Who Really Owns Steely Dan?

The ebook behind this story, Follow the Money: A Field Guide to Reading a Rock Band's Balance Sheet ($9.99): https://publy.store/p/therockeconomy/... Four days after Walter Becker died in September 2017, his estate sent Donald Fagen a letter saying the agreement the original members signed, dated as of Halloween 1972, was "of no force or effect," and claiming Becker's widow was entitled to fifty percent of Steely Dan. The paperwork says the songs were never what this fight was about. In this video we separate the three things people mean when they say someone owns a band: the songs, the recordings, and the company that puts the name on a ticket. The fight was over the third, Steely Dan, Incorporated, and a buy-sell agreement that priced a departing or deceased member's shares at book value. The agreement excluded goodwill—the value beyond the assets on the books—and for Steely Dan, the name is the obvious candidate. Then the filings. Fagen sued Becker's estate in Los Angeles County Superior Court on November 21, 2017, and the estate answered with a motion to dismiss built on a clause in the agreement itself. Fagen defended the agreement; the estate challenged its enforceability. We follow the tours that kept going, the Julien's auction of Becker's guitars and equipment for $3.3 million, and Fagen's September 2021 comments about the dispute. The competing positions are claims, not court findings. The sources reviewed for this video did not establish a final court ruling or settlement. Fagen's September 2021 interview is the last update covered here. If a forensic money breakdown like this is worth your time, Like, Subscribe, and turn on notifications for a new money autopsy every week. CHAPTERS 0:00 The Letter Four Days After Becker Died 0:35 Songs, Recordings or the Company 1:10 The Buy-Sell Agreement of 1972 1:34 The Original Band Leaves 2:23 Aja and the Asset Everyone Pictures 2:59 Gaucho and a Drum Machine Named Wendel 3:43 Where the Recordings Went 4:18 Book Value Is the Price 4:49 What Book Value Leaves Out 5:33 Fagen and Becker, the Last Two Shareholders 6:26 Becker Dies and the Letter Arrives 6:57 The Estate Tells It Differently 7:37 Fagen Sues the Estate 8:37 Both Sides Vigorously Defend 9:09 Who Gets the Other Half? 9:55 The Clause That Switches Itself Off 10:35 The Ruling Nobody Reported 10:59 The Name Goes Back on the Road 11:45 Becker's Guitars Sell for $3.3 Million 12:25 Six Years to the Day at Madison Square Garden 13:06 Where the Case Stands 13:40 So Who Owns Steely Dan? 14:38 What the Record Can and Can't Prove 15:31 "And Yet We Must Carry On" SOURCES NPR — Steely Dan, Inc. Fights Itself in Lawsuit Over Shares: https://www.npr.org/sections/therecor... Rolling Stone — Donald Fagen Sues Walter Becker's Estate: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/mu... Stereogum — Donald Fagen Sues Walter Becker's Estate: https://stereogum.com/1972613/donald-... Mass Law Blog — Fagen, Becker and the Steely Dan Buy/Sell Agreement: https://masslawblog.com/contracts/fag... Pollstar — Walter Becker Estate Moves to Dismiss Fagen's Lawsuit: https://news.pollstar.com/2018/02/07/... JamBase — Walter Becker Auction: https://www.jambase.com/article/walte... iHeart — Donald Fagen's September 2021 Comments: https://kiisfm.iheart.com/content/202... #SteelyDan #DonaldFagen #WalterBecker