BMG Rights Management
GmbH (also known simply as BMG) is an international
music company
A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and Music video, music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher (popular music), pub ...
based in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
, Germany.
It combines the activities of a
music publisher
A music publisher is a type of publisher that specializes in distributing music. Music publishers originally published sheet music. When copyright became legally protected, music publishers started to play a role in the management of the intellect ...
and a
record label
A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...
.
BMG was founded in October 2008 after
Bertelsmann
Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA () is a German private multinational conglomerate corporation based in Gütersloh, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is one of the world's largest media conglomerates, and is also active in the service sector and ...
sold its stake in
Sony BMG
Sony BMG Music Entertainment was an American record company owned as a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann. The venture's successor, the revived Sony Music, is wholly owned by Sony, following their buyout o ...
. From 2009 to 2013, the investment firm
KKR held 51% of the company, which became one of the world's largest music publishers during that time. BMG is 100% owned by Bertelsmann and one of the group's eight business divisions.
The portfolio includes rights in songs and recordings by artists such as
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She is the highest-selling female Australian artist of all time, having sold over 80 million records worldwide. She has been recognised for reinve ...
,
Craig David
Craig Ashley David (born 5 May 1981) is a British singer and songwriter who rose to fame in 1999, featuring on the single "Re-Rewind (The Crowd Say Bo Selecta), Re-Rewind" by Artful Dodger (UK band), Artful Dodger. David's debut studio album, ' ...
,
Avril Lavigne
Avril Ramona Lavigne ( ; born September 27, 1984) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. At age 16, she signed a two-album recording contract with Arista Records. Her debut studio album, ''Let Go (Avril Lavigne album), Let Go'' (2002), is the ...
,
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...
,
Tina Turner
Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer o ...
,
The Cranberries
The Cranberries were an Irish rock band formed in Limerick, Ireland. Originally named the Cranberry Saw Us, the band were formed in 1989 by lead singer Niall Quinn, guitarist Noel Hogan, bassist Mike Hogan and drummer Fergal Lawler. Quinn was ...
,
David Bowie
David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
,
Roger Waters
George Roger Waters (born 6 September 1943) is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. In 1965, he co-founded the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. Waters initially served as the bassist, but following the departure of singer-so ...
,
Iggy Pop
James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter and actor. Called the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Godfather of Punk", he was the vocalist and lyricist of ...
,
Quincy Jones
Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...
,
Lenny Kravitz
Leonard Albert Kravitz (born May 26, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter. His style incorporates elements of rock, blues, soul, R&B, funk, jazz, reggae, hard rock, psychedelic, pop and folk.
Kravitz won the Grammy Award for Best Male Roc ...
Morrissey
Steven Patrick Morrissey (; born 22 May 1959), known professionally as Morrissey, is an English singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the frontman and lyricist of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. Since then ...
,
5 Seconds of Summer,
KSI
Olajide Olayinka Williams "JJ" Olatunji (born 19 June 1993), known professionally as KSI, is an English YouTuber and rapper. He is a co-founder and member of the British YouTube group known as the Sidemen. He is the CEO of Misfits Boxing and ...
,
Eraserheads
Eraserheads (sometimes stylized as ERASƎRHEADS or ƎRASƎRHƎADS) are a Filipino alternative rock band formed in 1989. With a line-up comprising Ely Buendia, Buddy Zabala, Marcus Adoro, and Raimund Marasigan, the band became one of the most ...
,
Rivermaya
Rivermaya is a Filipino alternative rock band. Formed in 1994, it is one of the several bands who spearheaded the 1990s Philippine alternative rock explosion.
Rivermaya is currently composed of original members Mark Escueta and Nathan Azarcon ...
. and
Peter Frampton
Peter Kenneth Frampton (born 22 April 1950) is an English musician and songwriter who was a member of the rock bands Humble Pie and the Herd. As a solo artist, he has released several albums, including his major breakthrough album, the live ...
.
History
Music at Bertelsmann
![Bertelsmann_Music_Group_Logo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/Bertelsmann_Music_Group_Logo.svg)
In the 1950s, Bertelsmann entered the music business when it added music to its book club.
Ariola
Ariola (also known as Ariola Records, Ariola-Eurodisc and BMG Ariola) is a German record label. In the late 1980s, it was a subsidiary label of the Bertelsmann Music Group, which in turn has become a part of the international media conglomerat ...
, a record label, was launched and
Sonopress
Sonopress (known as Arvato Entertainment from 2008-2015), is the CD and DVD replication business of Bertelsmann. Founded in 1958 to supply gramophone record for Bertelsmann's music club and music label businesses, Sonopress became the world's se ...
, a pressing plant, was established. In 1975, Ariola opened an office in the United States. Bertelsmann acquired
Arista Records
Arista Records () is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously handled by BMG Entertainmen ...
in 1979 and RCA Records in 1985, thereby becoming one of the world's largest music companies. Its various subsidiaries were brought together in 1987 to form
Bertelsmann Music Group
Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG) was a division of a German media company Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Sony Corporation of America on 1 October 2008. Although it was established in 1987, the music com ...
