Part EPE sold...

[carolynlm]

I'm surprised that no-one here has posted this news as yet. It sounds a bit complicated, but the Graceland title will still be in the hands of Lisa Marie.
Probably a 'wait and see' attitude is the right way to go at the moment.

[Lonniebealestreet]

I wonder if they have actually been seeking this sort of partnership, or if this corporate entity was who just recently tried to buy Graceland, and this arrangement resulted.

Regardless, waiting and seeing is about all we can do at this time.

We've got a new person to bombard with requests for EIC (and whatever else) now. It sounds like we can expect some new directions in various areas, and if Sillerman is going to help EPE become more of a presence in the global marketplace, who knows...

I'd like to think this is a good thing, but time will tell.

[carolynlm]

The saying...'Be careful what you wish for'...... has come to mind. There have been noises for a long time that EPE needed to change their approach.
I just hope that this man is a fan of Elvis' and not just looking for another venture for his company.

[eileen]

I just hope that this man is a fan of Elvis' and not just looking for another venture for his company.

He didn't have a company (in this arena), he's using Elvis to create one and yes, break into a new venture. That's what he does. The news on him (Sillerman) is a bit thin since he sold SFX only because the last time he tried to create an artist management firm he was sued for fraud and forced to sell.

Eileen

[carolynlm]

He didn't have a company (in this arena), he's using Elvis to create one and yes, break into a new venture. That's what he does. The news on him (Sillerman) is a bit thin since he sold SFX only because the last time he tried to create an artist management firm he was sued for fraud and forced to sell.

Eileen

Wow, that sure eases my mind.........not......

[eileen]

I wonder if they have actually been seeking this sort of partnership, or if this corporate entity was who just recently tried to buy Graceland, and this arrangement resulted.

Regardless, waiting and seeing is about all we can do at this time.

We've got a new person to bombard with requests for EIC (and whatever else) now. It sounds like we can expect some new directions in various areas, and if Sillerman is going to help EPE become more of a presence in the global marketplace, who knows...

I'd like to think this is a good thing, but time will tell.

Lisa's letter states she has been seeking a deal for several years.

In my opinion it's a misreading of this venture and Sillerman to think of him as someone the fans can 'bombard with requests' for anything. Has anyone heard from Ted Turner about Elvis movie outtakes?

Eileen

[eileen]

Wow, that sure eases my mind.........not......

Yeah, I don't have warm fuzzies over it either. But at least he settled and backed out, he didn't drag it on and do significant damage.

Eileen

[iamhekev]

I"ll have a blue xmas........

KEV.

[Lonniebealestreet]

I was specifically referring to Lisa's letter; that's what I was questioning. No 'misread' either--I should have followed that with a wink, but I'm trying to cut down on my winking, since no one takes me seriously.

Seriously, I'm with you on that.

Thanks for the additional background on him. Ditto Carolyn's response.

I haven't the least bit of faith in Lisa's business acumen, but I'd like to think that the organization on the whole is reasonably competent. Obviously they are doing some things right. But this doesn't sound so good with what you're telling us.

BTW welcome to the board, Eileen.

[eileen]

I was specifically referring to Lisa's letter; that's what I was questioning. No 'misread' either--I should have followed that with a wink, but I'm trying to cut down on my winking, since no one takes me seriously.

Seriously, I'm with you on that.

Thanks for the additional background on him. Ditto Carolyn's response.

I haven't the least bit of faith in Lisa's business acumen, but I'd like to think that the organization on the whole is reasonably competent. Obviously they are doing some things right. But this doesn't sound so good with what you're telling us.

BTW welcome to the board, Eileen.

Ahhh, I get it. And thank you

Whether or not it's good depends on what you are looking for I guess. Sillerman wants to create a mega-firm to manage artists, or at least control trademarks, copyrights, licensing..... he's a high-volume monopoly guy so it shouldn't be too far off if you think of it as:

Press 1 to reserve an Elvis-themed room, Press 2 to reserve a Marilyn-themed room, Press 3 to reserve a Hendrix-themed room.....

With your purchase of this Comcast Cable Entertainment package, you may select one 24-hour channel featuring the CFX Artist block of your choice! Choose option A for Presley/Eastwood/Stallone. Choose option B for Roberts/Paltrow/Ryan....

