Greenlight Announces Representation of Whitney Houston

Houston Joins Greenlight’s Roster of Icons

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–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.

Contacts

Media:
Kite Hill PR for BEN
Paul Chronister
paul@kitehillpr.com