20 Businesses Dolly Parton Launched Over Her Career
Billboard highlights the breadth of Dolly Parton’s business ventures, showing how she used her music career to build a global brand across entertainment, hospitality, publishing and licensing.
– Dollywood: Parton partnered with the Herschend family in 1986 to reopen the Tennessee park; it now covers 165 acres, has more than 50 attractions and receives over three million visitors annually.
– Dollywood expansion: Her tourism business also includes Splash Country, DreamMore Resort and Spa, and HeartSong Lodge & Resort.
– Owepar Entertainment: Founded as Owepar Publishing in 1967 to administer Parton’s songwriting, it was relaunched as an entertainment company in 2019.
– Independent record label: Parton released albums including *The Grass Is Blue*, *Little Sparrow* and *Precious Memories* through her own label arrangements.
– Velvet Apple Music: Her publishing company oversees hundreds of her compositions, with Concord Music Publishing handling an international agreement since 2017.
– Song ownership: Parton retained control of much of her songwriting catalogue, including refusing Elvis Presley’s proposed recording terms for “I Will Always Love You”.
– Wider branding: Her ventures and licensing have extended into areas including beauty, food, hospitality and pet products, alongside charitable work such as Imagination Library.
- Parton turned music ownership into a diverse business empire.
- Dollywood is her largest and most visible commercial venture.
- Publishing control helped underpin her long-term business success.
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Dolly Parton is an American singer, songwriter and actor whose career began in country music in the 1960s. She became known worldwide through hit songs, film roles and television appearances, while also writing many of the songs she recorded.
Alongside performing, Parton has built businesses around her name and work. These include music publishing and recording ventures, as well as tourism projects in her home state of Tennessee, particularly the Dollywood theme park and its associated resorts and water park.
A key part of her business approach has been keeping control of her songwriting and using her public profile in licensing deals across different products. Her commercial work sits alongside charitable projects, including the Imagination Library, which provides books to children.