NEW YORK, Jan. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- EverGreen Copyright Acquisitions, LLC, a
full-service global music publishing company, has been formed by music
industry veterans Joel A. Katz, David K. Schulhof, and Richard W. Perna with
financial backing from Lehman Brothers Merchant Banking (LEH).
The Company officially debuts with the announcement of five completed
acquisitions, including the purchase of the Rykomusic assets and Warlock Music
catalog (featuring the major works of Nick Drake), the Teddy Riley catalog,
the Audigram catalog (including a number of works by J.J. Cale), the Bill
Monroe Music catalog, and the Matt Slocum catalog.
"We are excited to announce the formation of EverGreen Copyrights, a
full-service music publishing company," said Katz, one of the world's leading
entertainment attorneys. "We have already acquired a great set of assets, and
we look forward to continuing our growth. We feel we will be a value-added
partner for writers, independent publishers and consumers of music alike."
Katz is a co-founder, investor and non-executive partner of EverGreen
Copyrights and the global chair of the international entertainment practice at
the law firm of Greenberg Traurig, LLP, as well as co-managing shareholder of
the firm's Atlanta office. The firm's client list includes some of the world's
most popular entertainers (including George Strait, B.B. King, Sheryl Crow,
Jimmy Buffett, Josh Groban, India.Arie, Kenny Chesney, Willie Nelson, James
Brown, Big & Rich and Alan Jackson), music producers, music publishers,
concert promoters and Fortune 500 companies such as Nokia, Microsoft, Coca-
Cola and Clear Channel. Katz also serves as general counsel for The National
Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (NARAS), the Latin Academy of Recording
Arts & Sciences (LARAS), and as special counsel to the Country Music
Association (CMA).
EverGreen Copyrights will be based in Nashville, Tenn. with additional
offices in New York. Perna and Schulhof will serve as co-CEOs of the Company.
Perna will manage a creative team at EverGreen's Nashville
office and will oversee copyright and royalty administration. Schulhof
will manage EverGreen's New York office and oversee the company's global
motion picture, TV and advertising department and creative affairs.
"Our administrative infrastructure is in place, and we have opened our
offices in Nashville and New York," said Perna. "We have strong financial
backing from our major equity investor, Lehman Brothers Merchant Banking, and
are excited about this partnership."
Prior to co-founding EverGreen, Perna served as the COO of Hamstein
Music Group for more than 15 years and built the company into one of the most
successful independent music publishing companies in the world. He also
currently serves as secretary/treasurer of the NARAS.
Prior to co-founding EverGreen, Schulhof was the vice president of
Motion Picture Music for Miramax Films, overseeing motion picture music and
soundtracks for Miramax and Dimension Films, where he served as executive
producer on more than 100 soundtracks.
Schulhof said that EverGreen Copyrights now has a wide range of
more than 15,000 copyrights spanning a diverse set of genres.
"We believe we have assembled an extremely credible catalog of quality
copyrights which are strong in synchronization and are favorites of film/TV
music supervisors," said Schulhof. "We are actively pursuing additional
acquisitions, joint ventures and partnerships."
The Company will be present at MIDEM this year.
Rykomusic Acquisition and Administration Deals
EverGreen's multi-faceted acquisition deal with Ryko Corp. includes the
purchase of the assets of Rykomusic, Inc. and the companies Rykomusic, Ltd.
and Warlock Music, Ltd. The stellar and eclectic Rykomusic and Warlock Music
catalogs feature more than 10,000 songs by a broad range of artists including
the complete major works of Nick Drake ("Mayfair," "Pink Moon," "River Man,"
"Northern Sky," "Black Eyed Dog," "Cello Song"), Cubanismo ("Mambo U.K."),
Mark Sandman of Morphine ("Buena," "I'm Free Now," "All Wrong," "Candy"), Zero
7 ("Polaris," "Give It Away," "This World"), Supreme Beings of Leisure ("Get
Away," "Truth From Fiction," "Under the Gun," "Sublime," "Never The Same"),
Josh Rouse ("Directions," "Dressed Up Like Nebraska," "Late Night
Conversation"), John Martyn ("May You Never"), folk legends Fairport
Convention, Sandy Denny and Richard Thompson among others. Under the deal,
EverGreen Copyrights assumes Rykomusic's joint venture partnership with Rough
Trade Music, giving the Company rights to sign new bands plus 50 percent
ownership of the Rough Trade catalog's 5,000 compositions, including works by
the Violent Femmes, Rocket From The Crypt, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and The
Animal Collective.
Teddy Riley Catalog Acquisition
EverGreen Copyrights has acquired the entire back catalog of Teddy Riley,
a former member of Guy and Blackstreet, and a well-known Pop/R&B writer and
producer. Riley's catalog, which consists of more than 500 titles,
includes all of the songs he co-wrote and produced for Michael Jackson
("Remember the Time," "Jam," "Dangerous," "Blood On the Dance Floor"), and
hundreds of other songs such as Blackstreet's "No Diggity," "Take Me There"
and "Never Gonna Let You Go," Bobby Brown's "My Prerogative," Keith Sweat's "I
Want Her" and "Make It Last Forever," Wreckx-N-Effect's "Rump Shaker" and "New
Jack Swing," Guy's "Groove Me" and "Let's Chill," Al B' Sure's "If I'm Not
Your Lover," Johnny Kemp's "Just Got Paid," Billy Ocean's "Tear Down These
Walls," and Kool Mo Dee's "How Ya Like Me Now."
Audigram Acquisition
EverGreen Copyrights has concluded a deal with Bonnie Ashworth, widow of
producer Audi Ashworth, to acquire the Audigram catalog. The Audigram catalog
of approximately 120 songs features a number of J.J. Cale's works, including
major hits recorded by Eric Clapton ("Cocaine," "Travelin' Light," "Sensitive
Kind," "Long Way Home," "Cajun Moon," "Same Old Blues"), Santana, and many
other legendary guitarists and blues artists.
Bill Monroe Music Catalog Acquisition
EverGreen Copyrights has purchased the assets of Bill Monroe Music
publishing, which consists of approximately 300 songs written by the bluegrass
legend and other writers. The catalog includes such perennial hits as "Blue
Moon Of Kentucky" (performed by Bill Monroe, Elvis Presley, Patsy Cline, and
many others), "Uncle Pen," "Roll In My Sweet Baby's Arms," "Bluegrass
Breakdown," and "Walk Softly On My Heart."
Matt Slocum Catalog Acquisition
EverGreen Copyrights has acquired the catalog of writer and Sixpence None
The Richer band member, Matt Slocum. This catalog includes such well-known
songs as "Kiss Me," and "Breathe Your Name."
About Lehman Brothers Merchant Banking Group
Lehman Brothers Merchant Banking (LEH), part of the Private Equity
business of Lehman Brothers, the global investment bank, manages funds that
seek significant long-term capital appreciation through direct investments in
established operating companies in partnership with management. The group
invests in companies with sound business fundamentals, proven operating teams
and a compelling business strategy or vision. Lehman Brothers Merchant Banking
Partners III L.P. is the Merchant Banking group's current fund. The fund
closed successfully in July 2005 with over $1.2 billion of capital commitments
from institutions, high net worth individual investors, and Lehman Brothers,
its affiliates and employees.
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