Universal Music Publishing Group to Administer Publishing Rights to Jenni Rivera’s Global Catalog

The late Jenni Rivera’s global catalog has a new administrator…

The Jenni Rivera Estate has signed a global deal with Universal Music Publishing Group to administer the publishing rights for the late banda singer’s global catalog.

Jenni Rivera“I’m so excited about this new partnership with Universal Music Publishing. It’ll bring great achievements for my mom’s legacy and for Jenni Rivera Enterprises,” said Jacqie Rivera, CEO of Jenni Rivera Enterprises, in a statement. “We’re confident that this amazing group of empowered women behind Universal Music Publishing will help expand the Jenni Rivera music catalog, something that our mother would have loved. Our mom had her hand in making this decision. While looking through her files, we found an email from years back showing that it was her plan all along to go with Universal Music Publishing.”

Jacqie — the second of Jenni’s five children — took over as head of the Jenni Rivera estate in January 2022, signaling a change of direction in the management of Jenni Rivera’s estate, which had been helmed by Jenni’s sister, Rosie Rivera, since the singer’s death in 2012.

After taking the reins, Jackie — along with her four siblings Chiquis, Mike, Jenicka and Johnny — released the posthumous album Misión Cumplida in June featuring original recordings they discovered after taking over the estate.

Jenni — at the pinnacle of her career — tragically died in 2012 at 43 years old. The most successful woman in Regional Mexican on the Billboard charts, she has a total of 19 entries on Top Latin Albums, 12 of which reached the top 10 and seven of which topped the chart.

She has earned a total of 12 entries on the Billboard 200 and has 14 top 10 hits on the Regional Mexican Airplay tally.

“We share the news of the signing of the Jenni Rivera Estate with much joy! Jenni was someone who inspired the fans of her music and empowered them,” added Alexandra Lioutikoff, president of Latin America & U.S. Latin, Universal Music Publishing Group. “She was a fighter and a woman with much success, and her music will always be remembered because it opened many doors for women in the regional Mexican genre.”

Annie Gonzalez to Star as the Late Jenni Rivera in Family-Authorized Biopic “Jenni”

Annie Gonzalez will be portraying a late banda legend…

The Latina actress will star in an authorized biopic about the life of Jenni Rivera has been greenlit at ViX.

Annie GonzalezIn addition to starring, Gonzalez will also executive produce the film.

Filming of Jenni (wt) is underway in Bogota, Colombia, and will be completed in Los Angeles.

The project is set to premiere exclusively via ViX and in select movie theaters in the United States and Mexico later this year.

Jenni (wt) will follow Rivera’s journey from her humble beginnings in Long Beach, California, to her meteoric rise to the top of the charts, and her final days before her tragic and unexpected death. The film will also share a look at the struggles she endured in her personal life and how she became the artist fans all know and love today, and how she persevered and found strength from within.

The streamer notes, Jenni is a story of resilience and bravery that shows the building blocks of what made Jenni Rivera—also known affectionately as “La Diva De La Banda”— who she was and the remarkable legacy she left behind.

“My siblings and I are very excited about this biopic and we know our mother’s story will impact generations to come,” Jacqie Rivera, daughter of Jenni Rivera and CEO of Jenni Rivera Enterprises said in a statement. “It has been an uphill battle, but we are happy to see one of our mom’s dreams come to fruition. Although we still haven’t gotten used to seeing someone portray our mother, we have faith Annie will do a great job.”

As a multiple award-winning artist—including multiple Billboard Music Awards, 22 Billboard Latin Music Awards, 18 Lo Nuestro Awards, and four Latin Grammy nominations— Rivera is not only known as one of the best-selling Regional Mexican artists of all time but also for her role in disrupting cultural precedent by crossing into banda, a male-dominated music genre and eventually into pop music, where her presence posthumously continues to shine. Rivera died in a plane crash in 2012.

“I am beyond honored to portray the essence of this phenomenal survivor that is Jenni Rivera who despite adversity at every turn was never a victim and showed her daughters, her family, and her audience what grace, forgiveness, and true authenticity is— liberating us all,” Gonzalez shared. “Jenni’s messages of feminism, civil rights, and nonconformity within her music were well before her time and made space for all of us to feel empowered. With the support of the Rivera family, I cannot wait to help tell the beautiful story and the impactful legacy of what Jenni means to me personally and what it will mean to women and Latinas everywhere.”

Manuel Uriza will star opposite Gonzalez in the role of Pedro Rivera, Jenni’s father, and Regional Mexican entrepreneur. The cast also includes Cinthya Carmona (East Los High) as Jenni Rivera’s eldest daughter, Chiquis Rivera, Jero Medina (Narcos: Mexico) and Miguel Angel Garcia (The Long Game) who will dually portray Trino Marín, Rivera’s first husband and father of her three eldest children at later and earlier stages in his life, respectively.

