NEW YORK, (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — Viacom today announced that it has decided to explore strategic alternatives to maximize the value of Famous Music, its music publishing business. The Company has retained UBS Investment Bank to act as financial advisor to assist in this process.
Famous Music was founded in 1928 by Paramount Pictures' predecessor, the Famous-Lasky Corporation, to publish music from its "talking pictures". Today it is one of the top 10 music publishers in the United States, supplying music to a diversified range of global media. Its vast catalog of more than 125,000 copyrights spans seven decades and includes music from such Oscar-winning motion pictures as The Godfather, Forrest Gump and Titanic, as well as classic television shows including The Brady Bunch, Cheers, Mission: Impossible and the Star Trek franchise.
Since 1992, Famous Music has moved aggressively into the mainstream of contemporary music with such platinum-plus acts as Shakira, Akon, Eminem and Busta Rhymes. Writers and producers on the Famous roster include Irv Gotti, 7 Aurelius, Linda Perry, Tia Sillers, Charlie Midnight, and Marvin Hamlisch. Famous Music also provides licensing and administration services for many prominent music catalog owners such as The Clyde Otis Music Catalogs, MTV, Nickelodeon and BET. Famous Music is led by a senior management team that includes Irwin Robinson, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer; Ira Jaffe, President and Chief Operating Officer; and Margaret Johnson, Executive Vice President Finance and Administration, each with decades of experience in the music publishing business. – CelebrityAccess Staff Writers
