BMG Music in joint venture with Deep Emotions

By Bollywood Hungama -

July 3, 2007 - 12:00 AM IST

In a landmark deal, BMG Music Publishing, the worlds third largest music publisher, and Indias leading music publisher, Deep Emotions Publishing, have entered into a joint venture agreement that will give much-needed support to lyricists and composers in India. The announcement was made by Andrew Jenkins (President, BMG Music Publishing International) and Achille Forler (Managing Director, Deep Emotions). Deep Emotions has licensed BMGs catalogue of over one million copyrights for several years but the joint venture marks the companys official entrance into Indias vibrant music scene. Through the deal, BMG and Deep Emotions will jointly sign local lyricists and composers to music publishing agreements and provide them with creative, financial, promotional, administrative and legal support. One of the primary objectives of the music publisher is to ensure that lyricists and composers can devote their career to songwriting and earn royalties from their work. Typically, a music publisher provides essential financial support throughout the songwriters career, nurtures his creative talents by critiquing compositions; promotes his works to all potential users; arranges collaborations with other artists, producers or songwriters; licenses works and handles critical legal and administrative affairs, including worldwide copyright registration, royalty tracking and collection. The Indian creative industry, currently estimated at 8 billion USD, has benefited from the strong performance of the Indian economy and is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 20% over the next five years. With the opening of FM radio to the private sector at home, and the increasing crossover appeal of its films and music abroad, the Indian music industry looks poised for a major expansion. Achille Forler and the Deep Emotions team have represented the BMG Music Publishing catalogue for a couple of years already and we have a great respect for the work they have done, said Jenkins. Together we believe we can be pioneers in the field of music publishing on the Indian subcontinent. I fully expect our joint venture company to sign up the most exciting and innovative songwriters working in India today. With BMGs global resources, we will be able to provide them with the same respect and support that we do for Robbie Williams, Shania Twain, Coldplay and all of the great lyricists and composers who have entrusted their works to us. The song is the foundation on which the whole music industry rests, Forler said. But often, those who create the songs that are on the lips of millions, are faced with insurmountable struggles and have the greatest difficulty in retaining and protecting their copyrights, or collecting a fair return for their critical creative efforts. I am highly pleased that BMG has chosen to place its corporate resources at the service of the songwriting community in India. This is a landmark deal which will immensely benefit the Lyricists and composers in particular but also the Indian film and music industries as a whole.