BMG Rights Management GmbH (also known simply as BMG) is an international

music company A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

based in

Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...

, Germany. It combines the activities of a

music publisher A music publisher is a type of publisher that specializes in distributing music. Music publishers originally published sheet music. When copyright became legally protected, music publishers started to play a role in the management of the intellect ...

and a

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the prod ...

. BMG was founded in October 2008 after Bertelsmann sold its stake in

Sony BMG Sony BMG Music Entertainment was an American record company owned as a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann. The venture's successor, the revived Sony Music, is wholly owned by Sony, following their buyou ...

. From 2009 to 2013, the investment firm

KKR KKR & Co. Inc., also known as Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., is an American global investment company that manages multiple alternative asset classes, including private equity, energy, infrastructure, real estate, credit, and, through its strateg ...

held 51% of the company, which became one of the world's largest music publishers during that time. BMG is 100% owned by Bertelsmann and one of the group's eight business divisions. The portfolio includes rights in songs and recordings by artists such as

Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She is the highest-selling female Australian artist of all time, having sold over 80 million records worldwide. She has been recognised for reinve ...

Craig David Craig Ashley David (born 5 May 1981) is a British singer and songwriter who rose to fame in 1999, featuring on the single " Re-Rewind" by Artful Dodger. David's debut studio album, ''Born to Do It'', was released in 2000, after which he has rel ...

Avril Lavigne Avril Ramona Lavigne ( ; born September 27, 1984) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. At age 16, she signed a two-album recording contract with Arista Records. Her debut studio album, '' Let Go'' (2002), is the best-selling album of the 21 ...

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the " Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue before ...

The Cranberries The Cranberries were an Irish rock band formed in Limerick, Ireland. Originally named the Cranberry Saw Us, the band were formed in 1989 by lead singer Niall Quinn, guitarist Noel Hogan, bassist Mike Hogan and drummer Fergal Lawler. Quinn was ...

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

Roger Waters George Roger Waters (born 6 September 1943) is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. In 1965, he co-founded the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. Waters initially served as the bassist, but following the departure of singer-so ...

Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter and actor. Called the " Godfather of Punk", he was the vocalist and lyricist of proto-punk band The Stooges, who w ...

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...

, Lenny Kravitz Morrissey, 5 Seconds of Summer,

KSI Olajide Olayinka Williams "JJ" Olatunji (born 19 June 1993), known professionally as KSI, is an English YouTuber and rapper. He is a co-founder and member of the British YouTube group known as the Sidemen. He is the CEO of Misfits Boxing and ...

Eraserheads Eraserheads (sometimes stylized as ERASƎRHEADS or ƎRASƎRHƎADS) are a Filipino alternative rock band formed in 1989. With a line-up comprising Ely Buendia, Buddy Zabala, Marcus Adoro, and Raimund Marasigan, the band became one of the mo ...

Rivermaya Rivermaya is a Filipino alternative rock band. Formed in 1994, it is one of the several bands who spearheaded the 1990s Philippine alternative rock explosion. Rivermaya is currently composed of original members Mark Escueta and Nathan Azarc ...

. and Peter Frampton.

History

Music at Bertelsmann

In the 1950s, Bertelsmann entered the music business when it added music to its book club.

Ariola Ariola (also known as Ariola Records, Ariola-Eurodisc and BMG Ariola) is a German record label. In the late 1980s, it was a subsidiary label of the Bertelsmann Music Group, which in turn has become a part of the international media conglomerat ...

, a record label, was launched and

Sonopress Sonopress (known as Arvato Entertainment from 2008-2015), is the CD and DVD replication business of Bertelsmann. Founded in 1958 to supply gramophone record for Bertelsmann's music club and music label businesses, Sonopress became the world's s ...

, a pressing plant, was established. In 1975, Ariola opened an office in the United States. Bertelsmann acquired

Arista Records Arista Records () is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously handled by BMG Entertain ...

in 1979 and RCA Records in 1985, thereby becoming one of the world's largest music companies. Its various subsidiaries were brought together in 1987 to form

Bertelsmann Music Group Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG) was a division of a German media company Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Sony Corporation of America on 1 October 2008. Although it was established in 1987, the music co ...