(BMG), which did business in a number of genres, including
folk
Folk or Folks may refer to:
Sociology
*Nation
*People
* Folklore
** Folk art
** Folk dance
** Folk hero
** Folk music
*** Folk metal
*** Folk punk
*** Folk rock
** Folk religion
* Folk taxonomy
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Folk Plus or Fol ...
,
pop and, in particular,
classical music
Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...
.
In response to declining sales in the overall music market, Bertelsmann agreed to merge its record label interests with
Sony
, commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
in 2003; the company was called Sony BMG. Furthermore, in 2006, Bertelsmann sold its subsidiary BMG Music Publishing to
Vivendi
Vivendi SE is a French mass media holding company headquartered in Paris. Widely known as the owner of Gameloft, Groupe Canal+, Havas, Editis, Prisma Media, Vivendi Village and Dailymotion, the company has activities in television, film, video ...
. Having reached the conclusion that established music publishing companies and record labels were not appropriate for an increasingly digital music business, Bertelsmann sold its stake in the Sony BMG joint venture in 2008. The company was subsequently renamed
Sony Music Entertainment
Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainment ...
.
Launch of the new BMG
In October 2008, Bertelsmann launched the new BMG with a small portfolio of recorded music rights of around 200 artists it retained from Sony BMG.
It declared it would pursue a business model focused on fairness, service and transparency.
The launch of the new BMG came amidst the 2008 financial crisis, and within two weeks of the collapse of
Lehman Brothers
Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. ( ) was an American global financial services firm founded in 1847. Before Bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, filing for bankruptcy in 2008, Lehman was the fourth-largest investment bank in the United States (behind Gol ...
. Since Bertelsmann could not supply the required funds on its own, a 51% stake was sold to financial investor
KKR in 2009.
Bertelsmann retained 49% and the right to appoint the company's management. The transaction allowed BMG to increase its equity ratio.
International expansion
Initially, Bertelsmann had announced that the new BMG would focus on the European broadcast market. After KKR became the majority shareholder, the company set its sights on expanding internationally. A key step towards achieving this goal was acquiring
Cherry Lane Music Publishing in 2009, which provided BMG with its first foothold in the United States.
BMG made several other purchases in 2010, including
Evergreen Copyright Acquisitions.
In 2011,
Bug Music
Bug Music was an influential independent music publisher in Los Angeles, California. The company was founded in 1975 by Dan Bourgoise to represent the catalogue of musician Del Shannon.
Their clients included Johnny Cash and Rosanne Cash, Los L ...
was bought by BMG, followed by music publisher R2M Music in 2012. Bertelsmann was also reported to be interested in buying
EMI
EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...
, but EMI was ultimately acquired by
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...
and
Warner Music Group
Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and t ...
(record labels) and
Sony/ATV Music Publishing
Sony Music Publishing (formerly Sony/ATV Music Publishing) is the largest music publisher in the world, with over five million songs owned or administered as of end March 2021. US-based, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is itself owned ...
(songwriters). The regulatory authorities approved the deal subject to some conditions, including the sale of several labels. BMG was thus able to acquire
Mute Records
Mute Records is a British independent record label owned and founded in 1978 by Daniel Miller. It has featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Depeche Mode, Erasure, Einstürzende Neubauten, Fad Gadget, Goldfrapp, Grinderm ...
(2012) and
Sanctuary Records
Sanctuary Records Group Limited was a record label based in the United Kingdom and is as of 2013 a subsidiary of BMG Rights Management solely for reissues. Until June 2007, it was the largest independent record label in the UK and the largest m ...
(2013), as well as the publishing catalogues of EMI Virgin Music and
Famous Music
Famous Music Corporation was the worldwide music publishing division of Paramount Pictures, a division of Paramount Global since 1994. Its copyright holdings span several decades and includes music from such Academy Award-winning motion pictures ...
UK from Sony/ATV.
Becoming a group division
In 2013, KKR sold its stake in BMG to Bertelsmann, making it the sole shareholder of the company. Under the leadership of Chief Executive Officer
Thomas Rabe, who had been a key driver of BMG's expansion during his time as Chief Financial Officer,
Bertelsmann again cited music as one of its strategic growth areas.
In 2013, the company began to represent rights to songs by
Robbie Williams
Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, and achieved commercial success after launching a solo career in 1996. His debut stud ...
and the
Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...
. Record labels were also added to the portfolio including Union Square Music (distributor of
Universal Music
Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, Dutch law. UMG's cor ...
's
ZTT Records
ZTT Records is a British record label founded in 1983 by record producer Trevor Horn, Horn's wife and businesswoman Jill Sinclair, and ''New Musical Express'' (NME) journalist Paul Morley. The label's name was also stylised as ZANG TUMB TUUM and ...
and
Stiff Records
Stiff Records is a British independent record label formed in London, England, by Dave Robinson and Jake Riviera. Originally active from 1976 to 1986, the label was reactivated in 2007.
Established at the outset of the punk rock boom, Stiff ...
