to targeted audiences.