(BMG), which did business in a number of genres, including

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

and, in particular, classical music. In response to declining sales in the overall music market, Bertelsmann agreed to merge its record label interests with

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

in 2003; the company was called Sony BMG. Furthermore, in 2006, Bertelsmann sold its subsidiary BMG Music Publishing to

Vivendi Vivendi SE is a French mass media holding company headquartered in Paris. Widely known as the owner of Gameloft, Groupe Canal+, Havas, Editis, Prisma Media, Vivendi Village and Dailymotion, the company has activities in television, film, video ...

. Having reached the conclusion that established music publishing companies and record labels were not appropriate for an increasingly digital music business, Bertelsmann sold its stake in the Sony BMG joint venture in 2008. The company was subsequently renamed

Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainmen ...

Launch of the new BMG

In October 2008, Bertelsmann launched the new BMG with a small portfolio of recorded music rights of around 200 artists it retained from Sony BMG. It declared it would pursue a business model focused on fairness, service and transparency. The launch of the new BMG came amidst the 2008 financial crisis, and within two weeks of the collapse of

Lehman Brothers Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. ( ) was an American global financial services firm founded in 1847. Before filing for bankruptcy in 2008, Lehman was the fourth-largest investment bank in the United States (behind Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, a ...

. Since Bertelsmann could not supply the required funds on its own, a 51% stake was sold to financial investor

in 2009. Bertelsmann retained 49% and the right to appoint the company's management. The transaction allowed BMG to increase its equity ratio.

International expansion

Initially, Bertelsmann had announced that the new BMG would focus on the European broadcast market. After KKR became the majority shareholder, the company set its sights on expanding internationally. A key step towards achieving this goal was acquiring Cherry Lane Music Publishing in 2009, which provided BMG with its first foothold in the United States. BMG made several other purchases in 2010, including Evergreen Copyright Acquisitions. In 2011,

Bug Music Bug Music was an influential independent music publisher in Los Angeles, California. The company was founded in 1975 by Dan Bourgoise to represent the catalogue of musician Del Shannon. Their clients included Johnny Cash and Rosanne Cash, Los L ...

was bought by BMG, followed by music publisher R2M Music in 2012. Bertelsmann was also reported to be interested in buying

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 2012, ...

, but EMI was ultimately acquired by

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

and

Warner Music Group Warner Music Group Corp. (trade name, d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational entertainment and record label Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in New York C ...

(record labels) and

Sony/ATV Music Publishing Sony Music Publishing (formerly Sony/ATV Music Publishing) is the largest music publisher in the world, with over five million songs owned or administered as of end March 2021. US-based, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is itself owned ...

(songwriters). The regulatory authorities approved the deal subject to some conditions, including the sale of several labels. BMG was thus able to acquire

Mute Records Mute Records is a British independent record label owned and founded in 1978 by Daniel Miller (music producer), Daniel Miller. It has featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Depeche Mode, Erasure, Einstürzende Neubauten, ...

(2012) and

Sanctuary Records Sanctuary Records Group Limited was a record label based in the United Kingdom and is as of 2013 a subsidiary of BMG Rights Management solely for reissues. Until June 2007, it was the largest independent record label in the UK and the largest m ...

(2013), as well as the publishing catalogues of EMI Virgin Music and

Famous Music Famous Music Corporation was the worldwide music publishing division of Paramount Pictures, a division of Paramount Global since 1994. Its copyright holdings span several decades and includes music from such Academy Award-winning motion pictures ...

UK from Sony/ATV.

Becoming a group division

In 2013, KKR sold its stake in BMG to Bertelsmann, making it the sole shareholder of the company. Under the leadership of Chief Executive Officer

Thomas Rabe Thomas N. Rabe (born February 18, 1951 in Heidelberg) is a German professor for gynaecology and obstetrics at the University Hospital Heidelberg. He is author of several scientific publications and reference books. Biography Rabe earned his me ...

, who had been a key driver of BMG's expansion during his time as Chief Financial Officer, Bertelsmann again cited music as one of its strategic growth areas. In 2013, the company began to represent rights to songs by

Robbie Williams Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, and achieved commercial success after launching a solo career in 1996. His debut stu ...

and the

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

. Record labels were also added to the portfolio including Union Square Music (distributor of

Universal Music Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

ZTT Records ZTT Records is a British record label founded in 1983 by record producer Trevor Horn, Horn's wife and businesswoman Jill Sinclair, and ''NME, New Musical Express'' (NME) journalist Paul Morley. The label's name was also stylised as ZANG TUMB TUUM ...

and

Stiff Records Stiff Records is a British independent record label formed in London, England, by Dave Robinson and Jake Riviera. Originally active from 1976 to 1986, the label was reactivated in 2007. Established at the outset of the punk rock boom, Stiff ...

