MUMBAI: The publishing industry is on constant endeavour to acquire the best selling content and spread it across boundaries, and creating a strong catalogue with acquiring rights to some timeless classics is one way to go about it. This is evidenced by the latest deal with BMG acquiring a majority interest in the legendary ARC Music publishing catalogue, owned by Fuji Music Group (FMG). ARC Music which was founded in 1948 by the Chess brothers- Leonard and Phil Chess- is responsible for discovering some timeless classic and popular music like ‘Surfin’ USA’, ‘Johnny B. Goode’, ‘See You Later Alligator’, ‘Book Of Love’ and ‘Roll Over Beethoven’, ‘Road Runner’ (Bo Diddley, The Animals, The Zombies, Aerosmith, The Who), ‘Smokestack Lightning’ (Howlin’ Wolf, Cream), ‘At The Hop’ (Danny & The Juniors).
The Chess brothers and their successors brought blues and rock n roll to the world. To emphasise more, BMG CEO Hartwig Masuch said in a statement, “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.”
With a long working relation with each other already in place, BMG and FMG intent to further explore additional opportunities with the intention of creating a portfolio of evergreen copyrights. FMG’s affiliate Fuji pacific Music represents BMG’s catalogue in Japan and Southeast Asia, while BMG administers FMG’s catalogue in the rest of the world.
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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.”
Fuji Music Group president Hico Koike of 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.”
The catalogue includes:
I’m A Man (made famous by Bo Diddley, The Yardbirds)
Johnny B. Goode (Chuck Berry)
Roll Over Beethoven (Chuck Berry)
No Particular Place To Go (Chuck Berry)
Surfin’ USA (The Beach Boys (pictured)
Mannish Boy (Muddy Waters, The Band)
Susie-Q (Creedence Clearwater Revival)
See You Later Alligator (Billy Haley & The Comets)
Road Runner (Bo Diddley, The Animals, The Zombies, Aerosmith, The Who)
Smokestack Lightning (Howlin’ Wolf, Cream)
At The Hop (Danny & The Juniors)
I’d Rather Go Blind (Etta James)
