Warner Chappell Music, Inc. is an American
music publishing
A music publisher is a type of publisher that specializes in distributing music. Music publishers originally published sheet music. When copyright became legally protected, music publishers started to play a role in the management of the intellect ...
company and a subsidiary of the
Warner Music Group
Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and t ...
. Warner Chappell Music's catalogue consists of over 1.4 million compositions and 65,000 composers, with offices in over 40 countries.
History
The company was founded in 1811 as
Chappell & Co., a British music publishing company and instrument shop that specialized in piano manufacturing on London's Bond Street. In 1929,
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
acquired
M. Witmark & Sons,
Remick Music Corporation
Jerome Hosmer Remick (15 November 1867 – 15 July 1931) was an American music publisher, businessman and philanthropist in Detroit, Detroit, Michigan.
Life and career
Remick was born in Detroit as the son of James Albert Remick and Mary Amelia ...
and
Harms, Inc. Tamerlane Music was acquired in 1969.
Warner Chappell Music was formed in 1987 in
San Antonio, Texas
("Cradle of Freedom")
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, map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio
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, subdivision_name = United States
, subdivision_type1= State
, subdivision_name1 = Texas
, subdivision_t ...
, when
Warner Bros. Music
Warner Chappell Music, Inc. is an American music publisher, music publishing company and a subsidiary of the Warner Music Group. Warner Chappell Music's catalogue consists of over 1.4 million compositions and 65,000 composers, with offices in ove ...
Chairman
Chuck Kaye
Chuck Kaye born Charles Aye (28 August 1940 - 1 February 2021) was an American retired music industry executive, noted for his tenures at A&M Records, Warner/Chappell Music, and DreamWorks Records, working in areas as diverse as Artists an ...
led the company to purchase Chappell & Co. from
PolyGram
PolyGram N.V. was a multinational entertainment company and major music record label formerly based in the Netherlands. It was founded in 1962 as the Grammophon-Philips Group by Dutch corporation Philips and German corporation Siemens, to be a ...
(now Universal Music Group) (UMG). In 1988, Warner-Chappell acquired Birch Tree Group, publisher of ''
Happy Birthday to You
"Happy Birthday to You", also known as "Happy Birthday", is a song traditionally sung to celebrate a person's birthday. According to the 1998 ''Guinness World Records'', it is the most recognised song in the English language, followed by "For ...
'' and the
Frances Clark
Frances Oman Clark (March 28, 1905 – April 17, 1998) was an American pianist, pedagogue, and academic who authored, co-authored and edited many widely used piano method books, most notably The Music Tree series. Her 1955 publication, ''Time to ...
piano method books. In 1990, Warner Chappell acquired Mighty Three Music, the publishing company of
Thom Bell
Thomas Randolph Bell (January 27th, 1943 – December 22, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter, record producer, arranger, pianist, and composer known as one of the creators of Philadelphia soul in the 1970s. He found success as a producer ...
and
Gamble and Huff
Kenneth Gamble (born August 11, 1943, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) and Leon A. Huff (born April 8, 1942, Camden, New Jersey) are an American songwriting and production team credited for developing the Philadelphia soul music genre (also known as ...
.
In 1994, Warner Bros. Publications expanded its print music operations by acquiring CPP/Belwin. CPP/Belwin had been the former print music arm of
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...
.
In 2005, Warner Chappell Music sold most of its printed music division, Warner Bros. Publications, to
Alfred Publishing
Alfred may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
*''Alfred J. Kwak'', Dutch-German-Japanese anime television series
* ''Alfred'' (Arne opera), a 1740 masque by Thomas Arne
* ''Alfred'' (Dvořák), an 1870 opera by Antonín Dvořák
*"Alfred (Interlu ...
, and in 2006 launched the Pan European Digital Licensing (P.E.D.L.) initiative. In 2007, when
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass) ...
released ''
In Rainbows
''In Rainbows'' is the seventh studio album by the English rock band Radiohead. It was self-released on 10 October 2007 as a pay-what-you-want download, followed by a physical release internationally through XL Recordings and in North America ...
'' through its website on a pay-what-you-wish model, Warner Chappell Music created a streamlined, one-of-a-kind licensing process for the songs on the album that allowed rights users around the world to secure use of the music from a single location.
In 2006, David H. Johnson was elevated to interim CEO and then in 2007 to Chairman & CEO of the company.
In 2007, the company acquired Non-Stop Music. Additionally, in 2010 it acquired
615 Music
615 Music is a broadcast production music company based in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded by Randy Wachtler. 615 Music composes television news music packages and custom image campaigns for many television networks around the world. 615 Music als ...
, a Nashville-based production music company, and subsequently united all the production music companies under the name Warner Chappell Production Music in 2012. In 2011, it acquired Southside Independent Music Publishing, whose songwriters included
Bruno Mars
Peter Gene Hernandez (born October 8, 1985), known professionally as Bruno Mars, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is known for his stage performances, retro showmanship, and for performing in a wide range of musical s ...