), Vagrant Music and Infectious Music (2014), as well as
S-Curve Records
S-Curve Records was founded in 2000 by former Mercury Records executive Steve Greenberg. It is based in New York City. In 2001 the label established a distribution and licensing agreement with EMI Records. Among the hits released by S-Curve b ...
and
Rise Records (2015). Other acquisitions followed in 2016, including the label
ARC Music
ARC Music is a world music and folk music label based in West Sussex, England, that was established in 1976. Naxos acquired ARC in 2019.
Film and television
ARC Music has been used in the films ''Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crysta ...
and the catalog of
The End Records
The End Records is a record label in Manhattan that specializes in rock, heavy metal, indie, and electronic music.
Early years (1998–2005)
The End Records was founded by Andreas Katsambas in Pasadena, California, with the goal of helping sm ...
. By acquiring Basement, BMG entered the market in Brazil, one of Bertelsmann's growth regions. The company also signed an agreement with Warner Music's
Alternative Distribution Alliance
Alternative Distribution Alliance (ADA) is a music distribution company owned by Warner Music Group, which represents the rights to various independent record labels. ADA provides "independent artist and label partners with access to the resource ...
for the physical and digital distribution of music, allowing BMG to consolidate its longstanding sales structures. BMG further expanded by entering the Chinese market in cooperation with
Alibaba
Ali Baba (character), Ali Baba is a character from the folk tale ''Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves''.
Ali Baba or Alibaba may also refer to:
Films
* Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves (1902 film), ''Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves'' (1902 film), a F ...
, allowing the online company to distribute the work of musicians and composers via its web channels while securing copyrights.
In the 2015 financial year, BMG was part of the Corporate Investments division at Bertelsmann. In 2016, the media group turned the subsidiary into a stand-alone division.
Today, BMG is considered a prime example of how growth platforms are created and leveraged at Bertelsmann.
Acquisition of BBR Music and new labels
In 2017, BMG announced the purchase of BBR Music Group, including the labels
Broken Bow Records
BBR Music Group (formerly Broken Bow Records) is an American record label based in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in July 1999 by Benny Brown, the label specializes in country music. The label's executive vice president is Jon Loba.
Craig Morgan ...
, Red Bow Records, Stoney Creek Records, Wheelhouse Records and the music publisher Magic Mustang Music.
With a value of more than 100 million
dollars
Dollar is the name of more than 20 currencies. They include the Australian dollar, Brunei dollar, Canadian dollar, Hong Kong dollar, Jamaican dollar, Liberian dollar, Namibian dollar, New Taiwan dollar, New Zealand dollar, Singapore dollar, Un ...
, the transaction was the largest recorded music acquisition in the company's history. BMG thus improved its position in the
country music
Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...
segment and ensured its long-term presence in the
Nashville
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...
music industry and its overall impact on the United States market.
In 2022, BMG announced its first new British record label within the group since 2009, Tag8 Music. This label was set up in association with ex-Bros member
Craig Logan
Craig Logan (born 22 April 1969) is a Scottish musician, songwriter, and manager. He began his career as bassist in the pop band Bros.
Career
In early 1989, Logan left Bros to focus on songwriting and producing. Kim Appleby's song " Don't Worr ...
and his management company Logan Media Entertainment, with Tag8 Music featuring established acts such as Pixie Lott, Roachford, and Louise Redknapp as part of its roster. On the Official Albums Chart Top 100 of 4 November 2022, the label charted its first hit album in the form of Blue's ''Heart & Soul''.
Corporate structure
![Quartier 205 Berlin-Mitte](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/Quartier_205_Berlin-Mitte.jpg)
BMG's parent enterprise is BMG Rights Management GmbH, a
limited liability company
A limited liability company (LLC for short) is the US-specific form of a private limited company. It is a business structure that can combine the pass-through taxation of a partnership or sole proprietorship with the limited liability of a ...
according to German law. The company's objective is "the marketing of music, as well as its development and delivery" for use in media, at concerts and for other purposes. BMG has numerous
subsidiaries
A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that either belong to the same parent company or having a sa ...
and
shareholdings, for example, BMG Rights Management (Europe) GmbH. In addition to Germany, BMG is present in Australia, Brazil, China, France, Italy, Spain, the UK, the Benelux countries, the United States, Canada, and Scandinavia.
BMG's senior management includes
Hartwig Masuch (
Chief Executive Officer
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
), Thomas Coesfeld (
Chief Financial Officer
The chief financial officer (CFO) is an officer of a company or organization that is assigned the primary responsibility for managing the company's finances, including financial planning, management of financial risks, record-keeping, and financ ...
),
Ama Walton (
General Counsel
A general counsel, also known as chief counsel or chief legal officer (CLO), is the chief in-house lawyer for a company or a governmental department.
In a company, the person holding the position typically reports directly to the CEO, and their ...
and
Chief Human Resources Officer
A chief human resources officer (CHRO) or chief people officer (CPO) is a corporate officer who oversees all aspects of human resource management and industrial relations policies, practices and operations for an organization. Similar job titles in ...
