Who holds the rights to Elvis Presley’s music?
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Elvis Presley’s music recordings were owned by RCA Records. In the 1980s, RCA Records Label was acquired by BMG, which later merged with Sony Music Entertainment in 2004 to form Sony BMG. Sony BMG currently possesses Elvis’ recordings and continues to use the RCA Records label for releasing Elvis albums. They also operate a dedicated Elvis collectors label called Follow That Dream Records. The song rights are held by various composers and publishers, leading to confusion between the ownership of the recordings and the songs themselves. Additionally, there is confusion regarding a 1973 deal between Elvis and his manager and RCA. This explanation aims to clarify the ownership of Elvis’ recordings.
Authentic Brands Group announced on Tuesday that it has bought the rights to Elvis Presley from CORE Media Group. The company, which also owns most of the rights to American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance, did not disclose the financial details of the deal. However, the acquisition includes a collaboration with Joel Weinshanker and his National Entertainment Collectibles Association, a company that distributes authorized entertainment merchandise. ABG is a company that specializes in intellectual property and also owns the rights to Marilyn Monroe and Muhammad Ali, both previously acquired from CORE Media, formerly known as CKx Inc.
Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc. (EPE) is a company established by The Elvis Presley Trust to oversee its operations and assets, such as Graceland. EPE’s activities go beyond Graceland and involve global licensing of Elvis-themed merchandise and projects, creating Elvis-related music, movies, videos, TV shows, and stage performances, advancing EPE’s online presence, and overseeing substantial music publishing resources.
Who owns the rights to Elvis Presley’s music?
Although most of Presley’s estate is owned by his daughter, a pre-death deal rerouted all royalties from his music away from the estate. Back in 1973, Elvis and his manager, Colonel Tom Parker, struck a deal with RCA, giving away all future music royalties. Sun Records, where Presley allegedly recorded his initial albums, retained ownership of his songs until it sold the contract to RCA in 1955.
This article is exclusively for Business Insider subscribers. To start reading, log in as an Insider. Elvis Presley Enterprises, which is mostly owned by Authentic Brands Group, rejected Coppola’s proposal, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter. Authentic Brands Group, a branding company, also possesses the rights to the likeness of Muhammad Ali and Marilyn Monroe.
However, Sam sold the contract and the song catalog created at Sun Records to RCA in late 1955. After the sale, Elvis continued to be contracted to RCA and received royalties for his records as part of the agreement. In March 1973, Colonel Tom and Elvis approached RCA, proposing a lump sum payment instead of ongoing artist royalties for all recordings made until then. By 1973, Elvis had a substantial catalog, which would have brought RCA significant revenue.
Elvis has been a highly marketable figure even after his passing in 1977. He is considered the top-selling solo musician, having sold over 500 million records, second only to the Beatles. Posthumously, he has achieved 48 top-50 hits in the UK, including five number ones, and has been portrayed in around 31 films by various actors like Kurt Russell and Harvey Keitel. Jacob Elordi is the latest actor to play Elvis in the upcoming movie Priscilla, which focuses on his relationship with his former wife, whom he wed in 1967 after meeting her seven years earlier when she was 14, and divorced in 1973. Cailee Spaeny takes on the role of Priscilla in the film.