A lot of people were already listening to the bands that influenced The Beatles (et al...) The Beatles stepped onto the Big Picture via Ed Sullivan in the US. Contracts and merch started flowing immediately.
The biz would sign to cow turd to get in on the action.
Read some Frank Zappa, he details the whole mess.
Well I lost a lot of respect for John after hearing this Zappa story.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbAt3P8S-AQ