), Vagrant Music and Infectious Music (2014), as well as

S-Curve Records S-Curve Records was founded in 2000 by former Mercury Records executive Steve Greenberg. It is based in New York City. In 2001 the label established a distribution and licensing agreement with EMI Records. Among the hits released by S-Curve be ...

and Rise Records (2015). Other acquisitions followed in 2016, including the label

ARC Music ARC Music is a world music and folk music label based in West Sussex, England, that was established in 1976. Naxos acquired ARC in 2019. Film and television ARC Music has been used in the films '' Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Cryst ...

and the catalog of

The End Records The End Records is a record label in Manhattan that specializes in rock, heavy metal, indie, and electronic music. Early years (1998–2005) The End Records was founded by Andreas Katsambas in Pasadena, California, with the goal of helping ...

. By acquiring Basement, BMG entered the market in Brazil, one of Bertelsmann's growth regions. The company also signed an agreement with Warner Music's

Alternative Distribution Alliance Alternative Distribution Alliance (ADA) is a music distribution company owned by Warner Music Group, which represents the rights to various independent record labels. ADA provides "independent artist and label partners with access to the resource ...

for the physical and digital distribution of music, allowing BMG to consolidate its longstanding sales structures. BMG further expanded by entering the Chinese market in cooperation with

Alibaba Ali Baba is a character from the folk tale ''Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves''. Ali Baba or Alibaba may also refer to: Films * ''Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves'' (1902 film), a French film directed by Ferdinand Zecca * ''Ali Baba'' (1940 film ...

, allowing the online company to distribute the work of musicians and composers via its web channels while securing copyrights. In the 2015 financial year, BMG was part of the Corporate Investments division at Bertelsmann. In 2016, the media group turned the subsidiary into a stand-alone division. Today, BMG is considered a prime example of how growth platforms are created and leveraged at Bertelsmann.

Acquisition of BBR Music and new labels

In 2017, BMG announced the purchase of BBR Music Group, including the labels

Broken Bow Records BBR Music Group (formerly Broken Bow Records) is an American record label based in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in July 1999 by Benny Brown, the label specializes in country music. The label's executive vice president is Jon Loba. Craig Morgan ...

, Red Bow Records, Stoney Creek Records, Wheelhouse Records and the music publisher Magic Mustang Music. With a value of more than 100 million

dollars Dollar is the name of more than 20 Currency, currencies. They include the Australian dollar, Brunei dollar, Canadian dollar, Hong Kong dollar, Jamaican dollar, Liberian dollar, Namibian dollar, New Taiwan dollar, New Zealand dollar, Singapore d ...

, the transaction was the largest recorded music acquisition in the company's history. BMG thus improved its position in the

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, o ...

segment and ensured its long-term presence in the

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and t ...

music industry and its overall impact on the United States market. In 2022, BMG announced its first new British record label within the group since 2009, Tag8 Music. This label was set up in association with ex-Bros member

Craig Logan Craig Logan (born 22 April 1969) is a Scottish musician, songwriter, and manager. He began his career as bassist in the pop band Bros. Career In early 1989, Logan left Bros to focus on songwriting and producing. Kim Appleby's song " Don't Wor ...

and his management company Logan Media Entertainment, with Tag8 Music featuring established acts such as Pixie Lott, Roachford, and Louise Redknapp as part of its roster. On the Official Albums Chart Top 100 of 4 November 2022, the label charted its first hit album in the form of Blue's ''Heart & Soul''.

Corporate structure

BMG's parent enterprise is BMG Rights Management GmbH, a

limited liability company A limited liability company (LLC for short) is the United States of America, US-specific form of a private limited company. It is a business structure that can combine the Flow-through entity, pass-through taxation of a partnership or sole p ...

according to German law. The company's objective is "the marketing of music, as well as its development and delivery" for use in media, at concerts and for other purposes. BMG has numerous

subsidiaries A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that either belong to the same parent company or having a s ...

and

shareholdings A shareholder (in the United States often referred to as stockholder) of a corporation is an individual or legal entity (such as another corporation, a body politic, a trust or partnership) that is registered by the corporation as the legal own ...

, for example, BMG Rights Management (Europe) GmbH. In addition to Germany, BMG is present in Australia, Brazil, China, France, Italy, Spain, the UK, the Benelux countries, the United States, Canada, and Scandinavia. BMG's senior management includes Hartwig Masuch (

Chief Executive Officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especial ...

