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Business News Deals Labels & Publishers
BMG acquires majority stake in ARC Music rock n roll catalogue
By Chris Cooke | Published on Tuesday 19 January 2016
I think BMG and Concord Bicycle might be in some sort of race to announce the most catalogue acquisitions this year. Concord Bicycle has the advantage of course. It’s got a bicycle. And Concorde. But it’s BMG easing ahead today, with the music rights firm having taken a majority stake in the ARC Music catalogue, it being the publishing firm that span off from the famous Chess Records label, and which controls a stack of classic blues and rock n roll songs made famous by the likes of Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley and John Lee Hooker.
The deal is with ARC Music’s most recent owner, the Fuji Music Group, with which BMG already has a partnership. FMG’s affiliate Fujipacific Music reps BMG’s catalogue in Japan and Southeast Asia, while BMG administers FMG’s catalogue in the rest of the world. And that two-way arrangement will continue under the new deal, with a commitment to explore other partnership opportunities, mainly with a view to building a portfolio of “evergreen copyrights”.
What the hell does BMG boss Hartwig Masuch think about all this? That’s what you’re all thinking right about now. Well, “the Chess brothers and their successors brought blues and rock n roll to the world”, he muses, alluding to Chess Records’ eponymous founders, Leonard and Phil. “The artists and songwriters they discovered still resonate through the decades. Both culturally and commercially, the acquisition of this majority stake in ARC is one of the most significant acquisitions in the development of BMG so far”.
Hmm, significant. “FMG and BMG share the same philosophies in maximising exposure for music”, adds Fuji Music Group President Hico Koike. I don’t know about that. They definitely share two letters in their name though, and that’s a start. “With our combined global resources we look forward to expanded business opportunities for the catalogue”.
Yeah, take that Concord Bicycle. I think you’re going need a bigger bike. Because that’s not even how you spell Concorde.
