The Beatles' first management contract is to be given away as a competition prize on a UK website.
The competition, which is open to fans worldwide, allows Beatles fans to pay to guess the value of the contract. The winner gets to keep the historic artefact. The contract is currently insured for £500,000.
Dated 1 October 1962, the document was signed by all four members of The Beatles, their manager Brian Epstein, and witnesses.
The contract has been valued by a panel of three experts, each of whom independently stated what they believe it to have been worth in April 2008. The panel members took into consideration the sums fetched by similar Beatles memorabilia in recent auctions, and other iconic items from musical history.
Entry costs £10, although there is no limit to the number of times a person can enter. Should the competition not raise the reserve value of the prize, 60% of the money collected will be paid to the winner instead of the contract itself.
The contract is currently held by London law firm Clintons. It had previously sold at Christie's auction house to the current owner, who authorised for it to be awarded as a prize in this competition. Full details are available on www.imagine.uk.com.
During my 30 years of experience in the memorabilia business, there has been nothing more exciting than this opportunity to reward a lucky fan with popular music's ultimate prize, something that Beatles fans around the world could only dream of! I am delighted that we will be able to change one person's life with the winning of the contract in our inaugural competition.
Business Development Director, The Imagine Corporation
