Singer Dolly Parton controls the publishing rights, which enables her to license music, to "I Will Always Love You." Parton wrote and recorded the song in 1973. In 2007, the company purchased the music publishing rights to songs such as "The Greatest Love of All," "Didn't We Have it All" and "Saving All My Love for You" from songwriter Michael Masser. Universal Music Group, a unit of Vivendi, will also share in the anticipated increase in Whitney Houston sales. Sony would not comment beyond a statement in which the company said "Whitney Houston was an icon and a once-in-lifetime talent who influenced a generation of singers and brought joy to millions of fans around the world. For those albums, he could get as much as 10 percent - or "points" - of the royalties, an accepted industry practice, according to one of the industry executives.Ī Davis spokesman did not return calls. Houston did not write her hit songs, and doesn't share in the revenues for publishing rights.Ĭlive Davis, Sony's chief creative officer and former CEO of Arista, stands to collect a share of the royalties as well for the three Houston albums on which he is credited as producer or executive producer. Sony's Legacy Records owns the catalog of her albums, and pays Houston, or her estate, royalties for her singing. Unlike Michael Jackson, who controlled much of his music, Houston did not enjoy a very large share of the revenues from her work.
On Sunday, fans had already driven "Whitney Houston - The Greatest Hits" to the top of the charts on, and her signature hit single "I Will Always Love You," was the top download on iTunes. Houston's Christmas album, "One Wish: The Holiday Album," currently listed on for $7.53, will almost certainly be re-issued this fall, said the person. In 2010, Sony released a re-mastered 25-year anniversary edition of Houston's debut 1985 album "Whitney Houston," and the company will likely boost marketing of that record, said one of the people with knowledge of Sony. "You don't want to look too eager but you also want to capitalize on the attention the star is getting right now." "Michael Jackson's passing was the perfect storm for Sony because he was getting ready for a world tour that was already getting a lot of publicity," said Lance Grode, a former head of worldwide business affairs for MCA Records, now Universal Music. A tribute concert featuring other Sony artists and those with whom Houston had worked in the past is also being contemplated, this person said.
Sony executives are expected to wait until after the results of an autopsy are known before re-releasing albums or otherwise openly marketing the late singer, according to one of the people familiar with the conversations. and more than 35 million worldwide, according to Billboard. In 2009, following Michael Jackson's death, the New York-based company aggressively marketed Jackson's prior albums, selling more than 8.2 million in the U.S.
Houston's death is the second in three years for a top-tier Sony Music artist.