According to biographer Steven Gaines, Mike Love was "the most receptive" to the proposal, wanting the Beach Boys to have more creative control over their work, and supported Brian Wilson's decision to employ his newfound "best friend" David Anderle as head of the label, even though it was against band manager Nick Grillo's wishes.

[7] For the company logo, Wilson chose Cyrus E. Dallin's 1908 life size bronze statue Appeal to the Great Spirit at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

[11] Wilson started having increasing doubts about the Smile project and showing signs of worsening mental health during the latter months of 1966.

[12] After he began suspecting that his father may have planted a listening device in his home, he insisted on holding business meetings in his swimming pool.

[13] He also suspected that Capitol was withholding payments from the band and instructed Grillo to conduct an audit of the label's financial records.

[14] On February 28, 1967, the band launched a lawsuit against Capitol that sought neglected royalty payments in the amount of $250,000 (equivalent to $2.33 million in 2023).