Sillerman - The Verdict So far....

[Jumpsuit Junkie]

2004/2005 saw Sillerman entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a majority interest in the assets comprising the estate of Elvis Presley.... So what happened?

We are 5, yes five years down the road and very little if anything has transpired. There were promises of great things to come, theme parks, casino's and a large investment into the Presley empire.

I'll admit I was excited when the news first broke, I believed, as did many others, that things would be run differently than had happened under EPE. I realise that we have been through a major recession and big business's would almost certainly make cuts in spending, but for nothing to happen is just bewildering.

Sillerman must be kicking himself constantly, he hasn't made any investment so what income does he actually make? The lack of revenue from the Presley venture surely means he cannot sell his assets as a growing concern.

So what next? As a fan I'm concerned that there is no press releases for future events or promotional activity (UK or Internet)

What's your verdict, how do you see the future with Sillerman?

[debtdbruno]

I can't answer either of those really.

Hard to decide with the world economics being as they have for the last year or so.............

I would like to think more could have been done, but truthfully, would it make any difference who was in 'control'?

It comes back to one of the other threads.......'how relevent is Elvis today?'. Music today IMO is cr*p.......but the youth of today have a totally different beat they dance to, when someone has been dead over 32 years it's hard to encourage new generations to his music. I don't envy him the task......


This is a common complaint amongst Elvis fans, that EPE spends too much time on promoting his Image, not his music. Unfortunately Elvis' image is the thing which sells globally the most $$$$$$

[KPM]

Please be advised I meant to vote-NO-but somehow voted Yes-brain freeze I guess. So the one vote for Sillerman was a mistake.
I think Sillerman jumped into something he really understood very little about.
Elvis sold.... when he was alive, in his down periods like the mid 60s and after his death.........nearly every year since he died the income he generates goes up.
But its a very complicated problem marketing a dead singer-especially when you do not have control of his recordings.
Sillerman has had 4 years ( I will give him the last year because of the unprecedented world downturn) and as Matt pointed out-he has little to show for it in the vast plans he announced-the latest corporate report from Sillermans group states the Elvis end of his empire still is earning good profits-so I guess that is good news.
I think I have said this before but if I was him and EPE I would try to acquire the Elvis catalogue in whole from Sony/RCA then you control the image completely.
But I am sure Sony/RCA will never sell that catalogue to anyone-they make too much profit from it.

[Jumpsuit Junkie]

Please be advised I meant to vote-NO-but somehow voted Yes-brain freeze I guess. So the one vote for Sillerman was a mistake.

I have deleted your vote for Sillerman and added it to the no vote, however your name will not show up.

[sasha]

I didn't vote.Not that I don't care; just have no idea.
From Dec.2009 Commercial Appeal :

http://m.commercialappeal.com/news/2...-for-redesign/

The man who controls Graceland says he's returning to Memphis next month to re-map the future of the tourist mecca.In the second or third week of January, Robert Sillerman said last week, "We are having an all-hands meeting in Memphis.''

[Jumpsuit Junkie]

Unfortunately Sillerman has made all these promises before, so not sure I believe him...

[KPM]

I have deleted your vote for Sillerman and added it to the no vote, however your name will not show up.

Thank you Matt-I appreciate it.

[Jungleroom76]

Sadly, I have to also say NO!!! While I was encouraged by the recent news that Sillerman was planning a big meeting in Memphis in January to discuss his plans for the land he has purchased around Graceland, nothing ever came of that as far as I know. I haven't even seen any news about the meeting being held....so once again the promise of the plans moving forward have been dashed...

Perhaps the economy has something to do with it, perhaps he isn't experienced enough in knowing exactly what the Elvis fans would most like to see in a Graceland renovation (of course, he could just ask...) so he is doing more research before moving forward with a plan...whatever the case, SAY SOMETHING!!!! Very rarely is there any press coming from Graceland about anything Sillerman is doing...definitely NOT a good sign in my opinion!!!

TCB!
Mike

[Brian]

2004/2005 saw Sillerman entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a majority interest in the assets comprising the estate of Elvis Presley.... So what happened?

