Music Sales Group is Europe's largest printed music publisher, with headquarters in Berners Street, London. It owns the rights to hundreds of thousands of songs, imprints both for books and sheet music, operates the UK's largest chain of music shops, and sells sheet music, instruments and accessories.^{[citation needed]}

The group, privately owned and run by Robert Wise, includes Wise Publications, Chester Music, Novello & Co and Omnibus Press.^{[citation needed]}

Music Sales is also owner of the G. Schirmer catalog, and publishes printed music for Sony/ATV, Universal.^{[citation needed]}

Novello & Co is a London-based printed music publishing company specializing in classical music, particularly choral repertoire. It was founded in 1811 by Vincent Novello.

Chester Music is a British publisher of printed music specializing in classical composition and educational music of the 20th and 21st centuries.

Kurt Donald Cobain (February 20, 1967 – April 5, 1994) was an American singer-songwriter, musician and artist, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the grunge band Nirvana. Cobain formed Nirvana with Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1985 and established it as part of the Seattle music scene, having its debut album Bleach released on the independent record label Sub Pop in 1989.

After signing with major label DGC Records, the band found breakthrough success with "Smells Like Teen Spirit" from its second album Nevermind (1991). Following the success of Nevermind, Nirvana was labeled "the flagship band" of Generation X, and Cobain hailed as "the spokesman of a generation". Cobain, however, was often uncomfortable and frustrated, believing his message and artistic vision to have been misinterpreted by the public, with his personal issues often subject to media attention. He challenged Nirvana's audience with its final studio album In Utero (1993).

During the last years of his life, Cobain struggled with heroin addiction, illness and depression. He also had difficulty coping with his fame and public image, and the professional and lifelong personal pressures surrounding himself and his wife, musician Courtney Love. On April 8, 1994, Cobain was found dead at his home in Seattle, the victim of what was officially ruled a suicide by a self-inflicted shotgun wound to the head. The circumstances of his death at age 27 have become a topic of public fascination and debate. Since their debut, Nirvana, with Cobain as a songwriter, has sold over 25 million albums in the U.S. alone, and over 50 million worldwide.

Tupac Amaru Shakur (June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), known by his stage names 2Pac, Pac, and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor. Shakur has sold over 75 million records worldwide as of 2010, making him one of the best-selling music artists in the world. Rolling Stone Magazine named him the 86th Greatest Artist of All Time. The themes of most of Tupac's songs are the violence and hardship in inner cities, racism, social problems, and conflicts with other rappers during the East Coast–West Coast hip hop rivalry. Shakur began his career as a roadie, backup dancer, and MC for the alternative hip hop group Digital Underground.

Both of his parents and several other family members were members of the Black Panthers, and Tupac made reference to the organization in the song "Changes". Shakur was involved in a West-coast East-coast rivalry after a major feud with East-coast rappers, producers and record-label members of staff.

On September 7, 1996, Shakur was shot four times in Las Vegas, Nevada. He was taken to the University Medical Center, where he died six days later.

Scott Gorham (born William Scott Gorham on March 17, 1951 in Glendale, California) is an American guitarist and songwriter who rose to international recognition as one of the "twin lead guitarists" of the Irish-formed rock band, Thin Lizzy. Although not a founding member of Thin Lizzy, he is best known for his continuous membership after passing an audition and joining the band during a time when the band was on hiatus after the departure of guitarist Eric Bell. Gorham remained in the band after joining in 1974 through the band's breakup in 1984. He and guitarist Brian Robertson, both hired at the same time, marked the beginning of the band's most critically successful period, and together developed the "twin lead guitar" makeup of the band that distinguished its sound with dual backing vocals as well. Gorham was the band member with the longest membership after founders Brian Downey (drummer) and frontman and bass guitarist, Phil Lynott.

Since 1996 onward, with a different lineup, Gorham has continued to perform with Thin Lizzy on guitar and backing vocals, and, as in years past, he has contributed to the band with songwriting material written or co-written with other band members.

Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Often referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records. His contribution to music, dance, and fashion, along with a much-publicized personal life, made him a global figure in popular culture for over four decades. The seventh child of the Jackson family, he debuted on the professional music scene along with his brothers as a member of The Jackson 5 in 1964, and began his solo career in 1971.

In the early 1980s, Jackson became a dominant figure in popular music. The music videos for his songs, including those of "Beat It", "Billie Jean", and "Thriller", were credited with transforming the medium into an art form and a promotional tool, and the popularity of these videos helped to bring the relatively new television channel MTV to fame. Videos such as "Black or White" and "Scream" made him a staple on MTV in the 1990s. Through stage performances and music videos, Jackson popularized a number of complicated dance techniques, such as the robot and the moonwalk, to which he gave the name. His distinctive musical sound and vocal style influenced numerous hip hop, post-disco, contemporary R&B, pop and rock artists.