Woody Guthrie Publications Inc

What Woody Guthrie Publications Inc does

Woody Guthrie Publications Inc is a privately held cultural/rights-management company founded in 1992 that serves as the official steward of Woody Guthrie's creative estate. The firm preserves and licenses the folk musician and songwriter's catalog of musical and literary works, and operates related educational programs, exhibits, and a direct-to-consumer online store at woodyguthrie.org. Its functional role is analogous to that of other artist-estate and music-publishing administrators: it controls the intellectual property rights, collects licensing royalties, authorizes commercial uses, and curates the public presentation of the artist's legacy through cultural programming and merchandise.

The company's product surface consists of three interlocking lines: (i) catalog and publishing licensing for musical works, lyrics, and writings (the most commercially recognizable being "This Land Is Your Land"); (ii) institutional programs and exhibits delivered to museums, schools, and folk-music organizations; and (iii) a retail/merchandise channel via its online store. There is no disclosed proprietary technology platform, software stack, or AI tooling — the operation appears to be a lean, content- and rights-driven business rather than a technology company. Headcount is reported at 1–10 employees, consistent with a small specialist rights-management organization.

The business model combines royalty and licensing revenue (one-off and recurring fees paid by publishers, film/TV producers, advertisers, and other commercial users of the catalog), institutional/program revenue (grants, partnerships, and fees from exhibits and educational initiatives), and direct-to-consumer retail sales through the online store. No pricing tiers, customer logos, distributor relationships, or revenue split between channels are disclosed in the available data, and the source website content was not successfully captured beyond the firm's self-description. Geographic scope is presented as global via online distribution, but no specific operating geographies or restrictions are documented.

Name

Woody Guthrie Publications Inc

Website

https://woodyguthrie.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Woody Guthrie Publications Inc is a privately held, 1–10-employee firm founded in 1992 that preserves and licenses Woody Guthrie's musical and literary works, runs related educational programs and exhibits, and operates an online merchandise store serving publishers, cultural institutions, and fans.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Core offering

Woody Guthrie Publications Inc preserves and licenses the musical and literary works of folk artist Woody Guthrie. The organization operates related cultural programs, exhibits, and an online store selling Guthrie-related merchandise. Its central commercial activity is authorizing use of the Guthrie catalog for recordings, performances, film, and other commercial purposes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Woody Guthrie Catalog Licensing Licensing of Woody Guthrie's musical and literary works to commercial users such as record labels, film/TV producers, and advertising agencies for recordings, performances, and synchronization use.
• Woody Guthrie Online Store Direct-to-consumer online merchandise store operated at woodyguthrie.org, offering Guthrie-related music, books, apparel, and memorabilia to individual fans and collectors.
• Cultural Programs and Exhibits Educational and cultural programs and exhibits related to Woody Guthrie's works and legacy, operated by the organization for public engagement with the artist's catalog and history.

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves2 records

Broad incumbents

• Hal Leonard Corporation: Hal Leonard is one of the largest print music publishers and distributors in the world, covering educational and popular songbooks, scores, and licensing. It is comparable to Woody Guthrie Publications as a music publisher with print and rights-administration activities, though vastly larger in scale and catalog breadth.
• BMG Rights Management: BMG administers publishing and master rights for a large catalog of legacy and contemporary songwriters and artists, including folk and Americana repertoire. It is comparable as a music rights administrator that licenses compositions and collects royalties on behalf of rights holders, but operates at global scale across many catalogs.
• Concord Music Group: Concord owns and administers a portfolio of publishing catalogs, recorded music, and theatrical rights spanning folk, rock, jazz, and classical heritage. It is comparable as a multi-catalog publisher/rights administrator with significant folk and Americana repertoire, overlapping Woody Guthrie Publications' licensing and publishing-administration activities.

Direct peers

• Primary Wave Music Publishing: Primary Wave is an independent music publisher that acquires and administers catalogs of iconic legacy artists across publishing and master rights. It is a direct comparable to Woody Guthrie Publications as a focused catalog administrator for high-value legacy songwriters, with similar sync-licensing and royalty-administration activities.
• Songs Music Publishing: Songs is an independent music publisher that signs and administers songwriters across pop, rock, folk, and beyond, with a focus on high-quality catalog rights administration. It is a direct peer to Woody Guthrie Publications in the publishing-administration and rights-licensing business, with overlapping sync and royalty collection workflows.
• ABKCO Music & Records: ABKCO is an independent music publisher and label that administers a focused catalog of iconic legacy songwriters and performers, handling publishing, masters, and sync licensing. It is a direct comparable to Woody Guthrie Publications as a boutique publisher-administering rights for a small set of high-value legacy catalogs.
• Cherry Lane Music Publishing: Cherry Lane is an independent music publisher specializing in catalog administration and print music for songwriters and legacy works. It is directly comparable to Woody Guthrie Publications as a focused independent publisher administering rights for legacy songwriters.

Emerging players

• Smithsonian Folkways Recordings: Smithsonian Folkways is a nonprofit record label and archive that preserves and disseminates folk and roots music recordings, including Woody Guthrie material. It overlaps with Woody Guthrie Publications in the preservation, licensing, and educational dissemination of American folk repertoire.
• The Woody Guthrie Center: The Woody Guthrie Center is a museum and cultural archive in Tulsa dedicated to Woody Guthrie's life, music, and legacy. While separate from Woody Guthrie Publications Inc, it is highly relevant as a sibling organization stewarding Guthrie's archive, exhibits, and educational programming — overlapping materially on the heritage/archival side of the business.

Regional players

• Rounder Records: Rounder Records is a roots and folk-focused label (now part of Concord) that has released folk, bluegrass, and Americana recordings, including historical Woody Guthrie material. It is a regional/genre comparable for the folk repertoire side of Woody Guthrie Publications' catalog exploitation.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key highlights4 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Woody Guthrie Publications Inc