Warner Music Group Corp. formed a 50-50 joint venture with the family of Frank Sinatra to manage global licensing of Sinatra’s recordings from the Reprise era as well as films, television specials and unreleased footage, photos and audio recordings. WMG is coming off a difficult quarter, but it remains confident, citing two reasons: "continued growth in the broader music market that our long-term strategy targets, and the disciplined creative leadership shown by WMG to expand our music business model," said chairman and CEO Edgar Bronfman Jr. As mentioned in this article about its acquisition of a 70% stake in Taisuke Ltd., Bronfman is trying to reinvent the company to boost financial results.

The AP reports that the new JV, Frank Sinatra Enterprises, is particularly interested in mining revenue from online and other new media. FSE will also administer all licenses for the use of Sinatra’s name and likeness.

Full-year 2007 revenue for WMG declined 4%. — Baz Hiralal

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