I often wondered about licensing agreements that Motown entered into with other record companies. Although I do not think it is a common occurrence but periodically it happens.

For example the Isley Brothers 60's Greatest Hits and Rare Classics from 1991 [37463 54832] includes Twist and Shout and It's Your Thing. The label reads [[under license from CBS Special Products, a Division of CBS Records, Inc.).

This is not a common practice as far as I can tell. Most individual CDs only include Motown releases, but there are exceptions. For example, the Marvin Gaye box sets usually include some of his other Columbia releases designated Sony Music Entertainment. The Temptations box set Emporers of Soul includes some of their other Atlantic releases. The Four Tops box sets include some of their Chateau, Chess, Columbia, and Riverside releases.

I often wonder how the licensing of other labels songs works. Do they pay outright, get a percentage of the sales, or what? I don't recall ever seeing any discussion on this subject, but I might have missed it.

Any thoughts on this would be super. Thanks.