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| Genre | Music publishing, licensing and administration |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1928; 97 years ago (1928) |
| Founder | Famous Players–Lasky Corporation |
| Defunct | 2007; 18 years ago (2007) |
| Fate | Acquired bySony/ATV |
| Successor |
|
| Headquarters | United States |
Famous Music Corporation was the worldwide music publishing division ofParamount Pictures, a division ofParamount Global since 1994. Itscopyright holdings span several decades and include music from suchAcademy Award-winning motion pictures asThe Godfather andForrest Gump.
It was founded in 1928 by Paramount’s predecessor, theFamous Players–Lasky Corporation, to publish music from its "talking pictures." Some of the classic songs in the Famous Music catalog that originated in motion pictures include "Thanks for the Memory" (fromThe Big Broadcast of 1938), "Mona Lisa" (fromCaptain Carey, U.S.A.), "Silver Bells", "Moon River" (fromBreakfast at Tiffany's), "Where Do I Begin?" (the theme fromLove Story), "Speak Softly, Love" (the theme fromThe Godfather), "Up Where We Belong", "Footloose" (fromFootloose (film), "Take My Breath Away" (fromTop Gun), and "My Heart Will Go On" (fromTitanic (1997 film).
Famous Music additionally owned music and songs from television programs produced by Paramount until ownership of most of those songs was transferred to CBS in 2006 as part ofViacom's split into two separate companies:CBS Corporation and"new" Viacom. These included the "Theme fromMission: Impossible" (ownership remained with Paramount), the "Theme fromStar Trek", and "Where Everybody Knows Your Name" (the theme fromCheers).
Famous Music also provided licensing and administration services for many prominent music catalog owners such as CBS and theClyde Otis Music Group, as well as for other Viacom divisions includingMTV,Nickelodeon andBET.
Starting mostly in the late 1980s and continuing until the company was sold in 2007, Famous Music was active in acquiring songs that did not originate in Paramount motion pictures or television programs. These included the purchase of many works from theDuke Ellington catalog, as well as acquisition or administration agreements with recording artists and producers such asShakira,Eminem,Akon,She Wants Revenge,Boyz II Men,Paula Cole, The Cunninghams,Björk,Gavin Rossdale,Daniel Powter,Harvey Danger,Martika,KC Porter,Linda Perry,Kike Santander,Irv Gotti,Placebo,Modest Mouse,Jet andP.O.D.[1]
In May 2007, Viacom sold Famous Music toSony Music Publishing (then Sony/ATV Music publishing), co-owned by Sony andMichael Jackson, for a reported $370 million.[2] Famous Music was then renamed Sony/ATV Harmony and Sony/ATV Melody.
In December 2012, Sony/ATV sold the Famous Music UK song catalogue (which included Placebo andThe Kooks) toBMG Rights Management.[3] Paramount Pictures moved the administration of its music toUniversal Music Publishing Group sometime in the late 2010s;Paramount Media Networks (excludingShowtime Networks) followed suit in 2020.
For a number of years, Famous Music also had a record label group division that includedBlue Thumb Records,Dot Records,Paramount Records, and Tumbleweed Records. In 1974, the division was acquired byABC Records for $5.5 million, and most of the Famous labels were absorbed into ABC Records.[4]
Famous had distribution deals withNeighborhood Records andSire Records, the latter of which was distributed by ABC until 1977.
The catalogs of all the ABC/Famous Music labels are now owned byUniversal Music Group, with some exceptions. For example, the 1968-1970 catalog ofStax Records, which during that period was owned by Famous, is owned byConcord Music Group, itself distributed by UMG.
Various labels under Universal manage different parts of the catalog depending on the genre. Here are some examples:
