Another massive deal has been struck for a major artist’s catalogue, this time for The King’s, which covers hits such as ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love’, ‘A Little Less Conversation’ and ‘Jailhouse Rock’.
Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) are the buyers of this list of hits, along with Authentic Brands Group (ABG) – a global brand owner, marketing and entertainment company who are also the owners of Elvis Presley Enterprises.
The deal is an exclusive global publishing deal to represent Elvis’ historic song catalogue. ABG’s portfolio also includes other iconic figures, notable Muhammad Ali and Marilyn Monroe.
It’s not yet been disclosed how much money has been paid for the deal, which also covers the classic hits such as ‘It’s Now Or Never’, ‘Memories’, ‘Don’t Be Cruel’, ‘Love Me Tender’, ‘Viva Las Vegas’, ‘Teddy Bar’, ‘Amazing Grace’, and ‘All Shook Up’ and ‘Tears On My Pillow’.
Marc Cimino, Chief Operating Officer at UMPG, said: “Elvis Presley has had an unprecedented and lasting global impact on music and pop culture. Jody Gerson [UMPG’s CEO] and I, along with UMPG’s teams around the world, couldn’t be more excited and honored to work with ABG in making sure that Elvis’ iconic legacy endures for generations to come.”
The deal comes during a big year of reappraisal for Elvis, with a new biographical music drama from Baz Luhrmann, starring Tom Hanks and Austin Butler, set to retell the story of The King’s rock n’ roll rise from Memphis, Tennessee. That’s due to be released in June.
The sale of back catalogue has skyrocketed in recent years, fuelled by the lack of touring opportunities then available, the meagre money made from streaming royalties and a consequent domino effect of back catalogue sales.
As big stars were able to make huge sources of revenue from these sales – such as Springsteen (who made around £450 million) and Paul Simon (who raked in around £200 million) – so too would others have watched on and thought they could make likewise.
A scramble between the likes of BMG, Warner Chappell Music and newer music companies such as Hipgnosis has only fuelled such sales. Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) are the ones to be representing this latest one. They’re the hound dogs who’ve gone after it.
