[PIAS] last week announced a new partnership with BMG that will see the independent music group’s label services unit provide digital and physical manufacturing, distribution and marketing services for much of the two recording catalogues the German music rights company acquired as part of Universal’s big EMI divestment last year.
As previously reported, BMG acquired the Sanctuary and Mute catalogues sold by Universal to satisfy its agreement with European competition regulators regarding its acquisition of the EMI record company. Mute was one of the EMI catalogues Universal agreed to sell, while the Sanctuary master recordings archive was one of its own assets divested to satisfy the regulator.
[PIAS] will provide a variety of services to BMG in relation to the two catalogues, in a deal that excludes North America and, it is thought, a small number of key Sanctuary and Mute artists, most likely Black Sabbath and Depeche Mode.
Announcing the deal, Adrian Pope, MD of the [PIAS] label services business, told reporters: “[PIAS] has a potent combination of experience, great systems, specialist expertise and an established international network of offices and partners. BMG has clearly established a reputation as a company which genuinely cares about the rights and repertoire that they hold. Together we share a common goal in working collaboratively to really bring to the surface a raft of repertoire that has huge potential, not least in the continually evolving and globalized digital markets”.
In other [PIAS] news, the firm has also announced it will open a new office in New York this month led by Sean Maxson, who was previously GM for Co-operative Music in the US. Co-op was the business [PIAS] itself acquired as part of Universal’s big regulator-placating divestment splurge last year.