ABSTRACT
In the early 1980s it became clear that Moe needed to return to the issue of succession in a serious way. Moe had long considered options to sell Folkways, beginning in the mid-1960s. One report suggested that one buyer was willing to pay Moe $1 million for the Folkways rights and inventory. However, the sticking point on that deal, as with every effort that followed, was Moe’s refusal to sell Folkways to anyone who would not guarantee the integrity of the catalog. As he had maintained from the beginning, the sounds on Folkways were for “the People,” and to take any title out of print would be to deny the fundamental right to know under the Constitution. On that basis alone, he refused to sell Folkways in the 1960s, and instead turned to elaborate licensing deals with Scholastic and MGM to lighten his workload. As we have seen, Folkways was returned to him, and Moe continued to work as hard as ever, even as he neared his 80th year.