) and Ben Katovsky (
Chief Operating Officer
A chief operating officer or chief operations officer, also called a COO, is one of the highest-ranking executive positions in an organization, composing part of the "C-suite". The COO is usually the second-in-command at the firm, especially if t ...
). Masuch has been a member of Bertelsmann's Group Management Committee since 2013.
In the 2018 financial year, BMG posted revenues of €545 million. Rights and licenses accounted for 91.1% and products and merchandise 8.9%. Almost half of its revenues (44.1%) were generated in the United States. Other important markets were the United Kingdom (24.7%), Germany (6.3%) and France (3.9%).
Business model
BMG offers musicians the services generally provided by music publishers and record labels.
Unlike its major competitors, it runs them under the same roof and on the same technology platform. More recently, it has added film, television, and books to its roster of services.
Publishing
BMG publishing represents the rights of songwriters like
Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...
,
Louis Tomlinson
Louis William Tomlinson (; born Louis Troy Austin; 24 December 1991) is an English singer and songwriter. He rose to fame as a member of the boy band One Direction. Tomlinson began his career appearing in television dramas before he auditioned ...
,
5 Seconds of Summer,
Keith Richards
Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...
,
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She is the highest-selling female Australian artist of all time, having sold over 80 million records worldwide. She has been recognised for reinve ...
,
Ringo Starr
Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...
,
Nena
Gabriele Susanne Kerner (born 24 March 1960), better known as Nena, is a German singer and songwriter who rose to international fame in 1983 as the lead vocalist of the band Nena with the Neue Deutsche Welle song "99 Luftballons". In the same ye ...
,
Roger Waters
George Roger Waters (born 6 September 1943) is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. In 1965, he co-founded the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. Waters initially served as the bassist, but following the departure of singer-so ...
,
Alice Merton,
Billy Idol
William Michael Albert Broad (born 30 November 1955), known professionally as Billy Idol, is a British-American singer, songwriter, and musician. He first achieved fame in the 1970s emerging from the London punk rock scene as the lead singer o ...
,
Cat Stevens
Yusuf Islam (born Steven Demetre Georgiou; ), commonly known by his stage names Cat Stevens, Yusuf, and Yusuf / Cat Stevens, is a British singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. His musical style consists of folk, pop, rock, and, later in ...
,
Poo Bear
Jason Paul Douglas Boyd, better known by his stage name Poo Bear, is an American songwriter, singer, and music producer. He is best known for being one of Justin Bieber's main collaborators, having co-written many of Bieber's hits (including " ...
,
Aphex Twin
Richard David James (born 18 August 1971), best known as Aphex Twin, is an Irish-born British musician, composer and DJ. He is known for his idiosyncratic work in electronic music, electronic styles such as techno, ambient music, ambient, and jun ...
,
Storm Gordon,
Bebe Rexha
Bleta Rexha (; born August 30, 1989), known professionally as Bebe Rexha ( ), is an American pop singer and songwriter. After signing with Warner Records in 2013, Rexha received songwriting credits on Eminem's single " The Monster" (which later ...
,
Bruno Mars
Peter Gene Hernandez (born October 8, 1985), known professionally as Bruno Mars, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is known for his stage performances, retro showmanship, and for performing in a wide range of musical s ...
,
Iggy Pop
James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter and actor. Called the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Godfather of Punk", he was the vocalist and lyricist of ...
,
Bibi Bourelly
Badriia Ines "Bibi" Bourelly (born July 14, 1994) is a German-American singer-songwriter signed to Def Jam Recordings. She has co-written several notable songs including Rihanna's "Bitch Better Have My Money" and "Higher", Demi Lovato's " Anyone" ...
,
Jean Michel Jarre
Jean-Michel André Jarre (; born 24 August 1948) is a French composer, performer and record producer. He is a pioneer in the electronic, ambient and new-age genres, and is known for organising outdoor spectacles featuring his music, accompanie ...
,
Jess Glynne
Jessica Hannah Glynne (born 20 October 1989) is an English singer and songwriter. After signing with Atlantic Records, she rose to prominence in 2014 as a featured artist on the singles "Rather Be" by Clean Bandit and " My Love" by Route 94, bot ...
,
Kurt Cobain
Kurt Donald Cobain (February 20, 1967 – April 5, 1994) was an American musician who served as the lead vocalist, guitarist and primary songwriter of the rock band Nirvana. Through his angst-fueled songwriting and anti-establishment persona ...
,
David Bowie
David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
,
Gary Numan
Gary Anthony James Webb (born 8 March 1958), known professionally as Gary Numan, is an English musician. He entered the music industry as frontman of the new wave band Tubeway Army. After releasing two albums with the band, he released his d ...
,
Death Cab for Cutie
Death Cab for Cutie is an American rock band formed in Bellingham, Washington, in 1997. The band is currently composed of Ben Gibbard (vocals, guitar, piano), Nick Harmer (bass), Dave Depper (guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), Zac Rae (keyboar ...
