Warner Music Group and the family of legendary entertainer Frank Sinatra have established Frank Sinatra Enterprise, a joint venture that will manage all of his musical, film and stage work.
Music label Warner Music Group and Frank Sinatra's family, represented by his three children, Nancy, Tina and Frank Sinatra Jr, have established a global partnership to integrate content – the complete collection of Sinatra’s musical, film and stage work - as well as to administer all licensing for the name and likeness of Sinatra, reports Reuters.
The project was announced Wednesday by the two sides.
This is not the first collaboration between Warner and the star’s family, as Reprise Records, which Sinatra founded in 1960, has been part of the firm. WMG is contributing Reprise to the joint venture.
The Sinatra family in turn will contribute with Sinatra music catalogs, including their part in an EMI Group catalog as well as film, TV and other works. The financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
Frank Sinatra Enterprises will own Sinatra’s recordings from the Reprise era, as well as films, television specials and unreleased footage, photos and audio recordings. FSE will also represent the artist’s rights to the Columbia and Capitol catalogs.
The joint venture will allow the two sides to better manage Sinatra’s artistic legacy. This marks Warner Music’s first “360 deal” involving a legacy act.
“We were extremely selective in choosing a partner with whom to manage our father's life work. It was a process that took several years,” the family said in a statement.
“Our father founded Reprise Records almost 50 years ago; we have worked with Warner Music Group for many years, and we are thrilled to continue the journey with them and the new company into the future.”
“Frank Sinatra is an icon known the world over. We are extremely honored to continue working with the Sinatra family to preserve and expand his rich legacy,” Scott Pascucci, president of Warner Music Group's Rhino Entertainment, said.
WMG chairman and CEO Edgar Bronfman Jr. said: “Frank Sinatra created one of the most enduring and influential bodies of work the world has ever experienced.”
FSE’s day-to-day operations will be handled by Rhino execs Jimmy Edwards and Gregg Goldman along with Sinatra archivist-producer Charles Pignone. Scott Pascucci and Robert A. Finkelstein have been named co-chairmen. Tina Sinatra and Edgar Bronfman Jr. will sit on the board of directors.
“Through this joint venture we’ll be able to manage, with the Sinatra family, the legacy of not only one of our greatest artists, but as founder of Reprise Records, one of the creative cornerstones of our company,” Bronfman said in a statement.
The Frank Sinatra Foundation, a not-for-profit organization, will continue under the family’s aegis.