Eileen

[Jungleroom76]

To be perfectly honest, I was quite upset when I first read this news! I CANNOT BELIEVE that Lisa feels the need to create a "partnership" with an outsider!!! EPE has been a profitable business since day one, and while many of the business moves that EPE have made have been questioned by fans, we obviously can't deny that EPE seems to know what their doing in terms of marketing Elvis as evidenced by the yearly profits that EPE continues to make. WHY EPE FEELS THEY NEED TO CREATE THIS NEW PARTNERSHIP IS BEYOND ME!!!

And what disturbs me even more are these statements regarding the new "partnership" which appeared in Billboard Radio Monitor:

In exchange for total consideration of approximately $100 million, Lisa Marie Presley will contribute 85% of the outstanding equity interests of the assets comprising her father's estate. She will retain a 15% interest in the two Presley entities, which will operate as 85%-controlled subsidiaries of Sillerman's newly formed media and entertainment company, CKX, Inc.

The Elvis businesses had total revenue of $44.9 million for 2003 and $37.9 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2004. Net operating income before depreciation and amortization for those periods was $12 million and $9.4 million, respectively.

So in other words, this new "partner" controls 85% of a business that has been seemingly very successful for years...why in the world would Lisa (or Priscilla, for that matter) even CONSIDER giving some outsider THAT MUCH control over the "family business", so to speak? And look at those total revenue figures for 2003 and the first 3/4 of 2004....exactly how much more money does EPE think they can possibly bring in by creating this new partnership?? Or, maybe the better question is...how much more money does EPE feel they NEED to bring in? While I am certainly no businessman, I've got a feeling that a gross profit of almost $45 million for one year means that there is a pretty good business model already in place that appears to be working very well! OR...maybe these gross profit figures are all inflated, and EPE was in some kind of financial trouble, making a merger like this more of a necessity than EPE is letting on?!? Just a thought...

Sorry to ramble here....regardless of the reason, I am just not happy with this news in the least....there is trouble on the horizon, I can feel it in my aging, aching bones!!!

TCB!
Mike

[curtis simpkins]

i just got this e-mail link from cnn about this, so here's the link.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/Musi...eut/index.html


is this a good thing or a bad thing.

[Mr. Songman]

Until we have reason to believe otherwise, let's give this guy the benefit of the doubt. This could be a good thing. They may release things that have never been released before as well as show you parts of the house that have never been seen. I am going to think positive about this merger until I am proved wrong. I hope all fans do the same.

[carolynlm]

Mr. Songman, I hope to God they don't open up the rest of the house. You know, out of all of this, that is the one thing (at the moment) that is bothering me the most. I'm sure there will be other things I will think of later on, but right now, I don't want people tramping on up the stairs and through Elvis' bedroom and bathroom. Jack Soden assured me in August, that Lisa would never allow the upstairs to be opened to the public. I know, I know, he was probably saying that, but at the time I believed him. I also don't want to be able to purchase Elvis biscuits (cookies) or Elvis lollipops. As the day goes on, I am more and more downcast with this news. Only time will tell, but then it may be too late. I may use my Elvis Collectors membership and go onto their MB to see what they are saying.

[Mr. Songman]

I'm not necessarily talking about letting the fans go through Elvis' bedroom (even though I would give a years pay to do so and I think eventually, they will open it up) but there is much more that they could let us see. Again, try to stay optimistic until we find out differently. Hopefully, we won't.

[carolynlm]

I will try to keep an open mind about this, but it seems as though it's 'Happy bloody Christmas, Elvis fans, from EPE'

[eileen]

I also don't want to be able to purchase Elvis biscuits (cookies) or Elvis lollipops. As the day goes on, I am more and more downcast with this news. Only time will tell, but then it may be too late. I may use my Elvis Collectors membership and go onto their MB to see what they are saying.

But Elvis bread is on it's way and Elvis lollipops are already being sold at Graceland. I took pictures of them at the Elvis Kids store in the Plaza.

The boards all are interchangeable so far as today's reaction goes.

Eileen

[elvis1970nl]

To be very honest with everybody. I don't trust this one single bit.

[Albert]

I don't trust anyone at EPE. They all are Colonel Parker in disguise. They way they are treating the Elvis legacy clearly shows that money is their motive. Imagine what the Elvis world could have looked like when EPE had been run the past 3 decades, the way Ernst is handling the Elvis music catalogue.

