Imagem Music Extends Lionel Richie’s Music Across Europe
Imagem Music, one of the world’s largest independent music publishing companies and a division of the Imagem Music Group, announced last week the extension of its existing agreement with Brenda Richie Publishing, which will see the company take on the exclusive administration of the Lionel Richie catalog on a pan-European basis.
The existing agreement between Imagem Music and Brenda Richie Publishing, which has been in place for three years, previously only covered the UK. This new extension will now include all European territories excluding Spain, Portugal, and Greece.
Brenda Richie Publishing controls the rights to 50 percent of the entire Lionel Richie catalog including such classics as “Hello,” “All Night Long,” “Dancing on the Ceiling” and “Say You Say Me” among many others.
Warner Bros. Signs Natures Mistake
Natures Mistake, under a licensing agreement with Warner Bros. Consumer Products, is developing Looney Tunes and Tom and Jerry apparel collections. The graphics designed for the collections are a collaboration of concepts by Natures Mistake and lead designer Leftyjoe, an LA-based artist who delivers a diverse style that is well known in the street and skate culture.
The new collections include T-shirts, sweaters, hoodies, and hats featuring a wide range of edgy, pop culture, unique and unexpected graphics offering an alternative take on some of the most vibrant Looney Tunes characters such as Bugs Bunny, Taz, Marvin the Martian, Daffy, and Tweety among others as well as Tom and Jerry. The collections will be available on the Natures Mistake website (www.naturesmistake.net) and at high-end boutiques across the nation this October.
Annoying Orange Heads to Retail
Viral sensation The Annoying Orange will be breaking out of the virtual kitchen with the launch of the property’s first licensed program. Led by The Collective, the program will feature an array of products inspired by one of the most-watched web series of all-time. Foundation apparel and accessory partners for the brand include Hybrid Apparel and Accessory Innovations who have signed on to develop collections targeted to young men and juniors. The Hybrid Apparel and Accessory Innovations deals were brokered on behalf of The Collective by The Joester Loria Group (TJLG), the licensing agent for The Annoying Orange brand.
Created by Dane Boedingheimer, The Annoying Orange features an endearingly annoying and highly entertaining Orange that playfully heckles other fruits, vegetables, or nearby objects with puns and jokes. The Annoying Orange has racked up more than 700 million total views on its dedicated channel on YouTube as of July 2011. The Annoying Orange is the eighth-most-subscribed YouTube channel of all time with more than two million subscribers and has more than nine million fans on Facebook and Twitter. The official website, annoyingorange.com, generates nearly four million page views each month.
Hybrid Apparel will develop a variety of Annoying Orange apparel including young men’s and junior’s tees and fleece that will be available at key specialty retailers such as Hot Topic and Rue 21 this fall, and JCPenney, where it will launch as a mid-tier exclusive in October. In addition, Accessory Innovations will introduce a line of headwear and cold weather accessories in time for this holiday. Bags and accessories will debut in spring 2012.
The launch of The Annoying Orange apparel and accessories lines will be supported in part by a multi-platform marketing campaign to begin this fall. The efforts will support the roll out of all Annoying Orange merchandise, in addition to the Hybrid and Accessory Innovations lines.
The Wiggles Introduce Toddler Bath Line
The Wiggles announced a new line of bath products for toddlers, exclusively through Jets, Sets and Elephants Beauty Corp. Product launch is scheduled for spring 2012.
The new line of toiletries is designed to encourage young children to practice good hygiene by offering fun bathroom products that inspire good habits. The company says the items will be made available in U.S. and Canada and will include:
- bubble bath
- shampoo and conditioner
- foaming hand soaps
- character head bath sponges
- seasonal and everyday toiletry gift sets
Every product is made with natural ingredients. It’s made with tear-free formulas, 100 percent paraben free, contain no silicones, ethanolamine, or phthalates and offer allergen-free fragrances, says the company. The items are not tested on animals, and all items are environmentally packaged (meaning they contain no PVC).
Lawless Signs The Brothers Warner
Lawless Entertainment, a creator, co-producer, and marketer of animated and live-action programming throughout the world for both film and television, announced that it is representing The Brothers Warner, an intimate portrait of the four film pioneers who founded and ran Warner Bros. for more than 50 years.
This is the little known inside story of the original Hollywood independent filmmakers behind the Warner Bros. studio legend: four close-knit brothers—honest Abe, visionary Sam, and volatile Jack, led by their older brother Harry—who were the first to use mass media to “educate, entertain, and enlighten.”
The Brothers Warner, a feature-length documentary, was written, directed, and produced by Cass Warner, granddaughter to Harry Warner, president and co-founder of the Warner Bros. Studio.