We are 5, yes five years down the road and very little if anything has transpired. There were promises of great things to come, theme parks, casino's and a large investment into the Presley empire.

I'll admit I was excited when the news first broke, I believed, as did many others, that things would be run differently than had happened under EPE. I realise that we have been through a major recession and big business's would almost certainly make cuts in spending, but for nothing to happen is just bewildering.

Sillerman must be kicking himself constantly, he hasn't made any investment so what income does he actually make? The lack of revenue from the Presley venture surely means he cannot sell his assets as a growing concern.

So what next? As a fan I'm concerned that there is no press releases for future events or promotional activity (UK or Internet)

What's your verdict, how do you see the future with Sillerman?

I think the expectations that a lot fans had for Robert Sillerman were just too high.
When the announcement was made it seemed everybody was saying Sillerman was going to do great things and this was the best thing that had ever happened to Graceland/Elvis the problem was it was basically all hype because these things were said before he had done a single thing.
Just because Robert Sillerman is a Billionaire and has had some successful business ventures doesn't mean he knows what to do with Elvis Presley.

The one thing i've hated about EPE marketing of Elvis is that they've marketed him as a cartoon character and Sillerman has the same strategy so that's a disappointment for me but my expectactions were a lot lower than a lot of other fans.

[Brian]

I think I have said this before but if I was him and EPE I would try to acquire the Elvis catalogue in whole from Sony/RCA then you control the image completely.
But I am sure Sony/RCA will never sell that catalogue to anyone-they make too much profit from it.

What makes you think if EPE acquired Elvis' catalogue that they would manage it any differently or better than what Sony/RCA has done?
I think if they did acquire the music it would be the same Christmas, Gospel, Greatest hits, love song compilations over and over and over again with the same songs on them.

[Diane]

I voted No not because I understand what is entailed in EPE but because I never felt Sillerman ever knew what Elvis was all about enough to promote his image faithfully.

Diane

[ForeverTheKing]

I don't know a lot about this...to be honest I think that the most important thing for me if I go to Graceland will be visitins Elvis places and grave...feeling his spirit there, in the place he really loved.
I don't care the many things they want to put around Graceland just to earn money

[presley31]

I voted no cause Sillerman just leads to empty promises and if he wanted to really give elvis the respect he deserves than he would change somethings like the tacky gifts and stop the ETA from being at graceland.

[KPM]

What makes you think if EPE acquired Elvis' catalogue that they would manage it any differently or better than what Sony/RCA has done?
I think if they did acquire the music it would be the same Christmas, Gospel, Greatest hits, love song compilations over and over and over again with the same songs on them.

I was speaking of "total control" over the Elvis image-you can not even come close to doing that without the music-the music is the most important part of that image.
I am not debating how they would use the music or how they would market it-its hard to come up with new material-when the artist is dead, its hard to not "repackage and re-release-when there is no new songs in the vault.
But it would be nice to see it all in one companys hands-where a strategy for image building would include the music.

As it is now-they have little or no sayso in the matter of releases, and compilations, they must play off of Sonys lead when music is involved.
Also Sony makes a ton of money off of Elvis releases-they keep virtually all except songwriters royalties-so that alone would be a logical reason to acquire the music. Lets face it-Elvis was the music.
I do not see EPE as marketing Elvis like a cartoon character-but you are entitled to your opinion.
There will always be people who are critical-of any move made-you can not please everyone I guess....some say do remixes, others say NO, some say do duets, others say NO, some say release EOT-yet TTWII SE did not sell well, some say no repackages-only new projects -how with no new material, some say don't sell Elvis plates or towels etc...yet they sell like crazy-for every person disappointed-one is happy.................pretty much says it all.

[Elizasong]

Not sure how I'd vote. I think Sillerman took a very huge investment and then the economy tanked. I think they should fix up the outside of Heartbreak Hotel. It looks like a prison. I think they should renovate the Circle G and open that up for tourists. Do they have a tour bus that takes fans around Memphis to see the key places of Elvis history?

