Maverick (entertainment company)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Maverick | |
|---|---|
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| Type | Entertainment company |
| Founded | Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA (1992) |
| Founder | Madonna, Frederick DeMann, Ronnie Dashev |
| Headquarters | Burbank, California,  United States |
| Key people | Guy Oseary (CEO) |
| Industry | Entertainment |
| Products | Music entertainment, Motion pictures, television programs, music videos |
| Website | Maverick.com |
Maverick, is an entertainment company founded by Madonna, Frederick DeMann and Ronnie Dashev in April 1992. It is owned and operated by Warner Music Group.
[edit] History
The name of the company is derived from the first letters of founder Madonna's name (MAdonna VEronica) and the end of the name of her then-manager (FredeRICK DeMann). Consisting of a record company, music publishing, television, film, merchandising and book-publishing divisions. It was a joint venture between Madonna and Time Warner as part of a $60 million recording and business deal.[1] DeMann was bought out of the company for a reported $20 million in 1998, after which Guy Oseary increased his stake in the company and took control as Chairman and CEO.
Maverick's record division has had noted triumphs with acts like Alanis Morissette, Michelle Branch, The Prodigy, Candlebox, and the band Deftones. The label also had success with soundtracks for The Wedding Singer, Jackie Brown and The Matrix. The film division has had moderate success with motion pictures such as Agent Cody Banks and television comedy The Riches.[2]
In March 2004, Madonna and Maverick filed suit against Warner Music Group and its former parent company, Time Warner Inc., claiming that mismanagement of resources and poor bookkeeping had cost the company millions of dollars. In return, WMG filed a countersuit, alleging that Maverick had lost tens of millions of dollars on its own.[3] [4] On June 14, 2004, the dispute was resolved when Maverick shares owned by Madonna and Dashev were purchased — which effectively exiled the two of them from the company as it was now a wholly owned subsidiary of Warner Music. Oseary, meanwhile, remains CEO.
[edit] Divisions
- Maverick Recording Company — record company distributed by Warner Bros. Records
- Maverick Films — film production company
- Maverick Musica — Latin division of Maverick Records
- Maverick Books — book publishing
- MadGuy Television — television production
- MadGuy Films — film and television production
- Maverick Music — publishing division
