Maverick, is an entertainment company founded by
Madonna,
Frederick DeMann and Ronnie Dashev in April
1992. It is owned and operated by
Warner Music Group.
History
Consisting of a record company, music publishing, television, film, merchandising and book-publishing divisions. It was a joint venture between Madonna and
Time Warner as part of a $60 million recording and business deal. DeMann was bought out of the company for a reported $20 million in 1998, after which
Guy Oseary increased his stake in the company and took control as Chairman and CEO.
Maverick's record division has had noted triumphs with acts like
Alanis Morissette,
Michelle Branch,
The Prodigy,
Candlebox, and the band
Deftones. The label also had success with soundtracks for
The Wedding Singer,
Jackie Brown and
The Matrix. The film division has had moderate success with motion pictures such as
Agent Cody Banks.
In March 2004, Madonna and Maverick filed suit against
Warner Music Group and its former parent company,
Time Warner Inc., claiming that mismanagement of resources and poor
bookkeeping had cost the company millions of dollars. In return, WMG filed a countersuit, alleging that Maverick had lost tens of millions of dollars on its own. On
June 14,
2004, the dispute was resolved when Maverick shares owned by Madonna and Dashev were purchased — which effectively exiled the two of them from the company as it was now a wholly owned subsidiary of Warner Music. Oseary, meanwhile, remains CEO.
Divisions
- Maverick Musica — Latin division of Maverick Records
- Maverick Books — book publishing
- MadGuy Television — television production
- MadGuy Films — film and television production
- Maverick Music — publishing division
