| Pinnacle Entertainment | |
|---|---|
| Parent company | Windsong International |
| Status | defunct |
| Distributor(s) | Pinnacle |
| Genre | Various |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Location | Orpington, England |
| Official Website | http://www.pinnacle-entertainment.co.uk/ |
Pinnacle Entertainment was an entertainment group based in the United Kingdom spanning many different divisions, but primarily known as one of the UK's leading independent record label distributors.
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Pinnacle went into liquidation in 1984. It was then that Windsong Exports purchased the group and turned it into the UK's leading music distributor.[1] Following that, the companies were usually referred to jointly as Windsong/Pinnacle. In 1996, Windsong/Pinnacle was purchased by the Zomba Group. When Zomba was subsequently purchased by BMG in 2002, Windsong/Pinnacle was moved under Bertelsmann's group Arvato AG. In January 2008, Windsong completed a buyout from Arvato, gaining independent ownership again.[2][3] However, in the midst of an economic crisis, the company was forced to go into administration, effective December 3, 2008.
Pinnacle's music division Audio Services Ltd., was primarily known for the distribution of over 400 independent record labels in the UK, but it also consisted of its own record label, label management for distributed labels, and marketing and sales divisions.[4]
Formed in 1992, Pinnacle Software serves as a publishing company that represents many computer software companies such as 3MV, New Note, Shellshock and Beechwood.[4] It provides retail, sales, marketing and logistics solutions to its publishing partners. Groundbreaking deals with EA and Ubisoft helped introduce an exclusive distribution model to the UK Software market. Some brands associated with Pinnacle Software include FIFA, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Splinter Cell and Prince of Persia. [6]
Formed in 1996, Gauntlet Entertainment was one of the world's leading distributors of video games. Formed to create a focused distribution model for video games, similar to what Pinnacle Software had been doing with other UK software companies. The distribution model they pioneered became the de facto model used by most major software publishers in the UK.[7]