WWE Music Group
Parent company	WWE (TKO Group Holdings)
Founded	2006 (as WWE Music Group)
Founder	Vince McMahon
Distributors	TuneCore,Sony Music
Genre	Various
Country of origin	United States
Location	780Third Avenue,New York City, U.S.
Official website	wwe.com/inside/wwemusic

WWE Music Publishing, Inc.,^[1][2][3]trade nameWWE Music Group, is an Americanrecord label funded and operated byWWE, a division ofTKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary ofEndeavor Group Holdings. It was manufactured and co-marketed byColumbia Records and was distributed bySony Music.^[4][5] The label specializes in the production oftheme songs serving as the WWE wrestlers' entrance music, sometimes by contributing performing artists, but also releases titles that have been actually performed by the wrestlers themselves, including the various-artists albumWWE Originals andJohn Cena'sYou Can't See Me, peaking at number 12 and 15 on the USBillboard 200, respectively.

Historically, most WWE entrance themes have been created byJim Johnston since the 1980s,^[6] while in recent times, themes have been written or performed by John Alicastro and Mike Lauri,^[7] known collectively asCFO$ from 2012 to 2019.^[8] Since 2019, DJDTP, a music production company based in New York, is responsible for all themes used by WWE using the pseudonym "def rebel".^[9]

The series ofWWE (WWF) produced albums began in 1985 withThe Wrestling Album.^[10] The album contained the song "Land of a Thousand Dances", recorded by a majority of the WWF roster at the time (includingRoddy Piper,Jesse Ventura, andRandy Savage). The locker room would later reconvene for the song's music video.^[10]

Later in 1993,WrestleMania: The Album was released, but it failed to chart on theBillboard 200. By 2002, however, it had sold a total of 91,000 copies.^[10]

The format of the wrestling albums changed in 1996, as the focus went from the wrestlers themselves singing to a compilation of various wrestlers' entrance themes.^[10]WWF Full Metal: The Album was the first album released with the new focus, and included the Monday Night Raw theme "Thorn in Your Eye" by Slam Jam, a supergroup composed of members of metal bands Anthrax, Savatage, Pro-Pain, and Overkill.^[10] In October, the album reached No. 184 on theBillboard 200 and by 2002, had sold 173,000 copies.^[10] This new format proved to be a success. The follow-up album,WWF The Music, Vol. 2, which was released two years later, spent sixteen weeks on the chart and sold over 480,000 copies.^[10]

WWF The Music, Vol. 3 andWWF The Music, Vol. 4, released in December 1998 and November 1999 respectively, each sold over one million copies.^[10] In particular,Vol. 3 reached No. 10 on theBillboard 200, spent thirty weeks on the chart, and sold over 1.21 million copies.^[10] The album reached position No. 4 in its début week, stayed on the charts for twenty weeks, and sold over 1.13 million copies.^[10]

On March 21, 2000, the company worked withPriority Records to release ahip hop music album titledWWF Aggression,^[11] which involved rappers such asSnoop Dogg,Ol' Dirty Bastard,Method Man, andKool Keith, all of whom recorded versions of various wrestlers' entrance themes.^[10] This album differed from previous albums, which were more along the lines ofrock music.^[10] Despite the change, the album still sold approximately 640,000 copies.^[10]

In October 2000, WWE announced the launch of the record label under the nameSmackDown! Records, with Ron McCarrell as the president.^[12][13][14]

In February 2001,WWF The Music, Vol. 5 débuted on theBillboard 200 at position No. 2, spending two weeks in the top twenty and selling 176,000 copies.^[10] as well as reaching No. 2 in theUK Albums Chart and No. 5 in theCanadian Albums Chart.^[15] The album included an original song byDwayne Johnson.^[10] By 2002,Vol. 5 had sold 640,000 copies.^[10] In September 2001, theWWF Tough Enough album sold 138,000 copies.^[10]

In May 2001, WWE signed their first act, the heavy metal bandNeurotica,^[16] and released their third album in June 2002,^[17] the only non-wrestling related album released on the label so far, before they disbanded.

