EMI to Become Sole Owner of Jobete
AP, Mar 31, 2004 4:09 pm PSTBritish recording company EMI Group PLC has reached a deal to become the sole owner of Jobete, the Motown song catalog established by Berry Gordy Jr.
EMI's Music Publishing division, which already owned 80 percent of Jobete, will complete the estimated $80 million buyout of Gordy's remaining stake in the catalog within a few days, the company said Tuesday.
Jobete controls more than 15,000 songs from artists such as Stevie Wonder , Diana Ross & the Supremes, Marvin Gaye , the Temptations and the Jackson Five. Only the Beatles catalog, co-owned by Michael Jackson , is considered more valuable.
The deal gives EMI sole ownership of Jobete's music publishing rights. Motown Records parent Universal Music Group owns the rights to the original song recordings.
EMI Music Publishing assumed foreign administration of Jobete in 1982. It acquired a 50 percent stake in the catalog in 1997 for $132 million. Last April, EMI bought another 30 percent stake in the catalog for $109 million.
Gordy will remain involved in the creative development of several pending Jobete projects, including a musical and a television miniseries. EMI declined to comment on whether Gordy is under contract.
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