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THE PULLMAN GROUP FINALIZES ISLEY
PULLMAN BOND™
MUSIC ROYALTY SECURITIZATION WITH LEGENDARY HITMAKING ISLEY BROTHERS FAMILY
New York, NY, June 22, 2000 This
week, David Pullman proudly announces the completion of another eight figure
Pullman Bond music royalty securitization with Rudolph Isley, Ronald Isley and
the estate of O'Kelley Isley. This completed Isley Brothers deal with The
Pullman Group®, LLC joins the famous series of Pullman Bonds™
which include the $55 million Bowie Bonds™,
Holland Dozier Holland (Motown Hitmachine) Bonds, Ashford & Simpson Bonds
and James Brown Bonds. The Isley Brothers¹ massive catalog includes over 50
Billboard hits includes classics like "Shout," "Twist &
Shout," "It's Your Thing," and "Fight The Power," and
the group is highly respected for pioneering the ownership of record labels by
black artists. There are over 300 songs in the Isley catalog. The Isley
Pullman Bond™
transaction was rated at the single A level by two nationally recognized rating
agencies.
Rudolph Isley and Ronald Isley are the founders, creators and 100% owners of the
Isley Brothers catalogue and co-owners of the estate of O¹Kelley Isley, the
third founder and equal member of their companies Three Boys Music Corp. and
Triple Three Music.
"Never have I seen such a bond among brothers as between Rudolph and Ronald
Isley who for six decades as hitmakers have proven over and over they stick
together through thick and thin. Their bond is unbreakable," notes
David Pullman, Founder, Chairman and CEO of The Pullman Group®, LLC.
"David Pullman and The Pullman Group embody the hit song we wrote, Fight
The Power," stated Rudolph and Ronald Isley, co-chairmen and lead
singers of the Isley Brothers.
Last September, The Pullman Group, LLC announced the exclusive signing of
Rudolph and Ronald Isley and their Isley Brothers catalog, putting the Isley
Brothers next in line for a Pullman Bond™
music royalty securitization. Not long after, a number of obstacles
surfaced which included a bidding war organized by singer Michael Bolton and a
lawsuit launched by EMI Music Publishing who wished to buy the catalogue. The
Isley and Pullman team also won an approximately $7 million copyright
infringement case against Michael Bolton for "Love is a Wonderful
Thing," an Isley hit song from the 60's. Intent on overcoming these
odds, The Pullman Group persevered and tackled every issue to complete the
transaction today.
A Pullman Bond™
music royalty securitization is a financing of artist and publishing royalties
which allows the original owner to keep 100% ownership of the assets which are
financed. A securitization is not a sale of such assets and therefore is not a
taxable event. The Pullman Group® developed these deals to empower artists and
creators of entertainment and intellectual property.
"Just this year alone, the Isley Brothers catalog has shown its
incredible value and relevance with the hit "Who¹s That Lady"
appearing in the Oscar winning Boys Don¹t Cry plus songs like "It¹s
Your Thing" and "Shout" heard everywhere in movies and TV
commercials," said Pullman.
Since the 50¹s, the Isley Brothers have been a musical institution whose
prolific career has explored the musical intersection of gospel, R&B, rock,
soul, funk and disco. Having been a family-based group since their inception,
the Isley Brothers originated with four gospel-singing brothers: Ronald,
O'Kelly, Rudolph and Vernon (the last of who was killed in a bike accident in
1955). The three surviving brothers left their hometown of Cincinnati in 1957
for New York City, where they recorded several songs for small labels. Their
breakthrough came with their fervent recording of "Shout." The period
1959-1962 yielded such staples of the rock and soul canon as
"Respectable," "Nobody But Me" and "Twist and
Shout." Throughout the Sixties, the Isleys recorded for a variety of
labels, including RCA, Atlantic, Scepter/Wand, United Artists, their own T-Neck
and Motown's Tamla subsidiary. Their brief stay at Motown yielded the melodic
soul classic "This Old Heart of Mine," written and produced by the
Motown production team of Holland-Dozier-Holland (who completed a deal with
David Pullman in 1998.)
In 1969, The Isleys re-established their own label, T-Neck (named for their home
base of Teaneck, New Jersey). Now, with the addition of three younger family
members: brothers Ernie and Marvin and cousin Chris Jasper, they immediately
yielded the biggest hit of their career, "It's Your Thing," which won
a Grammy for Best R&B Vocal Performance. This marked the start of a period
in which they dominated the black-music realm, placing a staggering fifty
singles on the R&B chart between 1969 and 1988.
Throughout the Seventies, The Isleys up their R&B grooves on rock songs such
as Seals and Crofts' "Summer Breeze" and Stephen Stills' "Love
the One You're With." The group also connected with originals such as the
unrelenting, funky "Fight the Power," "The Pride,"
"Take Me to the Next Phase" and "I Wanna Be With You" - all
of them #1 R&B hits. Following the signing with Warner Brothers in
1985, O'Kelly died tragically from a sudden heart attack. Since then the
other Isleys have enjoyed solo careers and were inducted in to the Rock n¹ Roll
Hall of Fame in 1992 for their innovation work in the pop, R&B and rock
genres.
The Pullman Group®, LLC as principal, specializes in financing and securitizing
music publishing, writer's share, record masters, artist and record royalties,
film and television libraries, TV syndication, literary estates and other
entertainment royalties. David Pullman, Founder, Chairman and CEO of The
Pullman Group, still remains the only financial professional who has ever
completed such groundbreaking deals based on future entertainment royalties
Pullman Bonds™ and has 100% market share. As creator of all Pullman
Bonds™,
his asset backed securitization deals include the famous $55 million Bowie Bonds™
transaction, the $30 million deal with Holland Dozier Holland (Motown Hit
Machine) an eight figure deal with R&B greats Ashford & Simpson and the
$30 million deal with "Godfather of Soul" James Brown. The Pullman
Group's experience includes well over $1 billion in transactions through 2000.
PRESS CONTACT:
Lois Najarian/Courtney Friedman
Susan Blond, Inc.
212-333-7728, ext. 105
212-262-1373
Lois@Susanblondinc.com
