Today marks ten since the world lost singing sensation Whitney Houston. She was 48 years old when her life was tragically cut short the night before the 2012 Grammy Awards. At the time of her death Houston was one of the highest selling artist of all time with over 150 million records sold and many sold out tours. Since then her estate in partnership with Primary Wave Music, have been keeping her legacy alive according to a report by Variety.
Primary Wave who recently acquired the estate of James Brown partnered with Houston’s estate in 2019, taking a 50% stake.
“It was time to rebuild Whitney’s business and Primary Wave, with its arsenal of industry professionals, were the right fit, a team packaged to elevate Whitney’s legacy to the next level,” says Pat Houston to Variety. Pat is the late artist’s sister-in-law and former manager, who serves as an executor of her estate.
“We have massively, over the course of our three-year partnership, improved the earnings of the estate,” adds Primary Wave founder and CEO Larry Mestel. “We’ve basically quadrupled the earnings stream of the estate through a lot of low-hanging fruit: renegotiation of partnerships, focusing on merchandise, digital strategy and social media enhancement — upping the game in general.”
The first salvo in the company’s stewardship was a Kygo remix of Houston covering Steve Winwood hit “Higher Love.” The 2019 version reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Dance Club Play chart and No. 7 on Adult Contemporary radio, not only sparking streaming gains for her body of work, but spurring a series of branding and merchandise opportunities.
Mestel sees even greater growth on the horizon, starting with the Dec. 23 premiere of the Kasi Lemmons-directed biopic “I Wanna Dance With Somebody.”
Naomi Ackie portrays Houston in a cast that also features Stanley Tucci and Tamara Tunie. The Sony Pictures film was co-produced by Primary Wave with Arista founder and Houston mentor Clive Davis, along with Anthony McCarten, who wrote the screenplay for the Queen biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody.”
Fans can expect two new Houston albums in 2023, during a campaign honoring what would be the artist’s 60th birthday, with a Broadway adaptation of the biopic and a Las Vegas tribute show in the works for subsequent years.
“Clive will indeed be involved with the soundtrack,” says Mestel. “He is not currently involved with Broadway show or Vegas concept, but he is always welcome to participate in anything we do involving Whitney and her music. He has been a critical partner in the movie project.”
Mestel and Primary Wave chief marketing officer Adam Lowenberg both cite the Kygo version of “Higher Love” as the catalyst for the robust array of opportunities that have flowered since.
Originally produced by Narada Michael Walden in 1991, Houston’s take had previously only been available as a bonus track in Japan.
Houston’s Winwood cover was prominently featured in a Ford commercial, which led to additional synchs, including its placement in the Universal Pictures movie “Sing 2.”
“Further to that, we put out a remix of ‘How Will I Know’ with Clean Bandit, so that was a continuation of reminding people about her and introducing her to new fans,” says Lowenberg. “We are working on a number of activations in the second half of 2022 that, again, focus on her voice and the history of Whitney.”
This isn’t the first dance with Houston’s music for Mestel or Lowenberg. The two of them and Primary Wave president Justin Shukat worked together at Arista, the singer’s original label, when Mestel was EXP and GM from 2000-2004.
The soundtrack from the upcoming biopic will arrive on RCA about a month before the film hits theaters. Then in 2023, the estate’s vaults will yield two posthumous releases: Houston’s first gospel collection and a live album.
Says Lowenberg of the upcoming live collection, “When Pat and Donna played us a couple of live performances, it was literally goosebump moments. Whether it’s a cover song that she would do or one of her hits, you never heard anything in concert the same way twice with Whitney. We really want to make sure the fan base hears it and hears it properly.”
The subsequent gospel collection will mix previously unreleased tracks, some live, along with songs recorded for “Preacher’s Wife,” the 1996 film in which she starred with Denzel Washington. The original soundtrack from the movie reached No. 3 in the U.S. and was certified three-times-platinum.
“We want to stay as organic and true as to who Whitney was at all times; that’s very important to us and the estate,” says Lowenberg. “Living and loving Gospel music is a very big part of who she was; it’s going to be quite the package.”
There was also December 2021 launch of a Houston NFT of an early, unreleased demo, which sold for $1.1 million. The deal that enabled the Houston hologram shows in Vegas and on tour, which began in 2020, was struck before Primary Wave’s involvement, but those events still benefit the partnership. Likewise, the eye-catching Amazon Music spots that used Houston’s vocal track from “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” were synched before Primary Wave entered the picture according to Variety.
“We’re in talks right now in Las Vegas to create a Whitney Houston Cirque-like destination show,” says Mestel. “There are some very big things that we’re working on, including a cosmetic line, which is launching around the same time the film releases.”
“We are more than pleased to have reunited with Larry and the team,” says Pat Houston. “Since the genesis of the partnership we’ve managed to increase Whitney’s brand beyond her music, and it has been an exciting ride. The arrangement has more than exceeded our expectations.
“Whitney would certainly be proud of the direction and momentum we have established for her brand,” she continues, “re-introducing her legacy to a new generation capitalizing on the opportunities that continuously represent her gift in the best light.”
