100 million seems a bit cheap to me. Elvis is worth BILLIONS!

kinaldo said:

What a fucking dumbass.

kinaldo said:

is elvis the largest selling artist in the world?

Must've needed the Pro Tools money.

Is she the sell out or is she just ditching that which has already been sold out? Can't say I blame her.

Oh gosh I heard about this yesterday.I cant stand it

She's kind of dumb. I agree that the estate is probably worth more than that. Dumbasss!

Maybe she has issues with "Elvis the Legend," and only wants remember her father as her father... and to do that maybe sell off all the extra stuff... just to have her memories to herself.

Usually the org self-corrects; not seeing this I'm finally moved to break my no-posting streak.... with probably more than you wanted to know, and all just my opinion, and in part because Prince may well end up doing business with this company (not to mention some legacy issues worth pondering re: Prince as well).


Yes, Elvis is considered to be the biggest selling artist in the world.

Yes, EPE likely IS worth more than that. I understand Lisa previously turned down an offer of $500 million from Harrahs.

No, I don't think this is about discomfort with "Elvis the Legend", nor do I believe it's all about the money.

In addition to $53 million in cash, Lisa gets $20 million stock in the new company CFX (Sillerman's previous companies sold for $4.4 billion and $2.1 billion), and retains 15% ownership in EPE, which will be a wholly owned subsidiary of CFX. The deal also paid EPE operating debts.

If you're talking about money, I could only wish to be as much of a dumbass....

Lisa retains sole ownership of Graceland and it's immediate property, plus Elvis' personal effects (awards, wardrobe, costumes, cars, jewelry, furniture, etc.)

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You may hear some familiar sentiments in:

"We want to be partners with mainstream entertainment (entities)," Sillerman told Daily Variety, "and there's no better place to start than with the King. We are interested in all aspects of entertainment, partnering with people to take away some risk and develop a new economic paradigm. The best way is to start at the top."

"With no disrespect to the major record labels or the studios or the networks," he said, "it's time the old economic models are thrown out the window and the entertainers get their fair share."

Mr. Sillerman said in an interview on Thursday that he had started a new company with an eye toward buying "content" that can be exploited in new ways as the traditional entertainment businesses see their audiences fracture. Mr. Sillerman predicted that as broadcast networks lose viewers and major record companies sell fewer albums, performers would increasingly seek business partners with whom "they can make the most money in the long term."

"The proper methodology (for a recording artist) should be the selling of music, not just records."

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Lisa isn't a full-time business type, nor is she the type to straightjacket her kids into a predetermined lifetime role. Priscilla has now made her mark and can continue to lessen her involvement, acting as consultant to EPE. This doesn't necessitate a sale, however it must increase the desirability.

EPE has long been unable to fulfill many fan/market requests and even many of their own wishes, for instance:

• A larger convention-style hotel is needed at Graceland - the (now) Heartbreak Hotel was an older hotel when they bought it and is small and almost always full. This is an unaffordable development for them.
  
  
• There has long been interest in and proposals for additional Elvis-themed hotels and casinos, particularly in Vegas and Japan - way beyond their capabilities.
  
  
• Most of their archives - airline hangers of goods - sit in storage because a properly sized, modern, interactive museum is also beyond their capabilities.
  
  
• They have no international presence though the pleas from around the world are continuous. With differing foreign trademark laws others have stepped in, opening Elvis-themed inns, pubs, restaurants, museums, and stores, with no control, profits, expertise of and for EPE.
  
  
• They don't have the clout to gain cooperation from many of the conglomerates who currently hold Elvis audio and video material, and can't afford the financial risk to purchase all of what has been made available to them anyway.

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One final point which hasn't been touched by the press, however IMO was likely significant in Lisa's agreement to a deal with Sillerman vs. other potential partners and buyers:

Sillerman and his wife have a lengthy track record of philanthropy - not just with their $multi-million$ foundations, but hands-on active work and personal creation of programs. This seems to be important to Lisa, as it was important to her father. In fact Lisa spent the past weekend in Memphis passing out presents with 'Santa' at Presley Place and at several other programs EPE supports.

EPE not only supports newer programs and funds scholarships, they continue to work with some of the Memphis charities that Elvis supported from age 21 until his death. In addition, many of 500-600+ Elvis fan clubs continue to raise money yearly for Presley Place and many other charities. EPE already sent out a notice this morning ensuring no major changes in their "philosophical or historical commitments", which is certainly a nod to concerns about this.

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All that said, it's rather sad regardless, particularly as I've never yearned for an Elvis casino nor even Elvis slippers nor Elvis (or Prince) perfume. There's no putting the genie back in the bottle once the ink has dried. Elvis certainly has left the building for good this time.

Eileen

I thought Michael Jackson was the best selling artist of all time?

twink69 said:

Actually, Michael Jackson sold more records than Elvis Presley in his lifetime but Paul Mc Cartney is the artist that sold more records than anybody in history.
This 1 billion records story concerning Elvis has never been proved and is a total lie. His audited figure is more in the range of 300 million records worldwide, with over 160 million shipped in the US ( albums and singles).

Michael Jackson has sold over 200 million albums (shipments, not hard sales), over 120 million singles, 40 million singles and 25 million albums with the Jacksons: a total of approx. 400 million records around the world.

100 million US Dollars is a lot of money to most of us. Well as least Lisa still owns Graceland.

speeddemon said:

Within those same 200 million albums, Thriller accounts for 50+ million.

Has Elvis or The Beatles ever sold that many copies of one album alone? Never!

I actually expected to see some discussion about what might happen or be desired or expected if Prince were to unexpectedly expire..... or some creative discussion about the notion and tactics of "selling music" vs. "selling records"..... not this little pissant argument about sales.

speeddemon said:

The reason I carefully said that Elvis was "considered to be" the biggest selling artist is that much of his sales were not submitted for certification, nor audited while he was alive, nor were even the immediate post-death sales submitted. His record contracts specifically disallowed auditing - part and parcel of the collusion between Col Parker and RCA. This process eventually began years after his death and is ongoing. Per the label there are still "thousands of boxes of accounting records" to be perused, and no guarantee that all accounts will ever be found. How much work remains? - well, his estate this year was finally awarded a gold record for sales of his first recording (among others), which actually went gold 47+ years ago.

While I won't detail it here, RIAA certification does not include all record sales, only sales at certain thresholds, certain price points, and in certain years. The rules disadvantage all pre-60's and singles era artists - and Presley in particular because of his unusually high number of releases as compared to other artists. The more releases by an artist, the greater number of sales ignored per RIAA rules. Also, the auditing and certification process is NOT free, and much more costly where 50 years of accounting are concerned.

So there is no apples to apples comparison of Presley sales vs. other artists mentioned. The RIAA will never count all sales for any artist and is in no way equivalent to actual retail cash register sales. Even among Presley fans his actual sales and placement are often debated. However it is correct to say that in the industry he is generally "considered to be" the biggest selling artist, at least solo artist. The "proving" (certification) process continues for his catalog and to pretend it doesn't is the factual lie.

But in the end, who knows? - it may actually be Bing Crosby.

Eileen