Famous Music Corporation was the worldwide music publishing division of

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

, a division of

Paramount Global Paramount Global (Trade name, d/b/a Paramount) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment Conglomerate (company), conglomerate controlled by National Amusements and Headquarters, headquartered at One Astor Plaza in Times Square, ...

since 1994. Its

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive legal right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, ...

holdings span several decades and include music from such

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

-winning motion pictures as ''

The Godfather ''The Godfather'' is a 1972 American Epic film, epic crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling The Godfather (novel), 1969 novel. The film stars an ensemble cast inc ...

'' and ''

Forrest Gump ''Forrest Gump'' is a 1994 American comedy-drama film directed by Robert Zemeckis. An adaptation of the Forrest Gump (novel), 1986 novel by Winston Groom, the screenplay of the film is written by Eric Roth. It stars Tom Hanks in the title rol ...

''.

Founding

It was founded in 1928 by Paramount’s predecessor, the Famous Players–Lasky Corporation, to publish music from its "talking pictures." Some of the classic songs in the Famous Music catalog that originated in motion pictures include " Thanks for the Memory" (from ''

The Big Broadcast of 1938 ''The Big Broadcast of 1938'' is a Paramount Pictures musical film, musical comedy film starring W. C. Fields and featuring Bob Hope. Directed by Mitchell Leisen, the film is the last in a series of ''Big Broadcast'' movies that were variety sh ...

''), "

Mona Lisa The ''Mona Lisa'' is a half-length portrait painting by the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. Considered an archetypal masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, it has been described as "the best known, the most visited, the most written about, ...

" (from ''

Captain Carey, U.S.A. ''Captain Carey, U.S.A.'' is a 1950 American crime film, crime thriller film, thriller film noir directed by Mitchell Leisen and starring Alan Ladd and Wanda Hendrix. An American returns to post–World War II Italy to bring a traitor to justice. ...

''), " Silver Bells", " Moon River" (from '' Breakfast at Tiffany's''), " Where Do I Begin?" (the theme from '' Love Story''), " Speak Softly, Love" (the theme from ''

''), " Up Where We Belong", " Footloose" (from '' Footloose (film), " Take My Breath Away" (from ''

Top Gun ''Top Gun'' is a 1986 American action drama film directed by Tony Scott and produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, with distribution by Paramount Pictures. The screenplay was written by Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr., and was inspired ...

), and "

My Heart Will Go On "My Heart Will Go On" is a song performed by Canadian singer Celine Dion, used as the theme for the 1997 film '' Titanic''. It was composed by James Horner, with lyrics by Will Jennings, and produced by Horner, Walter Afanasieff and Simon F ...

" (from ''

Titanic (1997 film) ''Titanic'' is a 1997 American Epic film, epic romantic film, romantic disaster film directed, written, co-produced and co-edited by James Cameron. Incorporating both historical and fictionalized aspects, it is based on accounts of Sinking of ...

''. Famous Music additionally owned music and songs from television programs produced by Paramount until ownership of most of those songs was transferred to CBS in 2006 as part of Viacom's split into two separate companies:

CBS Corporation CBS Corporation was an American multinational media company with interests primarily in commercial broadcasting, publishing and television production. It was split from Viacom on December 31, 2005, alongside an entirely new Viacom; both ...

and "new" Viacom. These included the " Theme from ''Mission: Impossible''" (ownership remained with Paramount), the " Theme from ''Star Trek''", and " Where Everybody Knows Your Name" (the theme from ''

Cheers ''Cheers'' is an American television sitcom, created by Glen and Les Charles, Glen Charles & Les Charles and James Burrows, that aired on NBC for eleven seasons from September 30, 1982, to May 20, 1993. The show was produced by Charles/Burrows/C ...

''). Famous Music also provided licensing and administration services for many prominent music catalog owners such as CBS and the Clyde Otis Music Group, as well as for other Viacom divisions including

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...

and BET. Starting mostly in the late 1980s and continuing until the company was sold in 2007, Famous Music was active in acquiring songs that did not originate in Paramount motion pictures or television programs. These included the purchase of many works from the

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D ...

catalog, as well as acquisition or administration agreements with recording artists and producers such as

Shakira Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll ( , ; born 2 February 1977) is a Colombian singer-songwriter. Referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Latin Music", she has had a Cultural impact of Shakira, significant impact on the ...

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time, he is credited with popula ...

Akon Aliaune Damala Bouga Time Puru Nacka Lu Lu Lu Badara Akon Thiam (born April 16, 1973), known mononymously as Akon (), is a Senegalese-United States, American singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, businessman, and philanthropist. An influ ...

, She Wants Revenge,

Boyz II Men Boyz II Men ( ) is an American vocal harmony group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, best known for emotional ballads and a cappella harmonies. Formed in 1985, they have been a trio composed of baritone Nathan Morris, tenor Wanya Morris, Wanyá Mo ...

