BMG Goes Australia

BMG is launching its own standalone operation in Australia. It is the eleventh market in which BMG operates directly after Germany, the US, UK, France, Canada, Italy, Scandinavia, Spain, Benelux and China.The new BMG launched in October 2008 and brings the traditionally separate record company and music publishing disciplines together under one roof.

Australia is one of the world’s most successful music exporting nations. It is the seventh biggest market for music publishing collections (Source: CISAC) and the sixth biggest recorded music market (Source: IFPI).

BMG CEO Hartwig Masuch said: “Australia has long been one of the greatest music producing nations in the world. Australian songwriters and artists are an important element of the BMG catalogue. It is therefore a logical step for us to launch our own operation in Sydney, giving Australian songwriters and artists a genuine alternative to the established companies.

“We are proud to be the only music company in history to set out its stall from day one to offer transparency and service to the people who make the music. A commitment to fairness is in our DNA. We believe these values are as important to Australian music-makers as they are to our clients in the rest of the world.”

Heading the new operation as managing director of BMG Australia will be highly-regarded Australian music executive Heath Johns (pictured), previously of Universal Music Publishing Australia where he signed and developed Australian talent such as Wolfmother, Jet, The Veronicas, M-Phazes, Guy Sebastian, Peking Duk, and Passenger.

He will report to Masuch, who said: “Heath Johns has proven himself as a seasoned executive and a persuasive ambassador for Australian music. We are delighted he has agreed to join us.”

BMG already represents publishing rights to exciting contemporary Australian talent such as Tame Impala, Missy Higgins, Matt Corby and Meg Mac, as well as publishing rights in Europe to Australia’s biggest musical export, AC/DC. In recordings BMG owns rights to much of the Nick Cave catalogue, to current releases from DMA’s and the forthcoming album from The Temper Trap.

Heath Johns added: “What BMG has achieved in just seven years is extraordinary. They have created a new kind of business designed to cater for what songwriters and artists want today. Having met the BMG teams in LA, London and Berlin and having seen the company’s values in action, I am convinced BMG will prove very appealing to Australia’s creative community.”

Source: Music Week