BMG Fully Integrates Catalog And Frontline

BMG Integrates Catalog & New Releases

BMG has become the first global music company to abandon the industry distinction between new "frontline” and older catalog recordings. The move is reflective of the new reality of a streaming market in which older catalog recordings account for up to three quarters of revenue, BMG will fully integrate its new release and catalog recordings businesses.

BMG's recorded catalog will now report locally as per its country of origin and then globally through BMG EVP/Global Repertoire FRED CASIMIR for all sales outside the owning territory, the same structure it uses for new frontline recordings.  

BMG CEO HARTWIG MASUCH commented, "Music fans demonstrate on a daily basis that they reject the music industry's outdated privileging of new music over older music. Music is music regardless of its age. Great artists and great music have no expiry date and we believe it is time for the music industry to reflect that."

In a note to BMG staff, MASUCH added, "BMG was the first music company to recognize that in a streaming environment, older music would be relatively more important than it had ever been in the past. This is borne out by market statistics which show that the new release frontline business is down to 30% or less of streaming consumption."

MASUCH went on to say, “It is why we have invested heavily in classic repertoire and why the majority of our frontline new releases are by proven and established artists. But until now, we have always followed industry practice in having a separate global reporting line for catalog recordings as opposed to frontline. This now changes."

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