10 MusicWeek 01.06.12 THEBIGINTERVIEWHARTWIGMASUCH,BMG
www.musicweek.com
BMG owns more than a million copyrights and its
publishing business is flying. So why is it eyeing up the major labels’ billions?
PUBLISHING BY TIM INGHAM
I
ALL RIGHTS NOW Masuch gently grins when discussing the
t’s a heck of a number; a big, bulky, brassy number that will hoist eyebrows and no doubt inspire cattiness and envy across the UK
publishing landscape this week. But to BMG, the seven-figure copyright haul
splashed across our front page today means a lot more than a mere showy collection of digits: it represents the first in an extensive wishlist of company milestones – one that it reckons it hasn’t really even got started on yet. “We always knew that if we reached a million, it
would mean that we were in the territory of the major publishers,” explains a smiling BMG CEO Hartwig Masuch. “In UK market share on albums in the first
quarter, we actually outperformed Warner/Chappell. We’re not over-celebrating; all of this just means we’re going in the right direction.”
“Some executives think they can decide what the market wants. But it’s the wrong way round. You can’t create culture long-term by sheer size of marketing spend” HARTWIG MASUCH
headline-grabbing million mark, but he outright beams when highlighting evidence contrary to the jibes of competitors; those who suggest BMG is little more than an acquisitive beast, which buys the world’s best songwriters, but doesn’t have the know-how or resource to charm them into long- term relationships. The exec realises that rivals accuse BMG of
non-organic growth - having purchased the likes of Crosstown Songs, Cherry Lane Music Publishing, Stage Three Music, Evergreen Copyrights, Chrysalis and Bug Music since splitting with Sony and becoming ‘new’ BMG four years ago – but he remains unperturbed. “We know what they say: ‘These guys are useless
because their talent lies in M&A and that’s it,’” he acknowledges. “We can’t stop that overnight, but it will become
mitigated by songwriters who work with us, and who stay with us. We’ve just renewed the Bruno
Mars contract and other key deals. Word of mouth from those guys in the songwriting community will be very important.” Masuch points out that BMG’s owners have
made big investments in administration, marketing and A&R - the fruits of which he believes will be born out in long-term loyalty from songwriters. But what of the potentially uncertain
atmosphere a sudden acquisition can create? If I’m a big US pop composer who finds himself working under a new publisher I didn’t ask for, why should I stay? The German exec believes BMG’s ability to leverage its international network will be key to placating any feeling of displacement. “We have writers in California like busbee, who
suddenly finds he has a No.1 in Italy because of us,” says Masuch. “We sign unproven, young writers and we take them around the world. I’ve just spoken to a very happy Los Angeles-based writer whose mother called from Germany to say she’d heard his song on a local TV show. We had placed it there.”
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48