The Music Sales Group is now a ‘pureplay’ music publisher, following the sale of its sheet music and retail business to Milwaukee-based worldwide music print publisher Hal Leonard LLC.
Industry sources tell MBW that the final acquisition price for that business went higher than $50m – leaving Music Sales with some nice capital to play with in the acquisitive world of music publishing today.
As part of the deal, Hal Leonard has acquired both Music Sales’ physical and online printed music businesses, in addition to its Musicroom-branded retail businesses.
In addition, Music Sales and Hal Leonard will work together in the future after entering into a global licensing agreement to represent and exploit Music Sales’ copyrights in print.
Music Sales’ Chairman and Owner Robert Wise, said: “Printed music has played a special role in the long history of Music Sales, but our direction of travel has been very clear in recent years as we continue the expansion of our portfolio of copyrights in all styles and genres across the world.
“Our focus is on expanding our rights business in all territories and this transaction gives us the additional impetus and resources to continue on that strategic path.”
Chris Butler, Music Sales
“In making this deal it was important for us to find the right buyer for our printed music business and we are confident that Keith Mardak and his team at Hal Leonard will do a great job with this business in the future.”
Hal Leonard Chairman Keith Mardak, added: “We’ve had a long and rewarding relationship with Music Sales over the years and we look forward to that continuing into the future. Bob Wise has built an incredible printed music business and we feel privileged to be the new custodians of his many years of hard work. Mark Mumford, the Managing Director of Hal Leonard in Europe, will oversee the integration of the two companies in Europe.”
And Music Sales’ Group Head of Publishing & Rights, Chris Butler, said: “Despite our beginnings as a UK based printed music company MusicSales has emerged in recent years as a significant global indie with a worldwide presence.
“Our focus is on expanding our rights business in all territories and this transaction gives us the additional impetus and resources to continue on that strategic path.”
The Music Sales Group is a wholly-owned global independent family of music publishing companies, with offices in Los Angeles, New York, London, Paris, Madrid, Copenhagen, Berlin Tokyo and Sydney.Music Business Worldwide
