WWE Music Group

WWE Music Publishing, Inc.;[1][2][3] operating publicly as WWE Music Group, LLC., is an American record label funded and operated by WWE. It was manufactured and co-marketed by Columbia Records and was distributed by Sony Music Entertainment.[4][5] The label specializes in compilation albums of the WWE wrestlers' entrance themes, often by contributing performing artists, but also releases titles that have been actually performed by the wrestlers themselves, including the various-artists album WWE Originals and John Cena's You Can't See Me.

WWE Music Group
Parent companyWWE
Founded2003
FounderVince McMahon
Distributor(s)TuneCore, Sony
GenreVarious
Country of originUnited States
Official websitewwe.com/inside/wwemusic

Historically, most WWE entrance themes have been created by Jim Johnston since the 1980s,[6] while in recent times, themes have been written or performed by John Alicastro and Mike Lauri,[7] known collectively as CFO$.[8] from 2014 to 2020. Most recently WWE themes have been written by the group def rebel.

History

Beginnings

The series of World Wrestling Federation (WWF) produced albums began in 1985 with The Wrestling Album.[9] The album contained the song "Land of a Thousand Dances", recorded by a majority of the WWF roster at the time (including Roddy Piper, Jesse Ventura, and Randy Savage). The locker room would later reconvene for the song's music video.[9]

Later in 1993, WrestleMania: The Album was released, but it failed to chart on the Billboard 200. By 2002, however, it had sold a total of 91,000 copies.[9]

Format change and success

The format of the wrestling albums changed in 1996, as the focus went from the wrestlers themselves singing to a compilation of various wrestlers' entrance themes.[9] WWF Full Metal was the first album released with the new focus, and included the Monday Night Raw theme "Thorn in Your Eye" by Slam Jam, a supergroup composed of members of metal bands Anthrax, Savatage, Pro-Pain, and Overkill.[9] In October, the album reached No. 184 on the Billboard 200 and by 2002, had sold 173,000 copies.[9] This new format proved to be a success. The follow-up album, WWE The Music, Vol. 2, which was released two years later, spent sixteen weeks on the chart and sold over 480,000 copies.[9]

WWE The Music, Vol. 3 and WWE The Music, Vol. 4, released in December 1998 and October 1999 respectively, each sold over one million copies.[9] In particular, Vol. 3 reached No. 10 on the Billboard 200, spent thirty weeks on the chart, and sold over 1.21 million copies.[9] The album reached position No. 4 in its début week, stayed on the charts for twenty weeks, and sold over 1.13 million copies.[9]

On 21 March 2000, the company worked with Priority Records to release a hip-hop album titled WWF Aggression,[10] which involved rappers such as Snoop Dogg, ODB, Method Man, and Kool Keith, all of whom recorded versions of various wrestlers' entrance themes.[9] This album differed from previous albums, which were more along the lines of rock music.[9] Despite the change, the album still sold approximately 640,000 copies.[9]

In October 2000, WWE announced the launch of the record label under the name SmackDown! Records, with Ron McCarrell as the president.[11][12][13]

In February 2001, WWE The Music, Vol. 5 débuted on the Billboard 200 at position No. 2, spending two weeks in the top twenty and selling 176,000 copies.[9] as well as reaching No. 2 in the UK Albums Chart and No. 5 in the Canadian Albums Chart.[14] The album included an original song by The Rock.[9] By 2002, Vol. 5 had sold 640,000 copies.[9] In September 2001, the WWE Tough Enough album sold 138,000 copies.[9]

In May 2001, WWE signed their first act, the heavy metal band Neurotica,[15] and released their third album in June 2002,[16] the only non-wrestling related album released on the label so far, before they disbanded.

