New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Greenlight, the icon representation, merchandise licensing and rights clearance division of Branded Entertainment Network (BEN), has announced that the Whitney
Houston Estate has signed with Greenlight to exclusively represent the legendary singer's worldwide publicity rights for advertising and marketing campaigns including endorsement opportunities.
With over 200 million records sold worldwide, and I Will Always Love You as the biggest-selling single of all time by a female artist, Whitney
Houston set the benchmark for superstardom and is considered one of the greatest artists of the modern era. The daughter of famed singer Cissy Houston, Whitney was born into a musical family and was set for stardom at an early age. She launched into the singing scene in New York when she was a teenager, and in 1983 was discovered by leading record producer Clive Davis, who went on to produce a majority of Whitney's best-selling albums. Whitney made history by becoming the first female artist to enter the Billboard 200 album chart at #1 and the only artist to chart seven consecutive #1 Billboard Hot 100 hits and have eight consecutive multi-platinum albums. Throughout her musical career, Whitney won six GRAMMY Awards, 16 Billboard
Music Awards, and 22 American
Music Awards.
"Whitney is one of music's greatest icons and was a singer's singer who has influenced countless other artists that followed her," said Pat
Houston of the Whitney
Houston Estate. "Representing other notable musical icons including Ella Fitzgerald,
Elvis Presley and Marvin Gaye, Greenlight is the ideal partner to help us continue sharing Whitney's incredible legacy."
Whitney was not only an amazingly gifted singer and actress, but she was also a humanitarian. She believed in using her success to help those less fortunate and supported many charitable organizations, including the American Red Cross, St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, United Negro College Fund, among others. In 1989, she formed The Whitney
Houston Foundation for Children, which helped sick and homeless children, worked toward the prevention of child abuse, taught children to read, built inner city parks and playgrounds, and provided college scholarships.
Whitney continued her charitable works with her sister-in-law,
Patricia Houston, who started a non-profit organization in 2007 called Teen Summit. Teen Summit was formed to Rebuild, Restore and Repair the lives of teens and young adults. Whitney attended the annual event and also helped Pat with Celebrity Consignment, a shop in Shelby, North Carolina which also benefits Teen Summit. Whitney not only donated clothes to the shop but was instrumental in getting celebs like Oprah Winfrey, Alicia Keys, Dionne Warwick,
Diane Sawyer and others to donate as well. Teen Summit was able to open its first academy on January 26, 2013.
"We are honored to be working with such a legendary icon, who was a superstar in both music and film, as well as a true humanitarian," said Tamra Knepfer, SVP of Greenlight. "We look forward to extending her legacy by connecting Whitney with the most fitting, authentic brands, and will be working closely with Sony
Music for additional licensing of her music and lyrics for other marketing and commercial uses."
About Greenlight
Greenlight, a division of Branded Entertainment Network (BEN), is a global leader in rights representation, rights clearances, and merchandise licensing, providing turnkey solutions for top brands and advertising agencies worldwide. Greenlight represents some of the most iconic names in history including Albert Einstein, Steve McQueen,
Sophia Loren,
Thomas Edison,
Martin Luther King, Jr., Marvin Gaye, Charlie Chaplin, Ella Fitzgerald, and more. For more information, visit www.greenlightrights.com.