,
Kings of Leon
Kings of Leon is an American rock band formed in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1999. The band is composed of brothers Caleb, Nathan and Jared Followill, and their cousin Matthew Followill.
The band's early music was a blend of Southern rock and gar ...
,
Bring Me the Horizon
Bring Me the Horizon (often abbreviated as BMTH) are a British rock band formed in Sheffield in 2004. The group consists of lead vocalist Oliver Sykes, guitarist Lee Malia, bassist Matt Kean, drummer Matt Nicholls and keyboardist Jordan Fis ...
,
Blondie,
George Ezra
George Ezra Barnett (born 7 June 1993) is an English singer, songwriter and guitarist. After releasing two EPs, '' Did You Hear the Rain?'' (2013) and '' Cassy O (2014), Ezra rose to prominence with the release of his hit single, "Budapest", ...
,
Johnny Cash
John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his ca ...
,
Robbie Williams
Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, and achieved commercial success after launching a solo career in 1996. His debut stud ...
,
Tame Impala
Tame Impala is the psychedelic music project of Australian multi-instrumentalist Kevin Parker. In the recording studio, Parker writes, records, performs, and produces all of the project's music. As a touring act, Tame Impala consists of Parke ...
,
Gene Clark
Harold Eugene Clark (November 17, 1944 – May 24, 1991) was an American singer-songwriter and founding member of the folk rock band the Byrds. He was the Byrds' principal songwriter between 1964 and early 1966, writing most of the band's best ...
, Fontaine Brown,
Carla Olson, Pat Robinson, John Lee Hooker,
Del Shannon
Charles Weedon Westover (December 30, 1934 – February 8, 1990), better known by his stage name Del Shannon, was an American musician, singer and songwriter, best known for his 1961 number-one '' Billboard'' hit " Runaway". In 1999, he was ind ...
and many more.
In addition, BMG owns the publishing catalogues of
Chrysalis Music
Chrysalis Music is a British independent music publisher.
The company's roots started in west London in 1967 when Chris Wright and Terry Ellis formed the Ellis-Wright Agency. It was formed to manage and book the bands Ten Years After, and Clouds ...
, Virgin, Famous Music UK, R2M Music, Talpa Music, Union Square Music,
Cherry Lane Music, Francis Dreyfus Music,
Alberts, Adage IV, Bug Music, Hornall Brothers Music Ltd. and Primary Wave.
Production music
BMG has a significant library of
production music
Production music (also known as stock music or library music) is recorded music that can be licensed to customers for use in film, television, radio and other media. Often, the music is produced and owned by production music libraries.
Background ...
(library music), for use in films, television, advertising, and other media. These catalogues include including MusicDirector (part of Talpa Music), Human Music, Music Beyond, X-Ray Dog, Beds & Beats, Valentino Production Music,
Immediate Music
BMG Production Music is an American production music company based in Santa Monica, California owned by BMG Rights Management, a subsidiary of German conglomerate Bertelsmann. Founded in 1993 as Immediate Music, it is best known for specializi ...
, AXS Music, Altitude Music, and Must Save Jane.
BMG also has output deals with several production studios, including
The Asylum
The Asylum is an American independent film company and distributor that focuses on producing low-budget, direct-to-video films. It is notorious for producing titles that capitalize on productions by major studios, often using film titles and sc ...
,
Turner Broadcasting
Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. (alternatively known as Turner Entertainment Networks from 2019 until 2022) was an American television and media conglomerate. Founded by Ted Turner and based in Atlanta, Georgia, it merged with Time Warner (lat ...
,
Fremantle
Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...
,
Amblin Partners
Storyteller Distribution Co., LLC, doing business as Amblin Partners, LLC., is an American entertainment production company, which succeeded the live-action counterpart of DreamWorks and is led by Steven Spielberg. It develops and produces fi ...
,
ITV Studios
ITV Studios is a British multinational television production and distribution company owned by the British television broadcaster ITV plc. It handles production and distribution of programmes broadcast on the ITV network and third-party broadcas ...
, ''
The Pokémon Company
The Pokémon Company (株式会社ポケモン, ''Kabushiki gaisha Pokemon'') is a Japanese company responsible for brand management, production, publishing, marketing, and licensing of the ''Pokémon'' franchise, which consists of video game s ...
'', and
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
.
Recordings
BMG recording artists include 311, A Perfect Circle,
Jason Aldean
Jason Aldean (born Jason Aldine Williams; February 28, 1977) is an American country music singer. Since 2005, he has been signed to BBR Music Group, Broken Bow Records, a record label for which he has released ten albums and 40 singles. His 2010 ...
,
blink-182
Blink-182 (stylized as blink-182) is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Poway, California in 1992. Their current lineup consists of bassist/vocalist Mark Hoppus, guitarist/vocalist Tom DeLonge, and drummer Travis Barker. Though their ...
, Blondie, Craig David,
Cypress Hill
Cypress Hill is an American hip hop group from South Gate, California. They have sold over 20 million albums worldwide and have multi-platinum and platinum albums. They are considered to be among the main progenitors of West Coast and 1990 ...