In 2002, WWE Forceable Entry sold 145,000 copies in its first week to enter the Billboard 200 at position No. 3.[9][17] It was the fourth consecutive WWE album to début in the top ten of the Billboard 200.[17] Forceable Entry also débuted on the Billboard Hard Rock Albums Chart.[17] The album included music from Creed, Our Lady Peace, Limp Bizkit, Marilyn Manson, Kid Rock, Drowning Pool, Rob Zombie, Sevendust, and Saliva.[18][19] Later in the year, WWE Anthology was certified platinum after just 10 days of release.[20]

As of March 2006, WWE officially announced the launching of the "WWE Music Group" under the management of Neil Lawi,[21][22] who not only maintains the label but selects songs to be used on television and pay-per-view events, and regularly scouts new talent to showcase via WWE.[23] Within two months of operation, the newly restructured label had an album reach the top 10 of the Billboard 200 when WWE Wreckless Intent, with songs by artists such as Motörhead, Three 6 Mafia, P.O.D., and Killswitch Engage, reached No. 8.[24][25] In 2007, the label released ¡Quiero Vivir!, the début album of WWE ring announcer Lilian Garcia, in conjunction with Universal Music Latino.[26]

In 2007, WWE released WWE The Music, Vol. 7, the company's first digital-only album, on iTunes,[27] and starting in 2012, WWE began making old albums available through online stores, starting with the first five "Volume" albums released from 1995 to 2001.[28]

On 20 April 2013, the entrance theme of wrestler Fandango reached No. 44 in the UK Singles Chart,[29] after briefly being close to the Top 10 in the mid-week charts.[30] Following the NXT Arrival show on 27 February 2014, WWE released singles of eight NXT wrestlers created by CFO$,[31] and it was followed in May by the music video and single of Tyler Breeze.[32]

On November 30, 2017 it was reported that Jim Johnston's contract with the WWE had expired and that the company had released him after more than thirty-two years of employment.[33][34]

Disputed issues

Composer James D. Papa filed a lawsuit against the WWE Music Group, Michael Hayes, and Jim Johnston in July 2012 over the use of the music from World Championship Wrestling, citing redirected royalty payments to several wrestling related songs he either wrote or co-wrote by securing the rights to music unlawfully. Along with the defendants of the case were long with VE Newco LLC, the parent company of Vivendi Entertainment (distribution of WWE DVD and Blu-rays), Yukes (WWE video games), and Take-Two Interactive (who owns the WWE video game license after THQ filed for bankruptcy in January 2013) were added in September 2013.[35]

The filing noted that the two sides resolved their issues following an alternative dispute resolution conference because there are a number of WWE Network versions of World Championship Wrestling PPVs using all 11 songs from the Slam Jam CD that were placed on the Network, replacing versions of the PPV that had edited out the original music. A similar lawsuit brought against the company by Harry "Slash" Grivas and Roderick Kohn over the rights to original music used by Extreme Championship Wrestling that WWE had been using during the Invasion storyline of 2001 was resolved with a settlement that saw WWE purchase the catalogue outright in January 2005 along with the assets in 2003 in bankruptcy court.

The case was then settled in court on May 5, 2014 before the March 23, 2015 trial date. However, WWE has again denied any wrongdoing and claimed that since Papa "consented to use" of his music in WCW and World Class Championship Wrestling broadcasts, and subsequently, WWE would have the rights to his material since they acquired the copyrights lawfully. WWE also said that the music in the World Class documentary would be "fair use" and that Papa did not have any copyright for the "clone song" that Johnston created, so any claim against that song should be thrown out.[36]

In other media

Discography
Main article: WWE Music Group discography
gollark: Well, that seems to partly be for vaccines and testing, which don't seem to have much of a possible counting issue going on. The other bit is for treatment, and I don't think they would particularly want to go to the hassle of treating people who don't actually have it.
gollark: Why?
gollark: For who to do that, exactly?
gollark: I don't really see what the "principle" is here.
gollark: or come up with some way to split the result based on *how* close each person was.

