FUJI MEDIA HOLDINGS, INC. January 20, 2016 Fuji Media Holdings, Inc. Fuji Music Group, Inc.
Fuji Music Group, Inc. (California U.S.A - President: Hidehiko Koike, hereafter "FMG"), a
U.S. subsidiary of Fuji Media Holdings, Inc. (Tokyo, Japan - President & COO: Shuji Kano, hereafter "FMH"), has entered into an agreement with BMG (Berlin, Germany - CEO: Hartwig Masuch), the Bertelsmann-owned music group, to hand over to BMG a majority interest in musical copyrights owned by ARC Music, a 100% subsidiary of FMG.
Following the deal, FMG and BMG have agreed they will work together to explore additional opportunities with the intention of creating a portfolio of evergreen copyrights.
ARC Music was founded in 1948 by the Chess brothers Leonard and Phil Chess as the music publishing counterpart of their Chess Records label. It holds the rights to some of the most well-known American music including blues and rock 'n' roll songs such as Chuck Berry's "Surfin' USA" (well known by Beach Boys' master recording) and "Johnny B. Goode," Bo Diddley's "Who Do You Love," "I'm A Man" and John Lee Hooker's "Boom Boom."
FMG and BMG have a long-running relationship since 2010, when FMG signed a deal with BMG for administering the catalogue of ARC Music owned by FMG. The two companies will continue their partnership as they aim to further expand the scope of the ARC songs across the world. FMG will continue to handle administration for the catalogue in Japan and Southeast Asia.
Ichiro Asatsuma, Chairman of Fuji Music Group commented, "I am confident that this partnership with BMG will not only increase the commercial value of the ARC songs, but also strengthen the cultural legacy the catalogue represents."
Hidehiko Koike, President of Fuji Music Group added, "FMG and BMG share the same
philosophies in maximizing exposure for music. With our combined global resources, we look forward to expanded business opportunities for the catalogue."
BMG CEO Hartwig Masuch said, "The Chess brothers and their successors brought blues and rock 'n' roll to the world. The artists and songwriters they discovered still resonate through the decades. Both culturally and commercially, the acquisition of this majority stake in ARC is one of the most significant acquisitions in the development of BMG so far."
Laurent Hubert, President of Creative and Marketing at BMG commented, "The ARC catalogue represents timeless music that is a centerpiece of American culture. We are pleased to join forces with Fuji and deepen our relationship with them in Japan and Southeast Asia to bring these songs new life across the globe."
About Fuji Music Group, Inc.
Fuji Music Group, Inc. (FMG), formerly known as Fuji Entertainment America, Inc. is a California-based company co-owned by Japan's largest media conglomerate, Fuji Media Holdings, Inc. and Fujipacific Music, Inc., a Fuji Media Holdings' subsidiary. FMG business focuses on music copyrights. FMG controls the worldwide rights to about 8,000 songs from 1950s to early 70s, written by legendary artists such as Chuck Berry, Ellas McDaniel a/k/a Bo Diddley, John Lee Hooker, Jimmy Reed, Chester Burnet a/k/a Howlin' Wolf, Fred Neil, Alice Cooper and Tom Waits. FMG also owns 50% of Check Your Pulse Music LLC (CYPM) in joint ventures with American Songs. CYPM also has a partnership with Creative Nation.
About BMG
BMG is the new model music company founded by Bertelsmann in 2008 as a direct response to the challenges of music's digital revolution. Key to its innovative approach is the fact it represents the traditionally separate music publishing and recording rights off the same state-of-the-art platform internationally. BMG is already the world's fourth biggest music publisher and the first new global player in the recordings business in decades. BMG's pitch is unique - a relentless focus on fairness and transparency and service to its artist and songwriter clients. BMG's 11 offices across nine core music markets now represent over 2m songs and recordings, including the catalogue of Chrysalis, Bug, Virgin, Mute, Sanctuary, Primary Wave and Talpa Music, as well as literally thousands of artists and songwriters attracted by its fresh approach. BMG is a
wholly-owned subsidiary of international media company Bertelsmann, whose group interests embrace broadcasting and TV production (RTL Group), books (Penguin Random House) and magazines (Gruner + Jahr), media services (Arvato) and print (Bertelsmann Printing Group). With its multi-platform perspective, integrated technology platform and commitment to help artists maximize their income, BMG aims to be the best company in music to do business with. www.bmg.com
Enquiries: Hiroto Akatsuka
Fuji Music Group, Inc.
C/o Office of President, Fujipacific Music, Inc. Phone: 03-3796-8601
Fuji Media Holdings Inc. issued this content on 2016-01-22 and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 2016-01-22 09:14:04 UTC
Original Document: http://www.fujimediahd.co.jp/en/pdf/t6SDFv9fNe7K1DiE.pdf
