The business of managing celebrity estates has changed exponentially in the 15 years since Authentic Brands Group became the caretakers of Marilyn Monroe.
The emergence of a global content marketplace has greatly expanded opportunity to create TV shows, movies, documentaries, games and more for those who control the life rights of legends such as Monroe, Elvis Presley and Muhammad Ali, estates that are also in the Authentic portfolio. Strong storytelling about a legendary life also energizes all manner of licensing and merchandising programs.
“Authentic has never viewed itself as simply an owner of brands or estates. We see ourselves as stewards of cultural IP,” says Jamie Salter, founder and executive chairman of Authentic Brands Group.
“The blueprint for managing estates today is very different from what it was 20 years ago. It’s no longer about simply licensing an image. It’s about building a modern cultural ecosystem around a personality,” he says. “We do this through storytelling, partnerships, experiences, content and digital engagement, while still protecting the integrity of who they were and who they are to people today.”
Authentic seized on this year’s Monroe centennial as a prime opening to re-examine Monroe’s life and legacy as an artist through a modern lens. Monroe is never far removed from pop culture – witness the long list of movies, documentaries and books that have been released since her death in 1962 at age 36.
