<nettime> EMI and MLK

[Andrew Ross <andrew.ross@nyu.edu>]

EMI Music Publishing Signs Groundbreaking Deal to Represent the Works 
of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Anonymous. Business Wire. New York: Mar 17, 2009.

Copyright Business Wire 2009

EMI Music Publishing, New York

Dylan Jones, + 1 212 492 1230

djones@emimusicpub.com

or

IPM/The King Estate

Eric Tidwell, 404-526-8977

EMI Music Publishing, the world's leading popular music publisher, has
reached an agreement to represent the intellectual property of Dr Martin
Luther King, Jr. it was announced today.

Under the terms of the long-term global deal with The King Estate, EMI
Music Publishing will be charged with representing Dr. King's words in
recordings and music, as well as in ensuring the proper licensing and
authorization of all usages of Dr King's words and image in online and in
all digital media. The King Estate will be working with EMI Music
Publishing to create a licensing regime for online uses of his works, as
well as his name and likeness as it applies to existing non-approved uses.

EMI will work closely with Intellectual Properties Management ("IPM"), the
Atlanta based company which manages the licensing program for The King
Estate. IPM will continue to administrate and process all requests for use
of Dr. King's name, image, likeness, recorded voice (without music) and
rights of publicity. All non-music requests for the licensing of Dr King's
works and image will continue to be processed and licensed by IPM.

Included in Dr King's astounding body of work are numerous speeches and
sermons which helped shape the course of the civil rights movement,
including "Our God Is Marching On!" (1965), "I See The Promised Land"
(1968) and "I Have A Dream" (1963).

This is the first time that EMI Music Publishing has taken on the licensing
of a non-music based intellectual property catalog in addition to its
collection of more than 1.3 million current and classic hit songs. Included
in the EMI Music Publishing catalog are iconic songs including "New York
New York", "You've Got A Friend", "The James Bond Theme", "Lady Marmalade",
"Ain't No Mountain High Enough", "Always On My Mind", "Over The Rainbow",
"I Heard It Through The Grapevine" and "Singin' In the Rain". Its current
hit-making writers and producers include Arctic Monkeys, Beyonce, James
Blunt, Alan Jackson, Norah Jones, Alicia Keys, Pink, Usher, Kanye West,
Pharrell Williams and Amy Winehouse.

EMI Music Publishing chairman and CEO Roger Faxon commented, "This is one
of the most exciting and important projects that EMI Music Publishing has
ever taken on, and we are deeply honored to have been selected. We have
been fortunate to represent some of the most important and influential
music ever created, and have played a part in bringing those songs to the
public and assuring that their creators are properly compensated for their
use.

"Now we have been engaged to use the skills we have refined defending the
rights and expanding the market for music to do the same for the works of
Dr. King. His works are the expression of a man who helped to transform our
society, and to this day his words continue to inspire the world. Assuring
that Dr. King's words are accorded the same protection and same right for
compensation as other copyrights works is a profound responsibility, and we
are proud of the confidence that the Estate has placed in us to fulfill
that responsibility."

King Estate Chairman, President, and CEO, Dexter S. King commented, "The
King Estate is very proud of the new relationship with EMI Music
Publishing. We have examined the ever-evolving, global, digital landscape
and feel that EMI is best positioned to monitor and bring under compliance
the unauthorized usages of Dr. King's words and IP on the Internet and
digital media. We welcome EMI's new alliance with our managing agency IPM
and feel confident this is a match in complementary skills and resources
that will increase The King Estate's ability to preserve, perpetuate, and
protect the great legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr."

Born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1929, Martin Luther King, Jr. became a civil
rights activist early in his career as a pastor. He led the Montgomery bus
boycott in 1955, and helped found the Southern Christian Leadership
Conference in 1957. His pioneering efforts to deliver racial equality
through civil disobedience and other non-violent means led to the March on
Washington in 1963, at which he delivered his renowned "I Have a Dream"
speech. In 1964, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work. By the
time of his assassination in Memphis, Tennessee, in April 1968, he had
turned his attentions to both the fight against poverty and ending the
Vietnam War. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977 and
the Congressional Gold Medal in 2004.

Words from Dr King are already featured in a number of major music
projects, including Gwen Stefani's multi-million selling album 'Love Angel
Music Baby' and on Grammy-nominated country band Sugarland's album 'Enjoy
The Ride'.


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