,
Dido
Dido ( ; , ), also known as Elissa ( , ), was the legendary founder and first queen of the Phoenician city-state of Carthage (located in modern Tunisia), in 814 BC.
In most accounts, she was the queen of the Phoenician city-state of Tyre (t ...
, Fergie, Natalie Imbruglia,
JLS
JLS (an initialism of Jack the Lad Swing) are an English boyband, which consists of members Aston Merrygold, Oritsé Williams, Marvin Humes, and JB Gill, originally formed by Williams. They initially signed to Tracklacers production company ...
,
Lenny Kravitz
Leonard Albert Kravitz (born May 26, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter. His style incorporates elements of rock, blues, soul, R&B, funk, jazz, reggae, hard rock, psychedelic, pop and folk.
Kravitz won the Grammy Award for Best Male Roc ...
, Kylie Minogue,
Louis Tomlinson
Louis William Tomlinson (; born Louis Troy Austin; 24 December 1991) is an English singer and songwriter. He rose to fame as a member of the boy band One Direction. Tomlinson began his career appearing in television dramas before he auditioned ...
, Max Giesinger,
Avril Lavigne
Avril Ramona Lavigne ( ; born September 27, 1984) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. At age 16, she signed a two-album recording contract with Arista Records. Her debut studio album, ''Let Go (Avril Lavigne album), Let Go'' (2002), is the ...
,
Good Charlotte
Good Charlotte is an American rock band from Waldorf, Maryland that formed in 1996. Since 2005, the band's lineup has consisted of twin brothers Joel Madden (lead vocals) and Benji Madden (guitar and vocals), Paul Thomas (bass), Billy Martin (g ...
, Roger Waters, Bryan Ferry,
Richard Ashcroft
Richard Paul Ashcroft (born 11 September 1971) is an English singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer and occasional rhythm guitarist of the alternative rock band The Verve from their formation in 1990 until their original split in 1999. So ...
,
Fatboy Slim
Norman Quentin Cook (born Quentin Leo Cook, 31 July 1963), also known by his stage name Fatboy Slim, is an English musician, DJ, and record producer who helped to popularise the big beat genre in the 1990s. In the 1980s, Cook was the bassist f ...
, Steps,
Sugar Ray
Sugar Ray is an American rock band formed in Newport Beach, California, in 1986. Originally playing heavier funk metal and nu metal style music, the band achieved mainstream popularity in 1997 with their more pop-influenced single " Fly". T ...
, Marianne Faithfull, The Kinks, Ry X,
Nakhane
Nakhane Mahlakahlaka (born Nakhane Lubabalo Mavuso, 3 February 1988) is a South African singer, songwriter, actor, and novelist. They are formerly known under the stage name Nakhane Touré. Having grown up among a Christian community in Port Eliz ...
,
Journey
Journey or journeying may refer to:
* Travel, the movement of people between distant geographical locations
** Day's journey, a measurement of distance
** Road trip, a long-distance journey on the road
Animals
* Journey (horse), a thoroughbred ra ...
,
Patty Smyth
Patricia Smyth (born June 26, 1957) is an American singer and songwriter. She first came into national attention with the rock band Scandal and went on to record and perform as a solo artist. Her distinctive voice and new wave image gained broa ...
, Adel Tawil, Scorpions, KitschKrieg, and
The Prodigy
The Prodigy are an English electronic dance music band formed in Braintree, Essex, in 1990 by producer, keyboard player and songwriter Liam Howlett. The original line-up also featured dancer and singer Keith Flint and dancer and occasional l ...
.
BMG owns the catalogues of several record labels, which include
Rise Records, Mute Records, Trojan Records,
Vagrant Records
Vagrant Records is an American record label based in California. It was founded in 1995 by Rich Egan and Jon Cohen. The label focuses on rock, but features artists in a variety of other genres including folk, soul, electronic, and pop. It is home ...
,
Strictly Rhythm Records, Union Square Music,
Verse Music Group,
Sanctuary Records
Sanctuary Records Group Limited was a record label based in the United Kingdom and is as of 2013 a subsidiary of BMG Rights Management solely for reissues. Until June 2007, it was the largest independent record label in the UK and the largest m ...
, S-Curve Records,
Skint Records
Skint Records is a Brighton and Hove based dance music record label owned by JC Reid, Tim Jeffery and Damian Harris. It was created as a sublabel of Loaded Records, also founded by Reid and Jeffery. Along with Wall of Sound, the label was a l ...
,
The Echo Label
The Echo Label was a British record label started by Chrysalis Group in 1994, and linked with Pony Canyon in Japan. The Chrysalis Group were the original owners of Chrysalis Records, which they sold to EMI.
In 2005, The Echo Label recorded a ...
, Infectious, and the
BBR Music Group
BBR Music Group (formerly Broken Bow Records) is an American record label based in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in July 1999 by Benny Brown, the label specializes in country music. The label's executive vice president is Jon Loba.
Craig Morgan ...
.
Labels
*43B
*
BBR Music Group
BBR Music Group (formerly Broken Bow Records) is an American record label based in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in July 1999 by Benny Brown, the label specializes in country music. The label's executive vice president is Jon Loba.