), Thomas Coesfeld ( Chief Financial Officer), Ama Walton (

General Counsel A general counsel, also known as chief counsel or chief legal officer (CLO), is the chief in-house lawyer for a company or a governmental department. In a company, the person holding the position typically reports directly to the CEO, and their ...

and

Chief Human Resources Officer A chief human resources officer (CHRO) or chief people officer (CPO) is a corporate officer who oversees all aspects of human resource management and industrial relations policies, practices and operations for an organization. Similar job titles in ...

) and Ben Katovsky (

Chief Operating Officer A chief operating officer or chief operations officer, also called a COO, is one of the highest-ranking executive positions in an organization, composing part of the " C-suite". The COO is usually the second-in-command at the firm, especially if t ...

). Masuch has been a member of Bertelsmann's Group Management Committee since 2013. In the 2018 financial year, BMG posted revenues of €545 million. Rights and licenses accounted for 91.1% and products and merchandise 8.9%. Almost half of its revenues (44.1%) were generated in the United States. Other important markets were the United Kingdom (24.7%), Germany (6.3%) and France (3.9%).

Business model

BMG offers musicians the services generally provided by music publishers and record labels. Unlike its major competitors, it runs them under the same roof and on the same technology platform. More recently, it has added film, television, and books to its roster of services.

Publishing

BMG publishing represents the rights of songwriters like

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...

Louis Tomlinson Louis William Tomlinson (; born Louis Troy Austin; 24 December 1991) is an English singer and songwriter. He rose to fame as a member of the boy band One Direction. Tomlinson began his career appearing in television dramas before he auditioned ...

, 5 Seconds of Summer,

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...

Nena Gabriele Susanne Kerner (born 24 March 1960), better known as Nena, is a German singer and songwriter who rose to international fame in 1983 as the lead vocalist of the band Nena with the Neue Deutsche Welle song "99 Luftballons". In the same y ...

Alice Merton Alice Florence Clarissa Merton (born 13 September 1993) is a German-Canadian singer and songwriter. Merton achieved mainstream success with her debut single, " No Roots". In 2017, she released her first EP of the same name and in 2018, she rele ...

Billy Idol William Michael Albert Broad (born 30 November 1955), known professionally as Billy Idol, is a British-American singer, songwriter, and musician. He first achieved fame in the 1970s emerging from the London punk rock scene as the lead singer o ...

Cat Stevens Yusuf Islam (born Steven Demetre Georgiou; ), commonly known by his stage names Cat Stevens, Yusuf, and Yusuf / Cat Stevens, is a British singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. His musical style consists of folk, pop, rock, and, later in ...

Poo Bear Jason Paul Douglas Boyd, better known by his stage name Poo Bear, is an American songwriter, singer, and music producer. He is best known for being one of Justin Bieber's main collaborators, having co-written many of Bieber's hits (including " ...

Aphex Twin Richard David James (born 18 August 1971), best known as Aphex Twin, is an Irish-born British musician, composer and DJ. He is known for his idiosyncratic work in electronic styles such as techno, ambient, and jungle. Journalists from publication ...

Storm Gordon A storm is any disturbed state of the natural environment or the atmosphere of an astronomical body. It may be marked by significant disruptions to normal conditions such as strong wind, tornadoes, hail, thunder and lightning (a thunderstorm), ...

Bebe Rexha Bleta Rexha (; born August 30, 1989), known professionally as Bebe Rexha ( ), is an American pop singer and songwriter. After signing with Warner Records in 2013, Rexha received songwriting credits on Eminem's single " The Monster" (which late ...

Bruno Mars Peter Gene Hernandez (born October 8, 1985), known professionally as Bruno Mars, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is known for his stage performances, retro showmanship, and for performing in a wide range of musical ...

Bibi Bourelly Badriia Ines "Bibi" Bourelly (born July 14, 1994) is a German-American singer-songwriter signed to Def Jam Recordings. She has co-written several notable songs including Rihanna's " Bitch Better Have My Money" and "Higher", Demi Lovato's " Anyone ...

Jean Michel Jarre Jean-Michel André Jarre (; born 24 August 1948) is a French composer, performer and record producer. He is a pioneer in the electronic, ambient and new-age genres, and is known for organising outdoor spectacles featuring his music, accompan ...

