AS PART OF THIS NEW DEAL WITH HER ESTATE, PRIMARY WAVE
HAS ACQUIRED A STAKE IN THE AWARD-WINNING SINGER’S PUBLISHING, MASTER RECORDING INCOME STREAM,
NAME, LIKENESS, AND BRAND
Primary Wave Music Publishing announced today their partnership with the Estate of the most awarded female artist of all time, Whitney Houston. Born into a musical family in 1963, Whitney Houston remains one of the best-selling music artists of all time with over 200 million records sold worldwide. The singer released seven studio albums and two soundtracks, all of which have been certified diamond, multi-platinum, platinum, or gold by the RIAA. Houston is the only artist to chart seven consecutive #1 Billboard Hot 100 hits, she was the first female artist to enter the Billboard 200 album chart at #1, and her career-defining version of Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You” is the biggest-selling single of all time by a female artist.
To date, Houston had won 411 awards which included six GRAMMY Awards, 16 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards, an Emmy, MTV VMA, NAACP Image Awards, BET Awards, Soul Train Music Awards, and so many more. With her countless hits continuing to find new audiences and her passing in 2012 being felt by her millions of fans around the world, her estate is committed to keeping her legacy alive. In this new partnership with Primary Wave, The Estate of Whitney E. Houston and Primary Wave’s executive team will work closely together to help ensure Whitney’s brand expands to even wider audiences. The Estate of Whitney E. Houston will have access to Primary Wave’s entire marketing team, digital team, publicity department, branding team, and publishing infrastructure which includes licensing and synch opportunities.
In this partnership, Primary Wave has acquired a stake in the singer’s music assets which includes royalty streams from her hit songs “Count On Me” from the critically acclaimed film “Waiting To Exhale,” “I Didn’t Know My Own Strength,” “I Got You,” “Like I Never Left,” and more. Terms of the deal also include a stake in her master recording royalty income stream and writer’s share, as well as Houston’s name and likeness. The latter includes profit share in her hit films “The Bodyguard” (both the film and musical), “Waiting To Exhale,” “The Preacher’s Wife, “Cinderella,” and “Sparkle.
“We are more than elated to partner with an organization whose momentum in the marketplace is extraordinarily well respected by industry leaders worldwide” says Pat Houston,President and CEO of The Estate of Whitney E. Houston. She continues, “With Primary Wave’s global appeal and wealth of contacts, the partnership will advance the artistry and integrity of Whitney’s legacy to a stratosphere that she herself left us all to enjoy for a lifetime.”
“Whitney Houston is an incomparable artist whose voice resonates in people’s lives to this day” says Lawrence Mestel, CEO & Founder, Primary Wave Music Publishing. He goes on, “She is the definition of an icon and we are thrilled to partner with Pat Houston and the entire Houston family to further the legacy of this legendary artist.”