Universal announces deal to represent Elvis songs catalogue

completemusicupdate.com:

Universal Music Publishing has announced a new deal to represent the songs catalogue of Elvis Presley via an extension of the wider Universal Music Group’s partnership with the Authentic Brands Group, which in turn acquired a bunch of Presley-related image and intellectual property rights back in 2013.UMG and ABG have been working together since late 2020 to, and I quote, “acquire and actively manage artist brands” in order to “expand the legacies and cultural impact of artists worldwide across a wide range of consumer touch-points” and “to drive opportunities in merchandise, memorabilia, endorsements, brand experiences and content, among many others”.

Lovely stuff.Through its ownership of Elvis Presley Enterprises, ABG manages the Presley estate’s songs catalogue, which includes many of the songs he made famous, even if he didn’t actually co-write them, because he often was co-publisher of those works.ABG previously appointed Kobalt to administer that catalogue, but is now working with its new best buds Universal on managing and exploiting those songs.Says Universal Music Publishing COO Marc Cimino: “Elvis Presley has had an unprecedented and lasting global impact on music and pop culture. [UMPG CEO] Jody Gerson and I, along with UMPG’s teams around the world, couldn’t be more excited and honoured to work with ABG in making sure that Elvis’ iconic legacy endures for generations to come”.Meanwhile, President of Entertainment at ABG, Marc Rosen, adds: “2022 is shaping up to be a banner year for Elvis, highlighted by the highly-anticipated theatrical release this June of ‘Elvis’ directed by Baz Luhrmann, as well as the debut of Netflix’s upcoming animated action series ‘Agent King’.