Jess Glynne Jessica Hannah Glynne (born 20 October 1989) is an English singer and songwriter. After signing with Atlantic Records, she rose to prominence in 2014 as a featured artist on the singles " Rather Be" by Clean Bandit and " My Love" by Route 94, b ...

, Kurt Cobain,

Gary Numan Gary Anthony James Webb (born 8 March 1958), known professionally as Gary Numan, is an English musician. He entered the music industry as frontman of the new wave band Tubeway Army. After releasing two albums with the band, he released his ...

Death Cab for Cutie Death Cab for Cutie is an American rock band formed in Bellingham, Washington, in 1997. The band is currently composed of Ben Gibbard (vocals, guitar, piano), Nick Harmer (bass), Dave Depper (guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), Zac Rae (keyb ...

Kings of Leon Kings of Leon is an American rock band formed in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1999. The band is composed of brothers Caleb, Nathan and Jared Followill, and their cousin Matthew Followill. The band's early music was a blend of Southern rock and ...

Bring Me the Horizon Bring Me the Horizon (often abbreviated as BMTH) are a British rock band formed in Sheffield in 2004. The group consists of lead vocalist Oliver Sykes, guitarist Lee Malia, bassist Matt Kean, drummer Matt Nicholls and keyboardist Jordan ...

, Blondie,

George Ezra George Ezra Barnett (born 7 June 1993) is an English singer, songwriter and guitarist. After releasing two EPs, ''Did You Hear the Rain?'' (2013) and ''Cassy O (2014), Ezra rose to prominence with the release of his hit single, "Budapest", wh ...

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American Country music, country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later s ...

Tame Impala Tame Impala is the psychedelic music project of Australian multi-instrumentalist Kevin Parker. In the recording studio, Parker writes, records, performs, and produces all of the project's music. As a touring act, Tame Impala consists of Parke ...

Gene Clark Harold Eugene Clark (November 17, 1944 – May 24, 1991) was an American singer-songwriter and founding member of the folk rock band the Byrds. He was the Byrds' principal songwriter between 1964 and early 1966, writing most of the band's best ...

, Fontaine Brown,

Carla Olson Carla Olson (born July 3, 1952) is a Los Angeles-based songwriter, performer and record producer. Biography Born and raised in Austin, Texas, Olson moved to Los Angeles, California, in 1978 where she formed the Textones, whose debut album ''M ...

, Pat Robinson, John Lee Hooker,

Del Shannon Charles Weedon Westover (December 30, 1934 – February 8, 1990), better known by his stage name Del Shannon, was an American musician, singer and songwriter, best known for his 1961 number-one '' Billboard'' hit "Runaway". In 1999, he was indu ...

and many more. In addition, BMG owns the publishing catalogues of

Chrysalis Music Chrysalis Music is a British independent music publisher. The company's roots started in west London in 1967 when Chris Wright and Terry Ellis formed the Ellis-Wright Agency. It was formed to manage and book the bands Ten Years After, and Clouds ...

, Virgin, Famous Music UK, R2M Music, Talpa Music, Union Square Music, Cherry Lane Music, Francis Dreyfus Music, Alberts, Adage IV, Bug Music, Hornall Brothers Music Ltd. and Primary Wave.

Production music

BMG has a significant library of

production music Production music (also known as stock music or library music) is recorded music that can be licensed to customers for use in film, television, radio and other media. Often, the music is produced and owned by production music libraries. Backgrou ...

(library music), for use in films, television, advertising, and other media. These catalogues include including MusicDirector (part of Talpa Music), Human Music, Music Beyond, X-Ray Dog, Beds & Beats, Valentino Production Music,

Immediate Music BMG Production Music is an American production music company based in Santa Monica, California owned by BMG Rights Management, a subsidiary of German conglomerate Bertelsmann. Founded in 1993 as Immediate Music, it is best known for specializing ...

, AXS Music, Altitude Music, and Must Save Jane. BMG also has output deals with several production studios, including

The Asylum The Asylum is an American independent film company and distributor that focuses on producing low-budget, direct-to-video films. It is notorious for producing titles that capitalize on productions by major studios, often using film titles and s ...

Turner Broadcasting Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. (alternatively known as Turner Entertainment Networks from 2019 until 2022) was an American television and media conglomerate. Founded by Ted Turner and based in Atlanta, Georgia, it merged with Time Warner (l ...

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...

Amblin Partners Storyteller Distribution Co., LLC, doing business as Amblin Partners, LLC., is an American entertainment production company, which succeeded the live-action counterpart of DreamWorks and is led by Steven Spielberg. It develops and produces f ...