, Paula Cole, The Cunninghams,

Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct voice, three-octave vocal range, and eccentric public per ...

Gavin Rossdale Gavin McGregor Rossdale is an English musician, best known as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the rock band Bush. He helped form Bush in 1992. Upon the band's separation in 2002, he became the lead singer and guitarist for Institute an ...

, Daniel Powter,

Harvey Danger Harvey Danger was an American indie/alternative rock band. It was formed in 1992 in Seattle, Washington, by Aaron Huffman and Jeff J. Lin, who were both journalism students at the University of Washington. Drummer Evan Sult and singer Sean N ...

, Martika, KC Porter, Linda Perry, Kike Santander, Irv Gotti,

Placebo A placebo ( ) can be roughly defined as a sham medical treatment. Common placebos include inert tablets (like sugar pills), inert injections (like saline), sham surgery, and other procedures. Placebos are used in randomized clinical trials ...

, Modest Mouse, Jet and P.O.D. In May 2007, Viacom sold Famous Music to Sony Music Publishing (then Sony/ATV Music publishing), co-owned by Sony and

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

, for a reported $370 million. Famous Music was then renamed Sony/ATV Harmony and Sony/ATV Melody. In December 2012, Sony/ATV sold the Famous Music UK song catalogue (which included Placebo and The Kooks) to

BMG Rights Management BMG Rights Management GmbH (also known simply as BMG) is an international music company based in Berlin, Germany. It combines the activities of a music publisher and a record label. BMG was formed in October 2008 after Bertelsmann sold its st ...

. Paramount Pictures moved the administration of its music to Universal Music Publishing Group sometime in the late 2010s;

Paramount Media Networks Paramount Media Networks is the division of Paramount Global that oversees the operations of its television channels and online brands. The division was originally founded as MTV Networks in 1984, named after MTV. It would be known under this ...

(excluding

Showtime Networks Showtime Networks, Inc. is a subsidiary of American media conglomerate Paramount Global under its networks division that oversees the company's premium cable television channels, including its flagship namesake service. Overview The compan ...

) followed suit in 2020.

Record label group division

For a number of years, Famous Music also had a record label group division that included Blue Thumb Records, Dot Records,

Paramount Records Paramount Records was an American record label known for its recordings of jazz and blues in the 1920s and early 1930s, including such artists as Ma Rainey, Tommy Johnson (guitarist), Tommy Johnson and Blind Lemon Jefferson. Early years Paramoun ...

, and Tumbleweed Records. In 1974, the division was acquired by

ABC Records ABC Records was an American record label founded in New York City in 1955. It originated as the main popular music label operated by the Am-Par Record Corporation. Am-Par also created the Impulse! jazz label in 1960. It acquired many labels bef ...

for $5.5 million, and most of the Famous labels were absorbed into ABC Records."Famous Labels Bought By ABC"
''Billboard'', August 10, 1974. Famous had distribution deals with

Neighborhood Records Neighborhood Records (Neighborhood Music Pub. Corp.) was a record label founded by Melanie Safka and her husband Peter Schekeryk in 1971. The label's biggest hit was her #1 single " Brand New Key". First distributed by the Famous Music group ...

and

Sire Records Sire Records (formerly Sire Records Company) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Records. History Beginnings The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gotteh ...

, the latter of which was distributed by ABC until 1977. The catalogs of all the ABC/Famous Music labels are now owned by

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...

, with some exceptions. For example, the 1968-1970 catalog of

Stax Records Stax Records is an American record company, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the label changed its name to Stax Records in September 1961. It also shared its operations with sister label Volt Records. ...

, which during that period was owned by Famous, is owned by

Concord Music Group Concord Music Group was an American independent music company based in Beverly Hills, California, with worldwide (including the U.S.) distribution through Universal Music Group. The company specialized in recordings and music publishing. On Apri ...

, itself distributed by UMG. Various labels under Universal manage different parts of the catalog depending on the genre. Here are some examples: *Pop, rock, R&B:

Geffen Records Geffen Records (formerly The David Geffen Company from 1980 to 1992 and Geffen Records Inc. from 1993 to 2004) is an American record label, founded in late 1980 by David Geffen. Originally a music subsidiary of the company known as Geffen Pi ...

*Country: MCA Nashville Records *Jazz:

Impulse! Records Impulse! Records (occasionally styled as "¡mpulse! Records" and "¡!") is an American jazz record label established by Creed Taylor in 1960. John Coltrane was among Impulse!'s earliest signings. Thanks to consistent sales and positive critiques ...

*Classical:

Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...

*Musical theater: Decca Broadway

Artists

* Hillary Lindsey * Green Bottle Records * John Lee Hooker * Clockwork * David Tolk * Jonathan Mead Radford * Monifah

References

External links

Famous Music Videos
Database Collection {{Authority control Music publishing companies of the United States Former Sony subsidiaries 2007 mergers and acquisitions Paramount Pictures Gulf and Western Industries American companies established in 1928 Entertainment companies established in 1928 Sony Music Publishing