Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis rekindles the business of the king of rock ’n’ roll

Elvis is big business again, 45 years after he died. There is the hit movie, children’s books, a Netflix series and soon a dedicated streaming channel.

Rising star Austin Butler as Elvis Presley in Baz Luhrmann’s international box-office hit biopic.

The estate of Elvis Presley is banking on a new era of burning love for the king of rock ’n’ roll.

Baz Luhrmann’s long-awaited Elvis movie topped the box office last weekend, generating praise for Austin Butler’s portrayal of the charismatic rock star. Behind the scenes, the keepers of the business of the singer who died 45 years ago are trying to seize the moment. They are tightening control over Elvis’s image and expanding Elvis content into children’s books, a new Netflix series and an entire streaming channel devoted to keeping him in front of a new generation.

“This should be the best year Elvis has ever had in the history of Elvis Presley, and we think that it’s only going to continue,” said Jamie Salter, chief executive of Authentic Brands Group.

ABG, controlling owner of Elvis’s licensing rights, bought the brand in 2013 for about $145m, a deal that also included rights associated with boxer Muhammad Ali. Since then, Elvis’s annual revenue has grown to about $80m, including Graceland operations in Memphis, Tennessee, according to the company.

The growth strategy, company officials say, is focused on bringing a younger audience into the Elvis fandom fold.

“It’s hard to do it by just selling you a T-shirt or a sweatshirt or a new pair of shoes,” Salter said.

“The only way you can bring it to a younger generation is to show them who Elvis Presley was.”

Luhrmann’s film, which opened in US theatres last week, topped the weekend box office at $46m, edging out runaway hit Top Gun: Maverick at $43m. Moviegoers gave Elvis an average of A-minus, according to market research firm CinemaScore. Still, the audience skewed older. More than 60 per cent of the audience was female, and 60 per cent was older than 35, CinemaScore reported.

ABG declined to say how much the estate earned in licensing on the film, but the company stood to profit from licensing Elvis’s name and image, publishing rights for songs and exclusive merchandising rights.

His music is also being reimagined for new listeners. On the movie soundtrack, Perth’s Tame Impala remixed Elvis’s Edge of Reality into a trippy ride. Doja Cat performs Vegas, a song that incorporates blues singer Big Mama Thornton’s original 1952 version of Hound Dog, rather than Elvis’s hit version.

Despite Elvis’s extraordinary popularity during his lifetime, after his death in 1977 it became clear the estate was in financial trouble. It was valued at about $5m and saddled with debt. Priscilla Presley, Elvis’s former wife, stepped in to help save things. She founded Elvis Presley Enterprises to manage the assets and boost revenue, including opening up his Memphis home, Graceland, to visitors. Their daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, inherited the estate in 1993 when she turned 25.

“Elvis has always been cool,” Priscilla Presley said recently.

“I think it’s having his presence out there, authentically who he was – choosing great projects, the right people, the right merchandise, licensing, to keep him out there.”

This past week, Cinedigm Corp, which develops streaming channels and content, launched the Elvis Presley Channel on a variety of streaming platforms, featuring movies and specials Elvis starred in and his favourite programs to watch, such as John Wayne movies and The Beverly Hillbillies, the company said.

Netflix is slated to release Agent King later this year, an animated series that gives Elvis a double-life as a secret government spy.

Meanwhile, the city of Las Vegas, once Elvis’s home away from home, has been rattled by another of ABG’s moves. The company in May sent cease-and-desist letters to Las Vegas wedding chapels that perform Elvis-themed ceremonies, a move chapel owners say surprised them.

Sarah Lester, marketing manager for Vegas Weddings, one of the businesses that received the letter, said it was clear the move was timed to take advantage of the movie’s release and a surge in interest.

“That’s kind of backwards thinking, because you wouldn’t be able to put that movie out – or even brand Elvis – if it weren’t for Vegas, because we are the ones who kept him alive,” Lester said. “Even though his homeland is Graceland, you ask anybody who’s 20 years old, ‘where’s Elvis from?’. Chances are, they’re going to say Vegas.”

ABG has offered chapels a licence for an annual fee of $500 to keep Elvis weddings going with requirements for how he is presented, such as making sure Elvis impersonators have the same sunglasses and give out the same Elvis estate-approved wedding certificates, according to the company. ABG said it never intended to shut down Elvis weddings.

Lester said while the deal isn’t final, that fee would be reasonable and help keep Elvis weddings going in Vegas.

The Wall Street Journal