ITV Studios ITV Studios is a British multinational television production and distribution company owned by the British television broadcaster ITV plc. It handles production and distribution of programmes broadcast on the ITV network and third-party broadca ...

, ''

The Pokémon Company The Pokémon Company (株式会社ポケモン, ''Kabushiki gaisha Pokemon'') is a Japanese company responsible for brand management, production, publishing, marketing, and licensing of the ''Pokémon'' franchise, which consists of video gam ...

'', and

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

Recordings

BMG recording artists include 311, A Perfect Circle,

Jason Aldean Jason Aldean (born Jason Aldine Williams; February 28, 1977) is an American country music singer. Since 2005, he has been signed to Broken Bow Records, a record label for which he has released ten albums and 40 singles. His 2010 album, ''My Kind ...

blink-182 Blink-182 (stylized as blink-182) is an American rock band formed in Poway, California in 1992. Their current lineup consists of bassist/vocalist Mark Hoppus, guitarist/vocalist Tom DeLonge, and drummer Travis Barker. Though their sound has ...

, Blondie, Craig David,

Cypress Hill Cypress Hill is an American hip hop group from South Gate, California. They have sold over 20 million albums worldwide and have multi-platinum and platinum albums. They are considered to be among the main progenitors of West Coast and 1990 ...

Dido Dido ( ; , ), also known as Elissa ( , ), was the legendary founder and first queen of the Phoenician city-state of Carthage (located in modern Tunisia), in 814 BC. In most accounts, she was the queen of the Phoenician city-state of Tyre (t ...

, Fergie, Natalie Imbruglia,

JLS JLS (an initialism of Jack the Lad Swing) are an English boy band, boyband, which consists of members Aston Merrygold, Oritsé Williams, Marvin Humes, and JB Gill, originally formed by Williams. They initially signed to Tracklacers production ...

, Lenny Kravitz, Kylie Minogue,

, Max Giesinger,

Good Charlotte Good Charlotte is an American rock band from Waldorf, Maryland that formed in 1996. Since 2005, the band's lineup has consisted of twin brothers Joel Madden (lead vocals) and Benji Madden (guitar and vocals), Paul Thomas (bass), Billy Martin ...

, Roger Waters, Bryan Ferry,

Richard Ashcroft Richard Paul Ashcroft (born 11 September 1971) is an English singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer and occasional rhythm guitarist of the alternative rock band The Verve from their formation in 1990 until their original split in 1999. So ...

Fatboy Slim Norman Quentin Cook (born Quentin Leo Cook, 31 July 1963), also known by his stage name Fatboy Slim, is an English musician, DJ, and record producer who helped to popularise the big beat genre in the 1990s. In the 1980s, Cook was the bassist f ...

, Steps,

Sugar Ray Sugar Ray is an American rock band formed in Newport Beach, California, in 1986. Originally playing heavier funk metal and nu metal style music, the band achieved mainstream popularity in 1997 with their more pop-influenced single " Fly". T ...

, Marianne Faithfull, The Kinks, Ry X, Nakhane, Journey,

Patty Smyth Patricia Smyth (born June 26, 1957) is an American singer and songwriter. She first came into national attention with the rock band Scandal and went on to record and perform as a solo artist. Her distinctive voice and new wave image gained br ...

, Adel Tawil, Scorpions, KitschKrieg, and The Prodigy. BMG owns the catalogues of several record labels, which include Rise Records, Mute Records, Trojan Records,

Vagrant Records Vagrant Records is an American record label based in California. It was founded in 1995 by Rich Egan and Jon Cohen. The label focuses on rock, but features artists in a variety of other genres including folk, soul, electronic, and pop. It is ho ...

, Strictly Rhythm Records, Union Square Music, Verse Music Group,

, S-Curve Records,

Skint Records Skint Records is a Brighton and Hove based dance music record label owned by JC Reid, Tim Jeffery and Damian Harris. It was created as a sublabel of Loaded Records, also founded by Reid and Jeffery. Along with Wall of Sound, the label was a ...

The Echo Label The Echo Label was a British record label started by Chrysalis Group in 1994, and linked with Pony Canyon in Japan. The Chrysalis Group were the original owners of Chrysalis Records, which they sold to EMI. In 2005, The Echo Label recorded a ...