Additionally, Gabriela Reynoso (Si Nos Dejan) will be portraying Jenni’s mother Rosa Saavedra, J.R. Villarreal (Ultra Violet) will play Juan “Cinco” Lopez, Jenni’s late second husband, and newcomer Tatiana Juarez will portray Rivera during her early years.

“ViX is thrilled to be the official home and distributor of this powerful story about Jenni Rivera. Our commitment to this project is paramount and, along with a fantastic production team and director, we know we will have a film that will captivate our audiences,” stated Augusto Rovegno, Senior Vice President of Content ViX at TelevisaUnivision.

Gigi Saul Guerrero (Culture Shock) directs from a screenplay by Shane McKenzie (Bingo Hell).

Gonzalez is gearing up to promote Flamin’ Hot, the Eva Longoria-directed Searchlight Pictures film about how Frito Lay janitor Ricardo Montañez climbs the ranks at work and creates the spicy Cheeto snack. Flamin’ Hot premieres at SXSW on March 11 followed by a wide release via Hulu in June. The Chicana actress portrays the character of Judy, Montañez’s wife, opposite Jesse Garcia.

She also recently starred in Illegally Brown alongside Jessica Marie Garcia from filmmaker, Gabby Revilla Lugo, which is currently playing on the film festival circuit. Additionally, Gonzalez can next be seen in the upcoming independent thriller Body Language and an untitled Ethan Coen project.

Gonzalez is best known for her portrayal of Lidia Solis in the Netflix comedy series Gentefied and her guest roles in Apple’s Mr. Corman, Starz’s Vida, NBC’s Good Girls, Showtime’s Shameless, and FX’s American Horror Story, among other credits.

Jenni Rivera’s Family to Release New, Never-Released Music by the Late Banda Queen

There’s new music by Jenni Rivera headed your way…

As the 10-year anniversary of the late Mexican American singer’s death in a plane crash over Mexico (in December, 2012) approaches, her family is planning to share new music with the world.

Jenni RiveraNever-released music she left recorded before her death will see the light of day, according to daughter Jacqie Rivera, who in January took over from her aunt Rosie Rivera as head of the Jenni Rivera estate.

“It’s definitely music in Spanish, it’s more than one song, and it’s regional Mexican,” Jacqie Rivera tells Billboard in her first interview since she took over her mother’s estate. “I think it’s very important that we tie in how she started, what [music] put her up there, and share that.”

The new tracks will be part of a full-fledged album of brand-new Rivera songs set for release before the end of the year. The set will include at least some of the 11 other unreleased songs that the Rivera estate found after Jenni Rivera’s passing, and will be released by Sony Music U.S. Latin. Several of the tracks will be produced by Sergio Lizárraga, the head of Banda MS and owner of Lizos Music.

Music in English is also on the way, although plans for those releases have yet to be finalized.

The music releases are the core of a series of actions that the estate is spearheading this year. Among them is a concert commemorating Rivera’s death — which will feature performances by her children, and which Jacqie Rivera describes as “a la Coachella” — and a long-planned biopic, which has long been discussed but is now firmly in the planning stages.

The moves signal a change of direction in the management of Jenni Rivera’s estate, which had been helmed by her sister, Rosie, since her death. Now, the reins have amicably passed to Jacqie, the second of Rivera’s five children. (The five are recording star Chiquis Rivera, Jacqie Rivera and Michael Marín from Rivera’s first marriage, and Jenicka and Johnny Angel, from her second marriage.)

All five siblings are now part of the estate’s advisory board and are actively involved in major decision-making, says Jacqie.

“The little decisions, I make them. For the big decisions, we all get together and we all vote,” she explains. “My little brother Johnny is working alongside with me, especially for the music. He’s always been involved in producing, and we’re working closely together. But we definitely need each other, all of us together, to really do it. There’s always meetings, phone calls, zooms. We’re all busy but we make it happen.”

When Rivera died in 2012, at 43 years old, she was the single most successful woman in regional Mexican on the Billboard charts — with over 26 entries on the Regional Mexican Airplay chart — and at the pinnacle of her career. But she was also on the verge of much more.

She was on the verge of a major crossover, having become the first Latina ever to sign a production deal to star in her own TV series on a major U.S. network and about to have her own residency in Las Vegas. On the verge of a cinematic career, Rivera played her first role in a major film, Filly Brown. On the verge of fulfilling her dream of becoming the “Latina Oprah,” with the continued success of her weekly radio show, Contacto Directo con Jenni Rivera. And on the verge of massive stardom in Mexico, following her stint as the most popular coach on season 2 of La Voz.

