Rights to Sinatra albums secured ahead of 'My Way' anniversary

UNIVERSAL MUSIC has secured the international rights to 38 albums recorded by Frank Sinatra, heralding an acceleration of plans to commercialise the entertainer's estate on the eve of the 40th anniversary of the release of My Way.

Frank Sinatra Enterprises, a joint venture established in 2007 between the Sinatra family and Warner Music, will announce today that Universal Music Group International will take over the catalogue rights outside North America from Warner.

The venture is one of several ideas being studied by trustees of the estate of Michael Jackson as they consider how to capitalise on renewed interest in the singer’s music and image since his death.

Stars such as Sinatra, who died in 1998, and Elvis Presley have become attractive to a music industry struggling to break new artists in a more crowded entertainment landscape. The Presley estate made revenues of $55 million (€38.6 million) and almost $12 million in operating income last year for CKX, the rights management business that owns 85 per cent of Elvis Presley Enterprises.

Sinatra sold an estimated 150 million albums during his career. Universal's multimillion-dollar deal with Frank Sinatra Enterprises will allow it to reissue all the albums Sinatra recorded for Reprise, the record label he formed in 1960, which include hit songs such as My Way, Strangers in the Nightand It Was a Very Good Year.

The “extensive” reissue programme, backed by a substantial marketing campaign, will start this year, the partners said, highlighting the patchy approach to marketing the catalogue in the past. It will include a 40th anniversary edition of the My Way album, featuring two previously unreleased recordings.

Universal Music, which is owned by French media conglomerate Vivendi, has also bought the rights to 14 DVDs, including television specials.

Since Warner’s Rhino Entertainment paid $50 million to the Sinatra family for a 50 per cent stake in the joint venture, it has licensed his name, image and music to a wide range of products and projects. – (Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009)