Bicycle gets Billie Holiday catalog (Steve Sessa hype)

NEW HOME FOR LADY DAY: The Bicycle Music Company has acquired Billie Holiday's entire music catalog, advised by media and entertainment law firm Reed Smith. The deal gives Bicycle Music the rights to receive record, publishing and book royalties, as well as other associated intellectual property rights owned and controlled by the estate of her heirs, which includes such seminal songs as "Lady Sings the Blues." The Reed Smith deal team was led by Century City partner Stephen Sessa, assisted by associate Joanne Suk. Said Bicycle Music CEO Roger Miller: “My partners and I have done close to 60 catalog acquisitions with Reed Smith as our counsel and, as usual, Steve Sessa and his team have done exemplary work enabling us to consummate a very important acquisition in a very short period of time.” Commented Sessa: "Bicycle knows exactly what to buy and how to close a deal. They focus on evergreen works written and/or performed by iconic artists. Obviously, Billie Holliday is the perfect example of a legendary artist with a fantastic record and publishing catalog. Once the Holiday catalog was identified as a target acquisition, Bicycle moved quickly and efficiently to get the deal done." Among Bicycle’s acquisitions are the rights to the catalogs of Marvin Hamlisch, Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson, Cyndi Lauper, Jefferson Airplane/Jefferson Starship, Tammy Wynette, Pete Seeger, Phil Ochs and Arlo Guthrie. (2/17a)