Editing Warner Chappell Music (section)

===Acquisitions and Growth (1988–2005)===

Warner Chappell grew rapidly through a series of targeted acquisitions in the late 1980s and 1990s. In 1988, the company acquired the '''Birch Tree Group''' (formerly Summy-Birchard), publisher of "[[Happy Birthday to You]]" — one of the most performed songs in the English language — as well as the Frances Clark piano method books. In 1990, Warner Chappell acquired '''Mighty Three Music''', the publishing catalog of Philadelphia soul architects [[Thom Bell]] and the [[Gamble and Huff]] team, adding a foundational body of 1970s R&B songwriting. The same year, Canadian publisher Gordon V. Thompson Music was acquired. In 1994, Warner Chappell's print music arm, Warner Bros. Publications, expanded by acquiring CPP/Belwin, formerly the print music division of Columbia Pictures, making WCM the world's largest owner of song copyrights and largest publisher of printed sheet music at the time. In 2005, Warner Chappell sold the bulk of its printed music division — Warner Bros. Publications — to Alfred Publishing, exiting the sheet music printing business to focus entirely on licensing and rights administration. In 2006, the company launched the Pan European Digital Licensing (P.E.D.L.) initiative to streamline digital rights clearances across Europe.