, Infectious, and the

BBR Music Group BBR Music Group (formerly Broken Bow Records) is an American record label based in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in July 1999 by Benny Brown, the label specializes in country music. The label's executive vice president is Jon Loba. Craig Morgan ...

Labels

*43B *

Stoney Creek Records Stoney may refer to: Places * Stoney, Kansas, an unincorporated community in the United States * Stoney Creek (disambiguation) * Stoney Pond, a man-made lake located by Bucks Corners, New York * Stoney (lunar crater) * Stoney (Martian crater) ...

Wheelhouse Records BBR Music Group (formerly Broken Bow Records) is an American record label based in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in July 1999 by Benny Brown, the label specializes in country music. The label's executive vice president is Jon Loba. Craig Morgan ...

* Rise Records *

(back catalogue) *

Infectious Music Infectious Music is an independent record label owned by BMG, whose bands have included Alt-J, Ash and The Subways. History Infectious Music was established in 1993 as Infectious Records by former Zerra One drummer Korda Marshall after lea ...

* BMG Chrysalis **

Go-Feet Records Go-Feet Records was an English record label founded by, and predominantly used to release recordings by, the ska revival band the Beat (known as the English Beat in North America). The band had some chart success in the United Kingdom in the ...

MAM Records MAM Records was a British record label launched in 1970 by the management company Management Agency & Music Ltd. (MAM). It was founded by Gordon Mills and Tom Jones and distributed by Decca Records. The first single released on MAM was "I Hear Y ...

(pre-2010 catalogue) *Union Square Music **Salvo **Metro *

Loaded Records Loaded Records was a British dance record label, formed in 1990 by Tim Jeffery and JC Reid. It launched artists like Pizzaman, Slacker and Wildchild. More recently, it released albums by Super Collider (featuring Jamie Lidell) and singles b ...

** Skyblaze Recordings *

Sanctuary Records Group Sanctuary Records Group Limited was a record label based in the United Kingdom and is as of 2013 a subsidiary of BMG Rights Management solely for reissues. Until June 2007, it was the largest independent record label in the UK and the largest m ...

Castle Communications Castle Communications, also known as Castle Music, was a British independent record label and home video distributor founded in 1983 by Terry Shand, Cliff Dane, and Jon Beecher. Its video imprint was called Castle Vision. The label's productio ...

Pye Records Pye Records was a British record label. Its best known artists were Lonnie Donegan (1956–1969), Petula Clark (1957–1971), the Searchers (1963–1967), the Kinks (1964–1971), Sandie Shaw (1964–1971), Status Quo (1968–1971) and Brothe ...

**Precision Records and Tapes **

Transatlantic Records Transatlantic Records was a British independent record label. The company was established in 1961, primarily as an importer of American folk, blues and jazz records by many of the artists who influenced the burgeoning British folk and blues boom ...

Sugar Hill Records Sugar Hill Records is an American bluegrass and Americana record label. It was founded in Durham, North Carolina in 1978 by Barry Poss and David Freeman, the owner of County Records and Rebel Records. Poss acquired full control of Sugar H ...

CMC International CMC International was an American independent record label founded by Bill Cain and Tom Lipsky in 1991, focused mainly on classic rock, and classic heavy metal. The label was the haven of many hard rock, arena rock, thrash metal, glam metal, an ...

**Mayan Records **

Neat Records Neat Records was a British independent record label based near Newcastle, England. The label was established in 1979 by David Wood, who was the owner of Impulse Studios in Wallsend, Tyne and Wear, England. A key figure in the establishment of ...

Noise Records Noise Records is a German heavy metal record label founded in 1983 by German music industry personality Karl-Ulrich Walterbach as an expansion of his company Modern Music Records. It was sold to the Sanctuary Records Group in 2001 and ceased any ...

RAS Records RAS Records, also known as Real Authentic Sound, is a reggae record label. History RAS Records was founded in 1979 by Doctor Dread. In his travels to Jamaica he created a network within the reggae artist community there. By the early to mid-1980 ...

Trojan Records Trojan Records is a British record label founded in 1968. It specialises in ska, rocksteady, reggae and dub music. The label currently operates under the Sanctuary Records Group. The name ''Trojan'' comes from the Croydon-built Trojan truck ...

***

Jet Records Jet Records was a British record label started by Don Arden in 1974, featuring musicians such as Lynsey de Paul, Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), Roy Wood, Gary Moore, Ozzy Osbourne, Alan Price, Adrian Gurvitz, Riot and Magnum. History Th ...

