Hasbro Restructuring Eone, Mattel Creating More Content By Gary Symons TLL Editor in Chief The toy industry enjoyed a surprisingly strong year in 2020, despite and partly because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but that doesn't mean toymakers haven't faced serious challenges in their operations. Despite the strong year for toy sales overall, Hasbro has seen a drop in their share … [Read more...] about A Tale of Two Toymakers Influences Their Content Goals
Content Licensing
EMPIK Launches Frida Kahlo Collection with Art Ask Agency
The iconic Mexican painter Frida Kahlo's works will be featured in a new collection of licensed products in collaboration with the Polish cultural retailer EMPIK, in a deal reached with Barcelona-based Art Ask Agency. Art Ask says the Frida Kahlo licensing program continues to grow substantially, "despite these challenging times, and is pleased to announce its latest Frida … [Read more...] about EMPIK Launches Frida Kahlo Collection with Art Ask Agency
My Little Pony Riding High With Hasbro
The My Little Pony franchise is ending its popular The Friendship is Magic series, but don't expect to see the brand riding off into the sunset any time soon. Hasbro has big plans for the franchise after acquiring Entertainment One in 2019, including a wide range of new consumer products, the release of a CGI film, a cross platform mashup with The Transformers, and a new … [Read more...] about My Little Pony Riding High With Hasbro
Wright’s in New Collaboration with NYT’s Wirecutter
Wright's Media, an industry-leading global content licensing agency, will collaborate with Wirecutter, a product recommendation service acquired by The New York Times Company as its official content licensing partner. Wirecutter is now a division of the New York Times that is dedicated to testing and researching thousands of products every year to recommend the best of … [Read more...] about Wright’s in New Collaboration with NYT’s Wirecutter
Freesound Wins Grant to Monetize Creative Commons Content
Barcelona-based audio archive Freesound is working on new ways to help small content producers monetize their Creative Commons content, in a move that could have significant impacts on all types of content producers. Freesound is the sound exchange platform of the Music Technology Research Group (MTG) of the Department of Information and Communication Technologies (DTIC) of the … [Read more...] about Freesound Wins Grant to Monetize Creative Commons Content
Special Report: The Evolution of Music Licensing
By Gary Symons, TLL Editor in Chief The Bob Dylan music deal with Universal Music has shown that for musicians and music companies, the times truly are a’changin’. But, in truth, that change was coming long before Universal stroked a check for a reported $300 million to $400 million, in return for Dylan’s entire music catalog of roughly 600 songs. Also in December Fleetwood … [Read more...] about Special Report: The Evolution of Music Licensing
Neil Young to Cash In on Music Catalogs
Canadian rock star and songwriter Neil Young is out of the blue, and heavily into the black, after selling a 50 per cent interest in his music catalog for an estimated $150 million US. As noted in this week's Special Report from The Licensing Letter, the past four years and 2020 in particular have seen a massive increase in the value and scale of music catalog deals. Sales … [Read more...] about Neil Young to Cash In on Music Catalogs
Z2 Retells Legend of Elvis in Comic Book Form
Z2 Comics has acquired a license to the story of rock'n'roll icon Elvis Presley, and will release the singer's biography in the form of a graphic novel. The graphic novel will be released in partnership with Authentic Brands Group, owner of the Elvis Presley Estate. Elvis: The Graphic Novel was written by Chris Miskiewicz, who wrote a similar piece on the Grateful Dead for Z2, … [Read more...] about Z2 Retells Legend of Elvis in Comic Book Form
We Can All Look Better, Thanks to Queer Eye Licensing Deal
Sartorially challenged men and women everywhere can rest easy, knowing a new licensing agreement will bring the Emmy award winning fashion sense of Queer Eye to an ecommerce portal near you. Scout Productions, the company behind the hit series, announced on November 5 a multi-layered licensing program of new products and the launch of QueerEyeStore.com, bringing fans all … [Read more...] about We Can All Look Better, Thanks to Queer Eye Licensing Deal
Wrap-Up: Experiential, Promotional & Personalized
Contact the editor at karina@plainlanguagemedia.com King Features taps toxicfox for a Betty Boop personalized character collection that allows users to transform their likeness into Betty Boop character art that can then be printed onto a wide range of items including mugs, suitcases, tote bags, and apparel. Currently available in the U.K. and Ireland, the collection is coming … [Read more...] about Wrap-Up: Experiential, Promotional & Personalized