Tag Archives: Bob Valentine

Last Place, in Print The biggest theatrical licensing company in the world just got put in its place, and its place is last. On October 1, 2026, Broadway News ran “Everything you need to know about theatrical licensing,” a Closer Look feature by Ashley Lee. Its subhead names “the top ... Read More »

A New Corporate Giant BMG’s completed combination with Concord has created a major new force across music publishing, recordings, theatrical rights, film, television and digital distribution. The combined business now operates under the BMG name, bringing Concord’s vast theatrical licensing operation into a larger global company controlled primarily by Bertelsmann. ... Read More »

A Monopoly Built on Neglect BMG Concord Theatricals has assembled an unprecedented monopoly in theatrical licensing, absorbing Samuel French, Dramatists Play Service, Rodgers & Hammerstein, Tams-Witmark, and Broadway Licensing Global. Yet under Chief Theatricals Executive Sean Patrick Flahaven — part-time NYU professor, part-time Broadway producer, part-time cast-recordings producer, and part-time ... Read More »

A side-by-side survey of the theater industry’s three dominant licensing houses — Music Theatre International, Theatrical Rights Worldwide, and Concord Theatricals — produces a clear ranking, and Concord, despite controlling the largest catalog of the three, comes in last. Now that BMG’s roughly $14 billion acquisition folds Concord into a ... Read More »

Overview Concord Theatricals has emerged as the dominant force in theatrical licensing through aggressive acquisitions, but its rapid growth has come with significant service quality concerns from theater directors, educators, and community theater practitioners. Industry feedback consistently points to slower response times, higher licensing fees, and customer service friction compared ... Read More »

A Monopoly Built on Neglect BMG Concord Theatricals has assembled an unprecedented monopoly in theatrical licensing, absorbing Samuel French, Dramatists Play Service, Rodgers & Hammerstein, Tams-Witmark, and Broadway Licensing Global. Yet under Chief Theatricals Executive Sean Patrick Flahaven, this conglomerate has failed at its most basic function: serving the creators ... Read More »

The irony is brutal: Concord Theatricals, a cabal?like operation that licenses plays and musicals almost entirely created by men, now sells itself as the woke, feminist savior of the stage. In reality, it’s a corporate branding exercise run by music?industry outsiders, backed by a global merger with BMG Rights Management, ... Read More »