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• • 102 Bill
Gates Firm Buys Celebrity Legacy Agency for Dead Stars
• •
Corbis, founded by Bill Gates, is buying Roger
Richman's firm as the use of late celebrities' images in ads
grows.
• • The market for dead celebrities is
alive and well.
• • Yes90 / April 7, 2005 / Just ask Bill
Gates. The billionaire's Corbis Corp., a provider of
archived news and advertising images, agreed Wednesday to
buy for an undisclosed amount Roger Richman Agency Inc., a
Beverly Hills company that pioneered the licensing of dead
celebrity personas such as Steve McQueen, Sigmund Freud, the
Marx Brothers and Mae West.
• • The deal comes as advertisers are
discovering that while dead celebrities don't tell tales,
they can sure ring up sales. McQueen, who died in 1980,
sells Ford Mustangs and TAG Heuer watches. John Wayne, who
died in 1979, was used to sell Coors
beer.
• • Seattle-based Corbis said the
acquisition would allow it to capitalize on that growing
hunger among advertisers.
• • "There's an increase in global demand
for these types of iconic personalities," said Gary Shenk,
Corbis' senior vice president in charge of rights services.
"They're hugely valuable."
• • Among dead celebrities, Elvis Presley
generates the King's ransom, $40 million annually by Forbes
magazine's estimates. That's ahead of "Peanuts" creator
Charles M. Schulz, "Lord of the Rings" author J.R.R. Tolkien
and the late Beatle John Lennon. Scientist Albert Einstein
is one of Richman's biggest
moneymakers.
• • A lawyer, Richman established his
celebrity licensing and marketing agency 27 years
ago.
• • His firm represents more than 50 of the
most recognized personalities, which are licensed to
advertising agencies and corporations. Richman, who could
not be reached for comment, will remain as a
consultant.
• • The acquisition is the latest move by
Corbis, which licenses images on behalf of photographers and
artists to advertisers and corporations, to expand into the
agency business. The company also has partnerships with the
Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and Marvel
Enterprises Inc.
• • Gates founded the company in 1989 as a
personal investment outside of software giant Microsoft
Corp.
• • Corbis, which lists revenue of $170
million, today is the second-largest company in the field,
dwarfed by Getty Images Inc. which has more than $600
million in annual sales.
• • Nonetheless, Corbis has bulked up with
several key acquisitions. In December, it acquired the
third-largest stock photography company, the German firm
Zefa.
More Stories
• Converging
News 152005 / Buy Out and Merger Boom LookRadio
ByLines:
Editors Note
Respectfully
Submitted
Josie
Cory
Publisher/Editor
TVI Magazine
TVI Magazine,
tviNews.net, YES90, Your Easy Searh, Associated Press,
Reuters, BBC, LA Times, NY Times, VRA's D-Diaries, Industry
Press Releases, They Said It and SmartSearch were used in
compiling and ascertaining this Yes90 news report.
©1956-2005. Copyright. All rights
reserved by: TVI Publications, VRA TelePlay Pictures, xingtv
and Big Six Media Entertainments. Tel/Fax: 323
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•
102 Bill
Gates Firm Buys Celebrity Legacy Agency for Dead
Stars Paul
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/ PAUL ALLEN / Front Cover Vol
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