***

Upsetter Records Upsetter Records was a Jamaican record label set up by Lee "Scratch" Perry in 1968. Perry also opened the Upsetter Record Shop where he sold the records he produced. Lee "Scratch" Perry worked for Coxsone Dodd's Studio One record label and ...

Urban Records Urban Records is a German record label subsidiary of Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch ...

*Countdown Media ** Alshire/Somerset **

Everest Records Everest Records was a record label based in Bayside, Long Island, started by Harry D. Belock and Bert Whyte in May 1958. It was devoted mainly to classical music. History The idea for starting a label was related by electronics inventor Har ...

**Mediaphon ** Dobre Records **SRP Records **Alto Records *

RAM Records RAM Records is an independent record label established in 1992 by Andy C with the help of his friend Ant Miles. It specialises in drum and bass. The label and business is run by Andy C and business partner Scott Bourne (Red One). Ram Records ...

RBC Records RBC Records is an American online independent record label and management company founded by partners Brian Shafton and Bob Grossi. It provides artists and independent labels with a full-service "virtual label" alternative to signing with a maj ...

World Circuit Records In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

Disques Dreyfus Dreyfus Records (; french: Disques Dreyfus, link=no, ) is a record label which released the work of artists such as Jean-Michel Jarre who was part of the label for more than 20 years. Francis Dreyfus founded Disques Dreyfus in 1985. The label w ...

Albert Music Albert Music, formerly J Albert and Son, is an Australian company with an estimated worth in 2009 of more than A$209 million. The company has major interests in music publishing and production and it earns significant royalties through its s ...

Albert Productions Albert Productions, a division of music publishing and recording company Albert Music, is one of Australia's longest established independent record labels to specialise in rock and roll music. The label was founded in 1963 by Ted Albert, whose ...

* Verse Music Group **

Golden Records Golden Records was a Simon & Schuster record label based in New York City. It was conceived and founded in 1948 by the Grammy Award-winning children's music producer, Arthur Shimkin, then a new recruit in the S&S business department. Shimkin ...

Bethlehem Records Bethlehem Records was an American jazz independent record label, founded by Gus Wildi in 1953. History Bethlehem is remembered for its jazz releases from the 1950s. Producers included Creed Taylor and Teddy Charles. Bethlehem released the first ...

Salsoul Records Salsoul Records is an American New York City based record label, founded by three brothers, Joseph Cayre, Kenneth Cayre, and Stanley Cayre (the Cayre brothers). Salsoul issued about 300 singles, including many disco/post-disco 12-inch release ...

West End Records West End Records is an American music record label based in New York City. Led by co-founder Mel Cheren, West End was one of the most prominent labels in dance music's history, along with Prelude Records, Salsoul Records, and Casablanca Records. ...

Pete Waterman Entertainment Pete Waterman Entertainment (PWE) is the production company one-time pop and dance record label owned by British pop mogul Pete Waterman. The label, originally PWL (Pete Waterman Limited), is most famous for being the home of hit record prod ...

* Paracadute *

Strictly Rhythm Strictly Rhythm is an American house music record label. History Strictly Rhythm relaunched in 2007 after a five-year break, following a venture with Warner Music. The label made a number of its recordings available for digital download and si ...

(back catalogue) *Cavalcade Recordings *BMG Talpa Music (Netherlands) *BMG Production Music *Cheyenne Records *Intertwine (joint venture with

Eshy Gazit Eshy Gazit is a music industry executive best known for his work as the CEO of Gramophone Media, who worked as the US managing partner of K-pop groups, BTS and Monsta X, with several Pop and K-pop artists. Career In 2014, Gazit founded Gramophone ...

) *Modern Recordings *Telamo *Renew Records *OM Records (joint-venture with

Olympique de Marseille Olympique de Marseille (, ; oc, Olimpic de Marselha, ), also known simply as Marseille or by the abbreviation OM (, ), is a French professional men's football club based in Marseille, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. Founded in 1899, the club p ...

)

Awards

*2016, 2017, 2018: "Independent Publisher of the Year" by

American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...

*2018: "Production Music Awards" for BMG Production Music *2018: "Publisher of the Year", A&R Awards, United Kingdom

References

External links

Official website
of BMG {{Authority control Bertelsmann subsidiaries Entertainment companies established in 2008 German companies established in 2008 German record labels Kohlberg Kravis Roberts companies Mass media companies established in 2008 Music publishing companies of Germany Record label distributors Record labels established in 2008