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From Elvis Presley Enterprises

Frequently Asked Questions
Who owns Elvis Presley's music?

RCA Records owned all of Elvis's recordings. The RCA Records Label was bought by BMG in the 1980s and in 2004 BMG merged with Sony Music Entertainment to become Sony BMG. Sony BMG owns Elvis's recordings and they continue to use the RCA Records label for issuing Elvis releases. They also have a special Elvis collectors label, Follow That Dream Records.

The various composers/publishers own the songs themselves. People get confused about the ownership of the recordings with that of the songs. Also, they get confused about a deal Elvis and his manager made with RCA in 1973. Here is our attempt to sort it all out for you:

THE RECORDINGS

Elvis began his recording career with Sun Records in Memphis in the summer of 1954. Sun Records owner/producer Sam Phillips sold Elvis's recording contract and the catalog of Elvis's Sun recordings to RCA in the fall of 1955. Elvis began recording for RCA in January 1956 and continued under contract with RCA for the rest of his life. Elvis never had ownership in his Sun or RCA recordings. Elvis received an artist's royalty on record sales, per the terms of his contracts with the record company. That's typically how it's done.

THE MARCH 1973 DEAL

In March 1973, Elvis and and his manager, Colonel Tom Parker, went to the record company proposing that Elvis get a large lump sum payment in lieu of all his future artist's royalties for ongoing sales of anything he had recorded up to that time. The deal was made. RCA paid $5.4 million, which Elvis and the Colonel split 50-50. That meant Elvis no longer got (EPE today does not get) his artist's royalties for the ongoing sales of any recordings created before the March 1973 deal. However, Elvis did continue (EPE today continues) to get his artist's royalties on sales of recordings created after the March 1973 deal. Some people misunderstand and think that Elvis had a share in the ownership of his recordings and that this is what he sold to RCA. He did not. +++++++++++

WARNING:
Frequently scam artists confuse or misstate holding a supposed "master" (i.e., a "stamping plate") with the legal right to duplicate the performance therein (perforamnce copyright).

Fools' gold.


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Follow Ups Full Thread
Follow Ups
  • From Elvis Presley Enterprises - Duilawyer 08:25:32 01/12/07 (0)

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