Craig Morgan ...
**
Broken Bow Records
BBR Music Group (formerly Broken Bow Records) is an American record label based in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in July 1999 by Benny Brown, the label specializes in country music. The label's executive vice president is Jon Loba.
Craig Morgan ...
**
Stoney Creek Records
**
Wheelhouse Records
*
Rise Records
*
S-Curve Records
S-Curve Records was founded in 2000 by former Mercury Records executive Steve Greenberg. It is based in New York City. In 2001 the label established a distribution and licensing agreement with EMI Records. Among the hits released by S-Curve b ...
(back catalogue)
*
Infectious Music
Infectious Music is an independent record label owned by BMG, whose bands have included Alt-J, Ash and The Subways.
History
Infectious Music was established in 1993 as Infectious Records by former Zerra One drummer Korda Marshall after lea ...
*
Vagrant Records
Vagrant Records is an American record label based in California. It was founded in 1995 by Rich Egan and Jon Cohen. The label focuses on rock, but features artists in a variety of other genres including folk, soul, electronic, and pop. It is home ...
*
BMG Chrysalis
Chrysalis Group was a UK media company that was founded by Chris Wright, chairman, and Terry Ellis. Wright was named in '' Sunday Times Rich List 2009'' of the 1,000 richest persons in the UK. Previously having interests in television, books a ...
**
The Echo Label
The Echo Label was a British record label started by Chrysalis Group in 1994, and linked with Pony Canyon in Japan. The Chrysalis Group were the original owners of Chrysalis Records, which they sold to EMI.
In 2005, The Echo Label recorded a ...
**
Go-Feet Records
Go-Feet Records was an English record label founded by, and predominantly used to release recordings by, the ska revival band the Beat (known as the English Beat in North America). The band had some chart success in the United Kingdom in the ...
**
MAM Records
MAM Records was a British record label launched in 1970 by the management company Management Agency & Music Ltd. (MAM). It was founded by Gordon Mills and Tom Jones and distributed by Decca Records. The first single released on MAM was "I Hea ...
*
Mute Records
Mute Records is a British independent record label owned and founded in 1978 by Daniel Miller. It has featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Depeche Mode, Erasure, Einstürzende Neubauten, Fad Gadget, Goldfrapp, Grinderm ...
(pre-2010 catalogue)
*Union Square Music
**Salvo
**Metro
*
Skint Records
Skint Records is a Brighton and Hove based dance music record label owned by JC Reid, Tim Jeffery and Damian Harris. It was created as a sublabel of Loaded Records, also founded by Reid and Jeffery. Along with Wall of Sound, the label was a l ...
**
Loaded Records
Loaded Records was a British dance record label, formed in 1990 by Tim Jeffery and JC Reid. It launched artists like Pizzaman, Slacker and Wildchild. More recently, it released albums by Super Collider (featuring Jamie Lidell) and singles by ...
**
Skyblaze Recordings
*
Sanctuary Records Group
Sanctuary Records Group Limited was a record label based in the United Kingdom and is as of 2013 a subsidiary of BMG Rights Management solely for reissues. Until June 2007, it was the largest independent record label in the UK and the largest m ...
**
Castle Communications
Castle Communications, also known as Castle Music, was a British independent record label and home video distributor founded in 1983 by Terry Shand, Cliff Dane, and Jon Beecher. Its video imprint was called Castle Vision. The label's producti ...
**
Pye Records
Pye Records was a British record label. Its best known artists were Lonnie Donegan (1956–1969), Petula Clark (1957–1971), the Searchers (1963–1967), the Kinks (1964–1971), Sandie Shaw (1964–1971), Status Quo (1968–1971) and Brotherhoo ...
**Precision Records and Tapes
**
Transatlantic Records
Transatlantic Records was a British independent record label. The company was established in 1961, primarily as an importer of American folk, blues and jazz records by many of the artists who influenced the burgeoning British folk and blues boom ...
**
Sugar Hill Records
Sugar Hill Records is an American bluegrass and Americana record label.
It was founded in Durham, North Carolina in 1978 by Barry Poss and David Freeman, the owner of County Records and Rebel Records. Poss acquired full control of Sugar Hil ...
**
CMC International
CMC International was an American independent record label founded by Bill Cain and Tom Lipsky in 1991, focused mainly on classic rock, and classic heavy metal. The label was the haven of many hard rock, arena rock, thrash metal, glam metal, and ...
**Mayan Records
**
Neat Records
Neat Records was a British independent record label based near Newcastle, England. The label was established in 1979 by David Wood, who was the owner of Impulse Studios in Wallsend, Tyne and Wear, England. A key figure in the establishment of t ...
**
Noise Records
Noise Records is a German heavy metal record label founded in 1983 by German music industry personality Karl-Ulrich Walterbach as an expansion of his company Modern Music Records. It was sold to the Sanctuary Records Group in 2001 and ceased any ...
**
RAS Records
RAS Records, also known as Real Authentic Sound, is a reggae record label.