, Brody Brown, and J.R. Rotem. In July 2012, Warner/Chappell purchased the music rights of the film studio
Miramax Films
Miramax, LLC, also known as Miramax Films, is an American film and television production and distribution company founded on December 19, 1979, by brothers Harvey Weinstein, Harvey and Bob Weinstein, and based in Los Angeles, California.
It was ...
.
It was ranked in 2010 by ''Music & Copyright'' as the world's third-largest music publisher. Among the songs in the company's library are "
Winter Wonderland
"Winter Wonderland" is a song written in 1934 by Felix Bernard and lyricist Richard Bernhard Smith. Due to its seasonal theme, it is often regarded as a Christmas song in the Northern Hemisphere. Since its original recording by Richard Himber, ...
" and formerly "
Happy Birthday to You
"Happy Birthday to You", also known as "Happy Birthday", is a song traditionally sung to celebrate a person's birthday. According to the 1998 ''Guinness World Records'', it is the most recognised song in the English language, followed by "For ...
" until the copyright of the song was
invalidated in 2015 and put in the public domain the next year.
In January 2011, Cameron Strang, founder of
New West Records
New West Records is a record label based in Nashville, Tennessee, and Athens, Georgia. It had offices in Burbank, California, and Beverly Hills, California. The label was established in 1998 by Cameron Strang "for artists who perform real music ...
and Southside Independent Music Publishing, was named CEO of Warner Chapell Music. He was succeeded by former company president
Jon Platt
Jon Platt is an American music-publishing executive and a former DJ. He is Chairman and CEO of Sony Music Publishing after having spent 17 years at EMI Music Publishing.
Early life
Although he was born in Philadelphia, Platt considers Denver ...
in 2016.
On June 30, 2017, Warner Chappell Music filed a lawsuit against
EMI Music Publishing
EMI Music Publishing Ltd. is a British multinational music publishing company headquartered in London, owned by parent company Sony Corporation of America.
In May 2018, Sony Music Publishing agreed to increase its stake in EMI to 90%, pending ...
, accusing the latter company of underpaying Warner Music for the royalties of the
20th Century Fox
20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
catalogue, which Warner acquired in 1982, as well as the rights to
Curtis Mayfield
Curtis Lee Mayfield (June 3, 1942 – December 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer, and one of the most influential musicians behind soul and politically conscious African-American music. and
Kool and the Gang
Kool & the Gang is an American R&B/soul/ funk band formed in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1964 by brothers Robert "Kool" Bell and Ronald Bell, with Dennis "Dee Tee" Thomas, Robert "Spike" Mickens, Charles Smith, George Brown, and Ricky West. ...
. This controversy arises from EMI's acquisition of
Robbins and Feist in the early 1990s.
On January 9, 2019, Guy Moot was named CEO of Warner Chappell Music. He and
Carianne Marshall, the company's COO, were appointed co-chairs.
On January 15, 2019, Warner Chappell Music filed a monetization claim against a fanfilm created by
Star Wars
''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...
YouTube channel ''Star Wars Theory'', but rescinded the claim two days later after intervention by Lucasfilm Ltd. on behalf of outraged fans. In May 2019, Warner Chappell Music was again criticized for filing overly broad copyright claims, concerning a large number of YouTube videos by Minecraft Youtuber Mumbo Jumbo, who has more than 8 million subscribers, for the sole reason that the intro song on all of them contained samples of a song that was copyrighted by Warner Chappell Music. The Youtuber had paid for a license to use the song, but it turned out that the samples had not been cleared. He stated that he intended to dispute Warner Chappell Music's claims, but that their large number (around 1800) would make this burdensome.
In May 2019, Warner Chappell acquired the
Gene Autry
Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998), nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, musician, rodeo performer, and baseball owner who gained fame largely by singing in a crooning s ...
Music Group, comprising four music publishers, 1,500 compositions (including "
Back in the Saddle Again
"Back in the Saddle Again" was the signature song of American cowboy entertainer Gene Autry. It was co-written by Autry with Ray Whitley and first released in 1939. The song was associated with Autry throughout his career and was used as the n ...
", "
Here Comes Santa Claus
"Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane)" is a popular Christmas song written and originally performed by Gene Autry, with music composed by Oakley Haldeman. Autry's original recording (in which he pronounces Santa Claus as "Santy ...
", "
Just Walkin' in the Rain
"Just Walkin' in the Rain" is a popular song. It was written in 1952 by Johnny Bragg and Robert Riley, two prisoners at Tennessee State Prison in Nashville, after a comment made by Bragg as the pair crossed the courtyard while it was raining. Br ...
", and "
You Belong To Me"), and several of Autry's master recordings.
In July 2021, Warner Chappell opened its first office in Vietnam.
On 3 January 2022, ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' reported that the estate of English musician
David Bowie
David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
had sold the late artist's publishing catalog to Warner Chappell Music, "for a price upwards of $250 million".
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Warner Chappell Music
Companies based in Los Angeles
Music publishing companies of the United States
American companies established in 1811
Production music
Warner Music Group
American corporate subsidiaries