(CelebrityAccess) – Concord Music has acquired iconic theatre licensor and publisher Samuel French. The acquisition marks the launch of Concord Theatricals, a new company that will house the licensing catalogs of Samuel French, Rodgers & Hammerstein Theatricals, Tams-Witmark and Concord Music’s joint venture with Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful Group, The Musical Company.
Leading Concord Theatricals will be Sean Patrick Flahaven, founding CEO of The Musical Company. He’ll report to Concord Music chief publishing executive Jake Wisely. Longtime Samuel French president Nathan Collins will take on the role of general manager of Concord Theatricals, reporting to Flahaven. Other senior staff at the new theatrical division includes Victoria Traube, Imogen Lloyd Webber, Abbie Van Nostrand, Amy Rose Marsh and Vivien Goodwin.
Commenting on the acquisition, Wisely said in a statement: “Samuel French adds to Concord Theatricals a broad diversity of rights, relationships, experience and executive talent, along with a great family legacy that will continue to flourish with Nate and Abbie’s participation. French also broadens our existing relationships and business synergies, as we now represent all of the musicals of Marvin Hamlisch, both the stage rights and film and TV music rights of Agatha Christie Ltd., as well as various recordings and now the plays of Steve Martin. With Samuel French, Concord is no longer just music.”
Added Collins: “The Samuel French team is incredibly excited to join the Concord Theatricals family. For 188 years, Samuel French has been the iconic name in theatrical licensing and publishing and this merger will enable us to continue to provide our clients with the most innovative products, dynamic marketing and transparent reporting. Under Sean’s leadership, we will build upon the great catalogs of the two organizations and create the preferred home for the works of playwrights, composers and lyricists.”
Samuel French, which was founded in 1830, has a catalog of over 10,000 titles, including plays by Tennessee Williams, Neil Simon, Lorraine Hansberry and August Wilson, as well as musicals such as Chicago, Grease, The Secret Garden, The Wiz and Fun Home, among numerous others.
