Glinert looks back from Casablanca. Canadian lawyer founds company to acquire music, TV, and Video back catalogs BILLBOARD , November 24, 2001 – by Larry LeBlanc. TORONTO – To capitalize on the increasing demand for entertainment content from cable and digital broadcasters globally, Canadian entertainment lawyer Ed Glinert has set up Casablanca Media Acquisitions. Glinert intends to acquire back catalogs of music, TV; and video properties with the potential to generate new revenue. Casablanca, he says, will significantly increase royalty streams from these properties by offering a new generation of specialty broadcasters a product package that will cost-effectively meet their needs. Glinert formed the company two years ago to hold properties he had acquired, but it was largely inactive until last month. "Our long-term objective is not just to administer but to buy catalogs," he says. 'We're looking to buy evergreen product that, with proper management and proper exploitation, has staying power." Based in Toronto, the privately owned Casablanca Media Acquisitions has four subsidiaries: Casablanca Media Records, Casablanca Media Kids, Casablanca Media Publishing, and Casablanca Media Television. The company has a staff of five. "Most of the financing was put up by myself with three other investors," says Glinert the company president who recently left his law practice in Toronto. 'When we do deals, we will bring in different parties." Casablanca Media Acquisitions owns 50% of Solid Gold Records, also distributed by Koch in Canada via Casablanca Media Records. Its catalog comprises 15 albums from the '80s by such Canadian acts as Chilliwack, Toronto, the Headpins, and the Good Brothers. In February, Casablanca Media Acquisitions purchased the assets of 13-year-old Oak Street Music, a Winnipeg, Manitoba-based label specializing in children's/family-oriented music, from leading Canadian children's singer/songwriter Fred Penner and his manager Gilles Paquin. Among the 40 Oak Street masters are 12 albums by Penner, as well as recordings by children's performers AI Simmons and Norman Foote and classical artist Liona Boyd. The label, now operating as part of Casablanca Media Kids, is distributed by Koch in Canada. Glinert has also just finalized a distribution pact for the Elephant Records catalog of Canadian children's act Sharon, Lois & Bram through Casablanca Media Kids. Glinert says he will reset the pricing of children's audio product in Canada with Casablanca Media Kids. "No parent is going to spend $20 Canadian [$12.50] on a children's record today," he says. "We're going to sell titles in the $12-$13 Canadian [$7.50-$8.10] range at retail." The wholesale price to retailers is $8 Canadian ($5). President of Koch International (Canada) Dominique Zgarka says, "The Sharon, Lois & Bram and Fred Penner catalogs are wonderful. Eddie has product that has either done well in the past or hasn't done as well as it should. He's been in the business for a long time and knows how it works." Casablanca Media Publishing administers, among others, Glinert's publishing company Slix Music, Branch Music, and Forest Group Publishing (acquired from Oak Street), and certain Solid Gold Publishing titles. With more than 25 years' experience as an entertainment lawyer in Canada, Glinert has substantial expertise in assisting clients in the acquisition, financing, and distribution of catalogs and intellectual property assets. Prior to becoming an entertainment lawyer, he operated Toronto-based booking agency Frederick Lewis Artist Placement Bureau from 1967 to 1971 and was later co-owner of the concert promoter National Variety Promotions. In 1990, Glinert was one co-founder of the Children's Group imprint, best-known for Susan Hammond's Classical Kids album series. One of Glinert's first projects with Casablanca Media Acquisitions is re-establishing Solid Gold Records. Co-founded in 1979 by Neill Dixon and Steve Propas, the label has been dormant since 1985. Propas, now senior VP of international for Koch Entertainment New York, bought out Dixon in 1986. Glinert notes, "They closed their doors owing the Royal Bank and Sony money. Steve and I bought back [the label] from the Royal Bank. We are now starting to license Solid Gold tracks on compilations in the U.S. and overseas. We are also going to put other Canadian catalogs into the Solid Gold mix, including two Lee Aaron albums." Glinert also intends to relaunch Penner's popular daily CBC-TV children's series Fred Penner's Place, which ran on CBC-TV in Canada from 1984 to 1995. Penner's career faltered when the show was dropped by CBC-TV: Glinert hopes that new syndication of the TV show will spark a demand for Penner's catalog. "CBC-TV owns about 400 Penner shows but can't afford to put them out again [on their own], because the music rights are too expensive," Glinert says. "However, I now own the music and will get it distributed with Media Group International [in Toronto]. We are prepared to give broadcasters decent prices to get the show back on the air." << [back] |