History
RAS Records was founded in 1979 by Doctor Dread. In his travels to Jamaica he created a network within the reggae artist community there. By the early to mid-1980 ...
**
Trojan Records
Trojan Records is a British record label founded in 1968. It specialises in ska, rocksteady, reggae and dub music. The label currently operates under the Sanctuary Records Group. The name ''Trojan'' comes from the Croydon-built Trojan truck t ...
***
Jet Records
Jet Records was a British record label started by Don Arden in 1974, featuring musicians such as Lynsey de Paul, Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), Roy Wood, Gary Moore, Ozzy Osbourne, Alan Price, Adrian Gurvitz, Riot and Magnum.
History
Th ...
***
Upsetter Records
**
Urban Records
Urban Records is a German record label subsidiary of Universal Music Group.
See also
* List of record labels
File:Alvinoreyguitarboogie.jpg
File:AmMusicBunk78.jpg
File:Bingola1011b.jpg
Lists of record labels cover record labels, brands or tr ...
*Countdown Media
**
Alshire/Somerset
**
Everest Records
Everest Records was a record label based in Bayside, Long Island, started by Harry D. Belock and Bert Whyte in May 1958. It was devoted mainly to classical music.
History
The idea for starting a label was related by electronics inventor Harr ...
**Mediaphon
**
Dobre Records
**SRP Records
**Alto Records
*
RAM Records
RAM Records is an independent record label established in 1992 by Andy C with the help of his friend Ant Miles. It specialises in drum and bass.
The label and business is run by Andy C and business partner Scott Bourne (Red One). Ram Records ...
*
RBC Records
RBC Records is an American online independent record label and management company founded by partners Brian Shafton and Bob Grossi. It provides artists and independent labels with a full-service "virtual label" alternative to signing with a maj ...
*
World Circuit Records
*
Disques Dreyfus
*
Albert Music
Albert Music, formerly J Albert and Son, is an Australian company with an estimated worth in 2009 of more than A$209 million. The company has major interests in music publishing and production and it earns significant royalties through its su ...
**
Albert Productions
Albert Productions, a division of music publishing and recording company Albert Music, is one of Australia's longest established independent record labels to specialise in rock and roll music. The label was founded in 1963 by Ted Albert, whose ...
*
The End Records
The End Records is a record label in Manhattan that specializes in rock, heavy metal, indie, and electronic music.
Early years (1998–2005)
The End Records was founded by Andreas Katsambas in Pasadena, California, with the goal of helping sm ...
*
Verse Music Group
**
Golden Records
Golden Records was a Simon & Schuster record label based in New York City. It was conceived and founded in 1948 by the Grammy Award-winning children's music producer, Arthur Shimkin, then a new recruit in the S&S business department. Shimkin ...
**
Bethlehem Records
Bethlehem Records was an American jazz independent record label, founded by Gus Wildi in 1953.
History
Bethlehem is remembered for its jazz releases from the 1950s. Producers included Creed Taylor and Teddy Charles. Bethlehem released the first ...
**
Salsoul Records
Salsoul Records is an American New York City based record label, founded by three brothers, Joseph Cayre, Kenneth Cayre, and Stanley Cayre (the Cayre brothers). Salsoul issued about 300 singles, including many disco/post-disco 12-inch releases, ...
**
West End Records
West End Records is an American music record label based in New York City. Led by co-founder Mel Cheren, West End was one of the most prominent labels in dance music's history, along with Prelude Records, Salsoul Records, and Casablanca Records. ...
*
Pete Waterman Entertainment
Pete Waterman Entertainment (PWE) is the production company one-time pop and dance record label owned by British pop mogul Pete Waterman. The label, originally PWL (Pete Waterman Limited), is most famous for being the home of hit record produ ...
*
Paracadute
Paracadute is a record company owned by OK Go. OK Go left their previous record company, EMI, because of a disagreement between the band and the label. OK Go reissued their album, Of the Blue Colour of the Sky, with Paracadute taking care of the ...
*
Strictly Rhythm (back catalogue)
*Cavalcade Recordings
*BMG Talpa Music (Netherlands)
*BMG Production Music
*Cheyenne Records
*Intertwine (joint venture with
Eshy Gazit)
*Modern Recordings
*Telamo
*Renew Records
*OM Records (joint-venture with
Olympique de Marseille
Olympique de Marseille (, ; oc, Olimpic de Marselha, ), also known simply as Marseille or by the abbreviation OM (, ), is a French professional men's football club based in Marseille, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. Founded in 1899, the club pl ...
)
Awards
*2016, 2017, 2018: "Independent Publisher of the Year" by
American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers
The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...
*2018: "Production Music Awards" for BMG Production Music
*2018: "Publisher of the Year", A&R Awards, United Kingdom
References
External links
Official websiteof BMG
{{Authority control
Bertelsmann subsidiaries
Entertainment companies established in 2008
German companies established in 2008
German record labels
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts companies
Mass media companies established in 2008
Music publishing companies of Germany
Record label distributors
Record labels established in 2008