Primary Wave Music, one of the largest independent music companies in the US, has struck a $150 million deal with BMG that the latter company calls a ‘strategic alliance’.
It will see Primary Wave marketing BMG’s future record releases in the US as BMG buys significant rights in Primary Wave’s music publishing assets.
With the purchase of its stake, BMG acquires an interest in timeless songs such as Earth Wind & Fire’s ‘September’, Hall & Oates ‘Kiss On My List’, John Lennon’s ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’ and Marvin Gaye’s ‘How Sweet it is’. However, Primary Wave’s team will continue to be involved in marketing its publishing catalogues.
Outside of publishing, Primary Wave’s interests include talent management, marketing and television development. It will now partner with BMG to create a new joint venture, BMG/Primary Wave Artist Services, which will focus on signing recording artists who already have a track record in the industry.
Primary Wave’s current in-house marketing team, which includes resources such as brand marketing, digital marketing, product management, press and TV/Film development, will act as the marketing arm for the artists signed to BMG / Primary Wave Artist Services.
All such projects will be signed to BMG’s Artist Services model under which the artist retains ownership of their copyrights and BMG provides funding, and administration including royalties and accounting, synch, as well as back office services.
BMG’s CEO, Hartwig Masuch, said “The US remains the heartland of and biggest single market in the worldwide music industry. This strategic alliance with Primary Wave, one of the most respected independents in the business, gives us control of some of the greatest copyrights in popular music in one stroke, while also strengthening our marketing resources in promoting new recordings. And from the writer’s perspective, we are confident this deal will open up many new opportunities for the international exploitation of these iconic songs through our pro-active BMG team.”
Larry Mestel, Founder & CEO of Primary Wave Music, said, “Having worked closely with the old BMG and Bertelsmann in the past while at Arista Records, I’m looking forward to rekindling that strong working relationship and leveraging our various resources and strengths to create a powerhouse partnership that will give artists a refreshing alternative in the industry.”Music Business Worldwide