See also

References
  1. http://www.wikinvest.com/stock/World_Wrestling_Entertainment_(WWE)/Subsidiaries_World_Wrestling_Entertainment_Inc
  2. http://www.wrestlenewz.com/wwe-news/songwriter-files-lawsuit-against-wwe-over-unauthorized-use-of-wcw-theme-music/
  3. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1091907/000095013099005812/0000950130-99-005812.txt
  4. "Columbia Records Enters Into New Agreement with World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc". Sony Columbia Records. 4 December 2007. Archived from the original on 2014-07-14. Retrieved 8 July 2014.
  5. "WWE Music Group profile in discogs".
  6. Ali, Reyan (3 April 2013). "The Man Who Writes WWE Wrestlers' Theme Music Is a James Taylor Fan". The Atlantic. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
  7. "Biography: John Alicastro & Mike Lauri". Wind-up Records. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
  8. "WWE.com feature on the CFO$".
  9. Basham, David (5 April 2002). "Got Charts? Wrestling With WWE LPs". MTV. Retrieved 28 March 2008.
  10. "WWE Entertainment and Top Hip-Hop Artists Team Up For Aggression: 13 rap versions of the official WWE Superstar themes". WWE. 16 March 2000. Archived from the original on 2014-03-13. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  11. "SmackDown! Records: WWE Entertainment Launches New Record Label with Ron McCarrell Named President". WWE. 10 October 2000. Archived from the original on 2014-03-13. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  12. Lisi, Clementine (7 October 2000). "WWE to Smack Down Own Label on Records". New York Post. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  13. "WWE launches own record label". Slam Sports. 6 October 2000. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  14. "WWE The Music: Volume 5 CD Debuts at NO. 2 on Billboard Top 200". WWE. 1 March 2001. Archived from the original on 2014-03-13. Retrieved 8 July 2014.
  15. "SmackDown! Records Announces The Signing of Neurotica and The Release of New Album". WWE. 16 July 2001. Archived from the original on 2014-03-13. Retrieved 8 July 2014.
  16. Taylor, Jason D. (25 June 2002). "Neurotica – Neutorica". AllMusic. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
  17. "WWE Forceable Entry Debuts At no.3 On Billboard Top 200". Business Wire. April 4, 2002. Retrieved 28 March 2008.
  18. "Hard Rockers Square Off On 'WWE Forced Entry'". Billboard. 8 February 2002. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  19. "Rock's Hottest Stars Get Down & Dirty on WWE Forceable Entry CD Featuring Creed, Kid Rock, Limp Bizkit, Drowning Pool, Rob Zombie, Marilyn Manson, Sevendust, Saliva, & Others". Sony Columbia. 4 March 2002. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  20. "WWE Anthology hits Platinum 10 days after shipping". WWE. 25 November 2002. Archived from the original on 2014-03-13. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  21. "WWE Launches the WWE Music Group, Neil Lawi named General Manager". WWE. 27 March 2006. Archived from the original on 2008-03-19. Retrieved 28 March 2008.
  22. "WWE enters the ring with music venture". New Zealand Herald. 27 March 2006. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  23. High, Kamau (15 June 2008). "Music a key element in WWE brand profile". Reuters. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  24. Hoffman, Brett (31 May 2006). "Wreckless Intent debuts in Top 10". WWE. Retrieved 8 July 2014.
  25. Hillhouse, Dave (6 June 2006). "Wreckless Intent – Silly title, good CD". Slam Sports. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  26. "WWE and Universal Music Latino release Lilian Garcia's "Quiero Vivir"". WWE. 24 September 2007. Archived from the original on 2014-03-13. Retrieved 8 July 2014.
  27. Dee, Louis (3 April 2007). "iTunes and WWE team up again". WWE. Retrieved 8 July 2014.
  28. ""WWE: The Music, The Beginning" released digitally". WWE. 16 July 2012. Retrieved 8 July 2014.
  29. "WWE – Chachalala (Fandango)". Official Charts Company. 20 April 2013. Retrieved 8 July 2014.
  30. "Fandango's catchy entrance music shoots up the iTunes charts". WWE. 10 April 2013. Retrieved 8 July 2014.
  31. "The music of WWE NXT". WWE. 5 March 2014. Retrieved 8 July 2014.
  32. Rueter, Sean (6 June 2014). "Tyler Breeze world premiere music video from WWE NXT (June 5, 2014)". CageSide Seats. Retrieved 8 July 2014.
  33. https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/other-sports/wrestling/legendary-wwe-entrance-music-composer-11617585
  34. http://whatculture.com/wwe/wwe-release-jim-johnston
  35. http://www.yardbarker.com/wwe/articles/songwriter_files_lawsuit_against_wwe_over_unauthorized_use_of_wcw_theme_music/11249998
  36. http://angrymarks.com/?ArticleID=29411
  37. https://uproxx.com/prowrestling/john-cena-toyota-commercial/
  38. "CFO$ on Instagram: "As gamers and hockey fans, it's an honor to be featured in #NHL17 with our track #BreakAway 🏒🏆 #CFOS #WWE #NHL #OttawaSenators 🇨🇦 #GoalSong"". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
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