Alright, let’s talk about this whole “Who owns Elvis’s music, and does Shaq have a piece?” thing. I got curious about this the other day, so I did what any normal person would do – I dove headfirst into the internet to find out.
First, I started with the basics. I just typed “Shaq and Elvis music rights” into the search bar. Man, what a rabbit hole that was! There were tons of articles and forum posts, all with different bits and pieces of the story. It was like putting together a giant, confusing puzzle.
After an hour or two of reading, I started to piece things together. It turns out that Shaq, that basketball legend and all-around businessman, he’s got his hands in a lot of different businesses. And one of those businesses is this company called Authentic Brands Group, or ABG for short. Apparently, back in 2015, Shaq sold the rights to his name brand to ABG, and in return, he became the second-largest shareholder in the company. Smart move, right?
Digging Deeper into ABG
Now, here’s where Elvis comes in. It seems that ABG, the company Shaq’s involved with, they’re the ones who own a big chunk of the rights to Elvis’s name, image, and all that stuff. They manage the licensing for Elvis merchandise and other ventures. But, get this, they don’t own the actual music recordings.
Who Owns the Music, Then?
- I learned that Elvis’s recordings are actually owned by a company called Sony Music Entertainment.
- They got the rights through a bunch of mergers and buyouts over the years, starting with RCA Records, then BMG, and finally Sony BMG.
- So, basically, Sony is the one making money off of the actual music.
Shaq’s Other Ventures
While I was down this internet rabbit hole, I also found out that Shaq’s got investments all over the place! He’s involved with companies like The General, Gold Bond, Icy Hot… even Auntie Anne’s Pretzels! This guy is everywhere. He’s on boards of directors, he’s a strategic advisor, he’s a franchise owner… the list goes on.
The Verdict
So, to answer the big question: Shaq doesn’t directly own the rights to Elvis’s music. He’s connected to the company that owns Elvis’s image and likeness, but the actual music recordings belong to Sony Music Entertainment. It’s a bit complicated, I know, but that’s how these things usually go.
Anyway, that was my little research adventure for the day. I thought it was pretty interesting, and I figured I’d share it with you all. Hope you learned something new!