[rickb]

there seem to have been many grand announcements and grand (not really needed)plans but little has transpired

[Brian]

I was speaking of "total control" over the Elvis image-you can not even come close to doing that without the music-the music is the most important part of that image.
I am not debating how they would use the music or how they would market it-its hard to come up with new material-when the artist is dead, its hard to not "repackage and re-release-when there is no new songs in the vault.
But it would be nice to see it all in one companys hands-where a strategy for image building would include the music.

As it is now-they have little or no sayso in the matter of releases, and compilations, they must play off of Sonys lead when music is involved.
Also Sony makes a ton of money off of Elvis releases-they keep virtually all except songwriters royalties-so that alone would be a logical reason to acquire the music. Lets face it-Elvis was the music.
I do not see EPE as marketing Elvis like a cartoon character-but you are entitled to your opinion.
There will always be people who are critical-of any move made-you can not please everyone I guess....some say do remixes, others say NO, some say do duets, others say NO, some say release EOT-yet TTWII SE did not sell well, some say no repackages-only new projects -how with no new material, some say don't sell Elvis plates or towels etc...yet they sell like crazy-for every person disappointed-one is happy.................pretty much says it all.

I'm not sure that EPE doesn't have any control or influence over the music that's released.
Sony doesn't have to do anything EPE says but they've done several projects together.
An example would be when EPE did the Elvis by the Presley's documentary Sony released a soundtrack CD to the special.
The Vegas Cirque show that Sillerman has set up will have a soundtrack album released by Sony.
If EPE ever came out with that Elvis Anthology project I bet Sony would release a CD to coincide with the project.

As for Sony I know exactly how Elvis catalouge should be managed.

[JDD]

I"ve cast no vote at all . Too many roadblocks in the way so far. He got controlling interest, started buying up land. All those plans have to be approved, Some of the Memphis folk weren't thrilled with some of the plans, road block # 1.
Then the economy began to collapse, I don't know but if I had to guess Graceland attendance probably wasn't in 2008 and 2009 what it was 5 years ago because of the fact a lot of folks are hurting now. If things had stayed how they were when he first decided to buy in, and noting more had happened I'd be disappointed. As it stands now, I'm not because I don't expect the guy to do things at a loss, he's not in it for that.

[vivaelvis]

Sadly, I have to also say NO!!! While I was encouraged by the recent news that Sillerman was planning a big meeting in Memphis in January to discuss his plans for the land he has purchased around Graceland, nothing ever came of that as far as I know. I haven't even seen any news about the meeting being held....so once again the promise of the plans moving forward have been dashed...

Perhaps the economy has something to do with it, perhaps he isn't experienced enough in knowing exactly what the Elvis fans would most like to see in a Graceland renovation (of course, he could just ask...) so he is doing more research before moving forward with a plan...whatever the case, SAY SOMETHING!!!! Very rarely is there any press coming from Graceland about anything Sillerman is doing...definitely NOT a good sign in my opinion!!!

TCB!
Mike

The plans for a Graceland redevelopment have not been hashed or canceled. The meeting that took place in Memphis shortly after Elvis week last month was a private meeting only to finalize the master plan. Therefor no media coverage was allowed. An official announcement is forthcoming. Possibly in April or May.

[vivaelvis]

I"ve cast no vote at all . Too many roadblocks in the way so far. He got controlling interest, started buying up land. All those plans have to be approved, Some of the Memphis folk weren't thrilled with some of the plans, road block # 1.
Then the economy began to collapse, I don't know but if I had to guess Graceland attendance probably wasn't in 2008 and 2009 what it was 5 years ago because of the fact a lot of folks are hurting now. If things had stayed how they were when he first decided to buy in, and noting more had happened I'd be disappointed. As it stands now, I'm not because I don't expect the guy to do things at a loss, he's not in it for that.

The only roadblock has been the poor economy. People in Memphis are thrilled about the planned expansion and revitalization of a dying community is coming. Sillerman confirmed to Memphis Mayor AC Wharton in NY a few weeks ago that he still intends to drastically enhance the Graceland area. These redevelopments don't happen overnight. Some are acting as if they should have already finished. Never before have they invested such an enormous amount into improving the area. This will be a mammouth project that will take years to complete.Be patient.