I still have the childish idea that EPE is related to Elvis. But all daily businesstasks are run by non-Presley people. Priscilla isn't running the business, she's only there for the strategyplans and big decisions.

This whole partly selling of EPE only underlines the sad truth: Parker is still alive

[eileen]

commercialappeal.com - Memphis, TN

Elvis gets a new owner
Magnate buys 85% interest to take the King even higher

By Michael Lollar
December 17, 2004

A Broadway media mogul and producer who describes Elvis Presley as "the single most significant icon in American pop culture" is spending $100 million to buy an 85 percent interest in the Elvis Presley estate with plans to take Elvis public as a stock offering early next year.

Lisa Marie Presley, heir to her father's estate, will keep Graceland and its 13.6-acre grounds, including her father's grave site and the vast archives from jumpsuits and jewelry to contracts and furnishings that help make the estate second only to the White House as the most visited celebrity home in the country.

In addition to keeping her childhood home, Lisa Marie will receive roughly $50 million in cash, $22 million in stock and $25 million to cover routine operating debts of Elvis Presley Enterprises. She also will receive a 15 percent ownership interest in the new parent company, CKX Inc., headed by Robert F.X. Sillerman, founder and chairman of SFX Entertainment and SFX Broadcasting.

As part of the deal, EPE said unaudited figures show the Elvis businesses produced $44.9 million in revenue in 2003 (with about $12 million in net operating income) and $37.9 million in revenue for the first nine months of 2004 (with $9.4 million in net operating income).

Sillerman's deal with Presley was closed late Wednesday and early Thursday, said Elvis Presley Enterprises chief executive officer Jack Soden, who will remain along with the rest of the EPE management team. As host to roughly 600,000 tourists a year, Soden said Elvis fans should expect no drastic changes. "Hopefully what they'll notice is that we keep getting better and better."

Soden said the initial contact by Sillerman with the Presley estate came through a Presley associate who handles her business affairs.

Presley said in a released statement that it was a chance to "expand the many facets of EPE, to take it to new levels internationally and to make it an even greater force in the entertainment industry."

Presley, who followed in her father's footsteps with a record album that went gold last year, added, "My greatest responsibility to my father is to preserve and protect his legacy, and this is an exciting new structure that opens up an incredible array of opportunities with a major infusion of new investment capital to do just that. It's the ideal partnership in that I retain Graceland and my father's personal effects, yet joining forces with Bob Sillerman will give us the opportunity to grow even further the intellectual and entertainment properties."

The acquisition is far-ranging, including EPE's tenacious grip on the name, image and likeness of Elvis, music rights that Elvis owned through three companies, tourism and merchandising.

Soden said licensing of the Elvis name, image and likeness probably is the biggest annual income producer for EPE, but publishing rights retained by Elvis is a substantial "and very reliable" source of income. Elvis and his manager, Col. Tom Parker, sold the royalty rights to his recordings to RCA in 1973, so the estate receives no royalties for recordings prior to the 1973 sale.

But the estate receives royalties for post-1973 recordings and for ownership rights of the more than 700 Elvis songs. Elvis retained those song rights (separate from recording rights) through his own publishing companies (Elvis Presley Music, Gladys Music, Whitehaven Music and Elvis Music Inc.).

Soden said that while those song ownership rights are not typically as lucrative as royalty rights they are valuable. As an example, he said Dolly Parton, who recorded her own version of "I Will Always Love You" had a minor hit, but "made a veritable fortune" through ownership rights when a Whitney Houston version of it later sold more than 15 million copies.

For the future, Soden said EPE as a subsidiary of CKX, will have a "great infusion of resources -- financial and technological -- and access to all kinds of expertise in emerging fields."

Elvis fans weren't sure how to react to the news Thursday. "It was a shock. Nobody saw this coming," said Audrey McKee, communications coordinator of The Elvis Connection Fan Club in Denver, one of thousands of Elvis fan clubs around the world. McKee, 59, said she it "seems kind of strange" to see the Elvis estate controlled by someone outside the Presley family for the first time. "I certainly don't want to see Graceland closed, and they're assuring us it won't. If any changes are things we aren't going to actually see it probably doesn't really make much difference."

McKee said she and her husband try to avoid the crush of Elvis fans during Elvis Tribute Week in August, but usually visit Memphis in the spring or fall "when we can walk around at our leisure."

Copyright 2004, commercialappeal.com - Memphis, TN. All Rights Reserved.