A young Jimmy Page performing live. Credit: Jim Summaria
The daughter of longtime Led Zeppelin executive Peter Grant has revealed plans to sell a 10% interest in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame group’s work, including alleged catalog rights, trademarks and more.
Helen Grant, 59, recently revealed in an interview that she intends to benefit from the 10 percent stake The times. According to the session, Helen’s father, famed executive Peter Grant, owned a 20 percent stake in Led Zeppelin’s “rights” at the time of his death in 1995 — more on that below. Helen and her brother then each inherited 10 percent of the intellectual property, according to the text.
“I hope this will bring my father back to the way he was meant to be presented,” Helen said Newspaper of expected catalog sales. “We’re talking about a movie. I’ve never had the opportunity — I’ve got five goddamn kids, for Christ’s sake — but I’ve come to a point in my life where I think we can do something great with Dad’s legacy.”
Warren Grant, Helen’s brother, is best known as the manager of the tribute band Hats Off to Led Zeppelin. And in a 2016 Billboard interview, he expressed interest in making a documentary about his father. However, it doesn’t look like Warren has publicly announced any plans to join Helen by selling his own shares.
Music Week goes into more detail about Helen’s involvement specified that the associated (extremely valuable) intellectual property extends not only to the Led Zeppelin masters and releases, but also to the “other business ventures of the Whole Lotta Love Act, which include brands and merchandise.”
According to the same report, Helen’s attempt to sell is well under way, with Ian Penman, partner at New Media Law LLP, founding director and shareholder of Synchtank, being hired to handle the sale.
Meanwhile, LedZepNews has revealed that Helen and Warren Grant each own 10 percent of Superhype Tapes, a fifty-year-old publishing company set up to manage Led Zeppelin’s music. Jimmy Page is believed to own the remaining 80 percent.
Helen also owns 10 percent of a company called United Blag Productions report. United Blag, in turn, “controls the rights” to Led Zeppelin’s Swan Song Records releases – that is, to the 1975s Physical graffiti1976s Presentand 1979 in through the exit door.
Finally, as for the prospective buyer of the catalog portion, evidence and logic suggest that even with the relatively low ownership rate, there will be no shortage of interested parties. Pimco and KKR partner BMG has been securing high-profile song rights for some time, as have Primary Wave and (despite a bit of a slowdown lately) Hipgnosis Song Management.