Bertelsmann Realigns BMG For Music Rights Business

Sells Half Of Sony BMG; Realigns

In the wake of selling its portion of SONY BMG to partner SONY, BERTELSMANN is gearing the business of its BERTELSMANN MUSIC GROUP towards music rights management. BERTELSMANN is taking over selected European catalogs of music rights from SONY BMG as part of the transaction. They comprise the works of more than 200 artists. The catalogs will continue to be distributed by SONY MUSIC.

Taking over these catalogs is a step towards the planned establishment of a licensing and management platform for exploiting and marketing music rights under the BMG brand. The designated managing director of BMG, based in BERLIN, is HARTWIG MASUCH, who most recently advised BERTELSMANN in the negotiations with SONY. BMG VP MAXIMILIAN DRESSENDORFER will also be part of the management team.

BERTELSMANN's CFO THOMAS RABE, who is responsible for the music division on the group's Executive Board, stated, "The many new distribution paths are causing an increase in the demand for music use rights. In view of this fact, we believe that building a business for the management and exploitation of such rights in EUROPE is an attractive proposition. We want to take advantage of our opportunities and position ourselves with the strong, well-established BMG brand and a management that is highly regarded in the market."

Designated managing director HARTWIG MASUCH added: "I am confident that, by building this new business under the historic BMG brand, we will continue to be successful in shaping the music industry. The activities of BERTELSMANN's various divisions, coupled with the realignment of BMG, provide countless opportunities for us to put together attractive service packages for creatives and rights owners. Our top priority will be to assert the rights owners' claims efficiently and protect their interests against a backdrop of increasingly complex use and distribution models."

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