IVORY Music and Video Inc. a 40-year-old label with a strong domestic catalogue has been sold to the Viva Music Group. Tony Ocampo, chief operating officer of Viva Records, who together with Viva Communications chairman and chief executive officer Vic Del Rosario, Jr, finalized the sale for an undisclosed amount with Ivory president Steven L. Tan last week.

” Ivory makes a most prestigious addition to the Viva catalogue,” says Ocampo who established the Ivory label in 1993.

The deal includes Ivory’s entire catalogue of recorded music and all of the songs licensed to it’s music publishing arm. Among these are recordings by The CompanY, Side A, Freddie Aguilar, Moira Dela Torre, Wolfgang, April Boy Regino, Florante, Roselle Nava, Orient Pearl and many others.

As of now, the music side of the multi- media entertainment company already includes all of the recorded music libraries of Vicor Music, Telesis Recording, Terno Records and Viva Music. Among these are recordings by Sharon Cuneta, Martin Nievera, Basil Valdez , Regine Velasquez, Andrew E, Sarah Geronimo, Freestyle and Up Dharma Down.

Viva Music Publishing is home to the works of Dennis Garcia, Rene Garcia, Willy Cruz, Louie Ocampo, Top Suzara, Jay Durias, Thyro Alfaro, Arthur Nery and many other authors and composers.

Joko just a proud not a stage father to Ashley

THE name Mary Cherry Chua became popular in the early 2000s. According to the urban legend, Mary is an intelligent young student who was raped and killed by the school janitor. Stories say that up to now, her spirit still wanders the school premises.

Get a new perspective about this famed school urban legend written and directed by 2018 CineFilipino finalist Roni S. Benaid. “I remember nung high school ako, sikat siya sa amin. Gusto kong ibalik siya at ipakilala sa younger generations, sa mga Gen-Z.” says the director on why he chose to bring this famous horror story into the big screen.

Mary Cherry Chua is Ashley Diaz’s first lead role in a movie. Ashley shares how she managed to handle the pressure while working for this movie, “There will always be pressure naman sa bawat project pero iba po talaga kasi kapag first lead mo tapos solo ka pa, pero nasa sayo naman yon kung i-take mo yung pressure positively or negatively. Eh ngayon naman I’m taking it positively.”

Ashley’s father, award-winning actor, Joko Diaz gives his all-out support as he plays Mr. Manzano, Karen’s term paper adviser. “Kay Ashley, I’m a proud papa, pero siyempre kailangan gina-guide mo pa rin siya.”

Dare to speak her name and find out about her real story. Mary Cherry Chua, in cinemas nationwide this July 19, 2023.

Atasha makes official showbiz debut at Viva

SHOWBIZ royalty, this generation’s veritable “It girl”, and now a certified Ka-Viva, Atasha Muhlach is now officially under the management of VAA.

The daughter of celebrity couple Aga Muhlach and Charlene Gonzales, Atasha and her twin brother Andres, are scions of showbiz families from both sides.

It’s no surprise that the young lady eventually entered showbusiness right after her graduation from business school in Nottingham, United Kingdom. It was her parents’ wish that both of their children finish school first before seriously considering a career in showbiz.

It is Viva’s great happiness that she has chosen to entrust her showbiz management to the same entertainment company that her parents have also worked with closely back then.

Showbiz is not really something new to Atasha, she has focused mainly on doing commercials and endorsements only so far: from TV commercials back when she was a little girl to a recent endorsement with one of the country’s biggest fashion brands.

Fans got to know Atasha a bit more through interviews, features, and covers that many of the country’s top publications did for her. Her debut at the 2022 le Bal de Débutantes in Paris was a much publicized affair as well.

But it is with her joining the VAA family that fans will get to see the fuller side of Atasha as an artist. She will also start exploring a recording project with Viva Records in the coming months.

Fans have a lot to look forward to, as Pinoy showbiz welcomes true showbiz royalty in Atasha Muhlach.

By the way her twin brother Andres is a looker and we wonder if he has plans of entering showbiz. By REMY UMEREZ