In 2002,WWF Forceable Entry sold 145,000 copies in its first week to enter theBillboard 200 at position No. 3.^[10][18] It was the fourth consecutive WWE album to début in the top ten of theBillboard 200.^[18]Forceable Entry also débuted on the Billboard Hard Rock Albums Chart.^[18] The album included music fromCreed,Our Lady Peace,Limp Bizkit,Marilyn Manson,Kid Rock,Drowning Pool,Rob Zombie,Sevendust, andSaliva.^[19][20] Later in the year,WWE Anthology was certified platinum after just 10 days of release.^[21]

As of March 2006, WWE officially announced the launching of the "WWE Music Group" under the management of Neil Lawi,^[22][23] who not only maintains the label but selects songs to be used on television and pay-per-view events, and regularly scouts new talent to showcase via WWE.^[24] Within two months of operation, the newly restructured label had an album reach the top 10 of theBillboard 200 whenWWE Wreckless Intent, with songs by artists such asMotörhead,Three 6 Mafia,P.O.D., andKillswitch Engage, reached No. 8.^[25][26] In 2007, the label released¡Quiero Vivir!, the début album of WWE ring announcerLilian Garcia, in conjunction withUniversal Music Latin Entertainment.^[27]

In 2007, WWE releasedWWE The Music, Volume 7, the company's first digital-only album, oniTunes,^[28] and starting in 2012, WWE began making old albums available through online stores, starting with the first five "Volume" albums released from 1995 to 2001.^[29]

On April 20, 2013, the entrance theme of wrestlerFandango reached No. 44 in theUK Singles Chart,^[30] after briefly being close to the Top 10 in the mid-week charts.^[31] Following theNXT Arrival show on February 27, 2014, WWE released singles of eight NXT wrestlers created by CFO$,^[32] and it was followed in May by the music video and single ofTyler Breeze.^[33]

On November 30, 2017, it was reported that Jim Johnston's contract with the WWE had expired and that the company had released him after more than thirty-two years of employment.^[34][35]

Composer James D. Papa filed a lawsuit against the WWE Music Group,Michael Hayes, andJim Johnston in July 2012 over the use of the music fromWorld Championship Wrestling, citing redirected royalty payments to several wrestling related songs he either wrote or co-wrote by securing the rights to music unlawfully. Along with the defendants of the case were long with VE Newco LLC, the parent company ofGaiam Vivendi Entertainment (distribution of WWE DVD and Blu-rays),Yuke's (WWE video games), andTake-Two Interactive (who owns the WWE video game license afterTHQ filed for bankruptcy in January 2013) were added in September 2013.^[36]

The filing noted that the two sides resolved their issues following analternative dispute resolution conference because there are a number ofWWE Network versions oflist of NWA/WCW closed-circuit events and pay-per-view events using all 11 songs from theSlam Jam CD that were placed on the Network, replacing versions of the PPV that had edited out the original music. A similar lawsuit brought against the company byHarry Slash & The Slashtones and Roderick Kohn over the rights to original music used byExtreme Championship Wrestling that WWE had been using duringthe Invasion was resolved with a settlement that saw WWE purchase the catalogue outright in January 2005 along with the assets in 2003 in bankruptcy court.

The case was then settled in court on May 5, 2014, before the March 23, 2015, trial date. However, WWE has again denied any wrongdoing and claimed that since Papa "consented to use" of his music in WCW andWorld Class Championship Wrestling broadcasts, and subsequently, WWE would have the rights to his material since they acquired the copyrights lawfully. WWE also said that the music in the World Class documentary would be "fair use" and that Papa did not have any copyright for the "clone song" that Johnston created, so any claim against that song should be thrown out.^[37]

• In September 2017, a commercial forToyota Camry usedJohn Cena's entrance theme "The Time is Now".^[38]
• InNHL 17,Adam Rose's entrance theme song, "Break Away" byCFO$ is used as the goal song for theOttawa Senators.^[39]
• In the2017–18 NHL season, theWashington Capitals usedOney Lorcan's theme song "Combative" by CFO$ as their official goal song.^[40]
• Since 2019,UFC fighterColby Covington usesKurt Angle's theme song "Medal" byJim Johnston as his walkout song.^[41]
• DuringUFC 276, UFC fighterIsrael Adesanya made a special entrance usingThe Undertaker's theme song "Rest In Peace" by Jim Johnston as his walkout song.^[42]

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