Warner Music Entertainment, the film and television division of Warner Music Group, is partnering with Lightbox, the London and Los Angeles based television and film production company.
The partnership deal will see the two companies co-produce, co-develop and co-finance non-fiction film and TV projects.
The deal will give Lightbox, founded by award-winning producers, Simon Chinn (Searching For Sugar Man, Man on Wire, Tina) and Jonathan Chinn (LA 92, Whitney, Hip Hop Uncovered), access to WMG’s catalogue, in order to create content telling the stories of WMG’s current global superstars, songwriters and iconic legacy acts.
Simon Chinn and Jonathan Chinn (pictured) said: “This deal with WMG will open up the vaults to an archive of amazing musical talent and rich history of songwriters and performers. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to bring some of Warner Music’s extraordinary artists and their stories to audiences around the world.”
Kate Shepherd, managing director, Warner Music Entertainment UK, said: “This is a really exciting partnership for us at Warner Music. We have such an incredible array of artists whose stories deserve to be told and Simon, Jonathan and the Lightbox team are experts in storytelling and film-making. Partnering Warner Music Entertainment with Lightbox will further enhance our productivity and enable us to create unrivalled content. We have a slate of projects that we’re incredibly excited about.”
We have such an incredible array of artists whose stories deserve to be told
Kate Shepherd
Charlie Cohen, president, TV & Film, Warner Music Group, added: “I’m delighted that we’ve been able to expand Warner Music Entertainment’s reach and expertise with this partnership. Warner Music Group is a global company and within Warner Music Entertainment we’re focusing on expanding our film and TV content into markets around the word with an emphasis on local artists and local language production. This partnership with Lightbox is an important part of this expansion.”
Lightbox and its principals’ credits in the music space include critically acclaimed features and series for cinemas, global streamers and broadcasters. Tina (HBO and international theatrical release by Universal Content Group following a world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival) has been nominated for three Emmys, including Best Documentary Special.
Other projects include Whitney (which had a global theatrical release following a premiere at the Cannes Festival), Hip Hop Uncovered (FX), Supervillain: The Making of Tekashi 6ix9ine (Showtime) and the Academy Award-winning Searching for Sugar Man (for global theatrical release).
Warner Music Entertainment is the TV and film division of WMG and is led by Charlie Cohen in the US and Kate Shepherd in the UK.
Since its inception in 2017, the team has produced longform series and documentaries such as American Utopia (six Emmy nominations), Crock of Gold: A Few Rounds with Shane MacGowan, Ed Sheeran: TikTok Euro 2020 Live Performance, Genius: Aretha (three Emmy nominations), Harry Chapin: When in Doubt, Do Something, Laurel Canyon: A Place in Time, Liam Gallagher: As It Was, Together We Rise: The Uncompromised Story of GRM Daily, Tom Petty Somewhere You Feel Free and Gorillaz: Reject False Icons.
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