In his autobiography Epstein pondered the question: What makes a hit? He went on to expound his belief in tunes, commenting ...generally speaking melody sells. Sir Thomas Beecham once said..at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, when I was there as a boy..'I'm often asked why operas survive generation after generation - La Bohème and things like that. And I always reply, 'They survive because they consist of bloody good tunes'.... The content of Epstein's record collection is evidence of his predilection for good tunes, he himself added ...basically if you can get a good melody that is going to suit the artist and, equally important, if the artist is going to like it you are almost home and dry with a hit...
Besides the comprehensive collection of releases by the Beatles and their contemporary pop rivals that you would expect to find in the Epstein collection, the inventory reveals the Beatles' manager's great enthusiasm for both jazz and film soundtracks. One handwritten listing has been added to the typed entries, for the film soundtrack to The Family Way (composed by Paul McCartney); this was released early in 1967, which suggests that this was the last time that the inventory was updated.