Music Sales rebrands as Wise Music Group

Music Sales rebrands as Wise Music Group

Music Sales Group has rebranded itself as Wise Music Group.

The name-change for the independent music publisher is also reflected in the various international office titles. The rebrand is effective from February 3.

The group will continue to operate a global network comprising more than 60 publishing houses, 30 imprints, two record labels, two digital music education companies, a book publisher and a live concert & theatrical production company.

Wise Music Group Chairman Robert Wise said: “With historic roots in print publishing, we have recently refocused on expanding our already substantial portfolio of copyrights across all styles of music. We work hard to maximise the value of those copyrights while promoting the talents of our impressive roster of contemporary composers. Our new name reflects both the continuity of our business approach and the fact that ours is a family business with two generations of the Wise family well established within it, guiding our future progress.”

Our new name reflects both the continuity of our business approach and the fact that ours is a family business

Robert Wise

As well as the rebrand, Wise Music Group has announced new publishing deals with Evan Dando of The Lemonheads and Olafur Arnalds. 

Dando has signed a publishing agreement with Wise Music USA, part of Wise Music Group. The worldwide deal includes all of his work to date, including songs such as It’s a Shame About Ray, My Drug Buddy, Confetti, Rudderless and Big Gay Heart.

Dando said: “I’m super excited that for the first time in my career all of my publishing will be with one company under the same roof. I’m looking forward to a successful partnership with Wise Music.”

Tomas Wise, CEO of Wise Music USA, said: “Growing up my brothers and I listened to The Lemonheads religiously. We were their biggest fans. I could not be more thrilled to be representing their music today. Everyone at Wise Music is excited to work with Evan and his team and are squinting at the bright future ahead.”

Olafur Arnalds has signed an exclusive worldwide publishing deal with Bosworth Music. The catalogue includes Flow 1 and Flow 2 from Ekki Hugsa 360°, a commission from Reeperbahn Festival, plus all upcoming works.

Arnalds said: “I am thrilled to be joining the Bosworth/Wise Music family’s close-knit community. Their long history combined with their embracing of change within the music industry made me confident that they were the right team for me and my variety of projects.”

Michael Ohst, MD of Bosworth Music, said: “We have been following Olafur’s career with huge interest during the last years and are thrilled to work with him and support him in his future activities.” 

Wise Music Group has offices in London, New York, Los Angeles, Sydney, Copenhagen, Madrid, Paris, Tokyo and Berlin.

Its publishing houses and imprints include Chester Music, G Schirmer, Associated Music Publishers, Novello & Co, Éditions Alphonse Leduc, Première Music, Le Chant du Monde, Edition Wilhelm Hansen, Unión Musical Ediciones, Bosworth Music and Campbell Connelly.

Wise Music Group owns or controls nearly half a million copyrights, including a range of popular songs spanning jazz, reggae, blues, pop and rock. It claims the world’s largest independent holding of historic and contemporary classical music.

The group also represents nearly 100 successful living composers and songwriters working in classical music, opera, ballet, pop, film, television and advertising. Represented composers include Ludovico Einaudi, Philip Glass, Joby Talbot, Igor Stravinsky, Francis Poulenc, Olivier Messiaen, Jean Sibelius, Hans Abrahamsen, Anna Thorvaldsdottir, Missy Mazzoli, Dmitri Shostakovich, Sergei Prokofiev, Kaija Saariaho, John Tavener, Samuel Barber, John Corigliano and Tan Dun.

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