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 Enterprises Agrees to Worldwide Distribution Deal with Sony Music Latin & The Orchard

The music of the late Jenni Rivera has a new home…

Jenni Rivera Enterprises has signed a worldwide distribution deal with Sony Music Latin and The Orchard to cover the late singer’s catalog.

Jenni Rivera

Rivera, a legend of Regional Mexican music through her career, died in a plane crash in December 2012, at the age of 43.

“In Sony Music Latin and The Orchard, we found exceptional partners for the next era of Jenni’s music,” said Jenni Rivera Enterprises CEO and Rivera’s sister, Rosie Rivera, in a statement. “Her music meant everything to her, and still does to so many people. Our commitment and highest responsibility is to maintain its integrity and impact. The Orchard and Sony Music Latin feel the exact same way.”

Between 1999 and 2012, Rivera released 12 studio albums and four live albums, five of which reached the top two slots on Billboard’s Top Latin Albums chart.

After her death, her popularity grew exponentially; two compilation albums and four additional live albums that were released in the four years following her passing all reached No. 1 on the Top Albums chart as well.

“Jenni Rivera’s contributions to the Regional Mexican genre are unparalleled,” The Orchard COO Colleen Theis said in a statement. “We are honored and excited to team up with Sony Music Latin and Jenni Rivera Enterprises to leverage our global network and bring her music to the world in a new way.”

As part of the deal, a “multi-tiered global marketing campaign” will be rolled out in order to push Rivera’s music and give it a new shine, according to a press release accompanying the announcement. Her music and catalog was previously distributed by Universal/Fonovisa, though, unusually, she had retained control of her masters throughout her career.

“We’re humbled and honored to be able to work alongside Rosie and [brother] Juan Rivera on Jenni’s legacy,” Sony Music U.S. Latin president Nir Seroussi said in a statement. “It’s an opportunity for her music to reach new audiences and for us to pay homage to a generation-defining superstar. She’s going to continue making history.”