Perhaps most importantly to her, after years of being the sole provider for her family, she was finally finding the time to truly enjoy her children and her grandchildren. But her death left her children reeling. Only now, says Jacqie, does she feel ready to take control of her mother’s estate.

“My mom was such a big part…she was our everything,” says Rivera. “I don’t think any of us kids would have been ready to do this job because it’s a lot of work. For sure, I’m ready now.”

As part of the changes implemented since she took over, Rivera tapped Izabel Nicholas as general manager for Jenni Rivera Enterprises and Oswaldo Rossi has remained as the estate’s lawyer. Entotal Agency, the management firm headed by Jorge Sánchez and Tom Muzquiz with Pitbull as a partner is handling artist management.

“Being part of the Jenni Rivera team is an honor and a privilege,” says Sánchez, whose company started working with the estate in March, at the recommendation of BMI CCO Alex Flores. “Working with Jacqie and Jenni Rivera Enterprises represents a great experience due to her vision, respect and the enthusiasm. Jenni Rivera died in the prime of her life, and the music she left behind reflects this vitality. We have a great task ahead, with many and amazing releases plus other projects from one of the most important names and legacies in Latin music.”

It all amounts to an outpouring of material that would have made Jenni Rivera proud, says Jacqie, whose eyes brighten when asked what she thinks her mother would tell her if she could see her now.

“I think she would remind me of what my name means: Jacqueline is a form of Jacob, and Jacob is a go-getter,” she responds. “She would always remind me of what my name meant. [So I think she would say] ‘You got this, you can do this.’ And as a mom, she’d also tell me I’m doing a good job — because sometimes, you really don’t know.”

Jacqie Rivera Releases Version of Her Mother’s Classic Love Song “Que Ganas De No Verte Nunca Mas”

Jacqie Rivera is paying tribute to her late mother…

The 29-year-old Mexican-American singer, the star of Universo‘s reality show The Riveras, has released a version of a classic love song that her late mother, Jenni Rivera, also recorded, and her version went on to become a fan favorite with millions of views.

Jacqie Rivera

The new rendition of “Que Ganas De No Verte Nunca Mas” was posted to Jacqie’s YouTube channel this week and online followers have voiced their supportive opinions.

“In some parts of the song you remind me of your mom,” one commenter posted. “Take that talent that you have in your veins and launch your singing career.”

In another post a follower said, “I like the way she sings and she has mad swagg… lets not forget she gets it from her mama!”

Jacqie’s version of the romantic ballad, which was written by Spanish composer Manuel Alejandroin the 1980s, comes more than five years after the matriarch died in a plane crash while working in Mexico.

During an exclusive Billboard interview before the start of current season of The Riveras, Jacqie spoke about the possibility of venturing into a career as a recording artist and recalled some of the life lessons she learned from her mother.

“I’ve always liked to sing, but I didn’t want that life,” Rivera said. “I’m not worried about sales or winning awards. I don’t want to have deadlines and feel the pressure, but I think I have something to say.”

Instead of rushing to record music, Rivera has decided to take her time as she releases music online and at her own pace. Additionally, taking vocal lessons has also been key, she said, adding that she has long enjoyed singing genres beyond regional Mexican, including alternative, country, gospel and Christian music.

The finale of The Riveras airs on Sunday and as the Rivera siblings reflect on major life transformations this season, Jacqie’s story has also unfolded in many ways, including the announcement that she and her husband decided to end their relationship.

As she considers expanding her musical aspirations, Rivera has learned a few things about the business thanks to her American-born mother who became one of the most celebrated recording artists in regional Mexican music in the U.S. and Mexico.

“From watching and observing my mom I’ve learned to never do anything that isn’t you,” Rivera said. “Have thick skin, a tender heart and just be yourself.”

Rivera’s Family Launches Label Inspired by the Late Singer

The family of Jenni Rivera plans to keep the late singer’s memory alive through music…

The Rivera family has announced plans to launch a new label inspired by la Diva de la Banda, who died in a Mexican plane crash in December.

Jenni Rivera

Rivera had personally wanted to support and launch aspiring Latino singers, according to family spokesperson.

JRE/Divina Music, based in Los Angeles, was in the works in 2010 by Rivera who was already eyeing talent for the label. The label eventually signed bilingual singer Monica Padilla.

The label will also include a project by sibling Juan Rivera in addition to a Christian themed album by Rivera’s daughter Jacqie, who performed at her mother’s memorial.

The songstress’ sister Rosie Rivera, the administrator of Rivera’s estate, said in a statement that her sister “had many expectations of this project as a label… we are putting a lot of energy to complete her dreams.”

Padilla’s album, Contra la Pared, is scheduled for release later in 2013. Not only was Rivera part of the creative team that made the album a reality, she also promoted Padilla during an L.A concert.

Distribution details for JRE/Divina Music were not immediately available.