BMG has purchased the recorded catalog of The Hollies (pictured). Photo Credit: Tony Russell/Redferns
After dropping over $400 million on song rights during 2022, BMG has officially acquired the recorded catalog of Manchester-based rock band The Hollies.
KKR- and Pimco-partnered BMG emailed Digital Music News about its latest music-IP investment today. According to the Telamo owner – which revealed in late March that it had achieved a 30.6 percent revenue increase last year – this latest catalog buyout extends to “more than 20 studio, compilation, live, and tribute album titles and rarities,” all “wholly owned” by the 61-year-old group.
Among the releases included in the transaction are the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-inducted act’s Evolution and Butterfly (1967), Confessions of the Mind (1970), Another Night (1975), and Then, Now, Always (2009) efforts, to name just some. These albums encompass much-streamed tracks such as “Long Cool Woman (In a Black Dress),” “The Air That I Breathe,” and “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother.”
Addressing the catalog sale in a statement, The Hollies – who have a number of shows scheduled for September, October, and November – touched upon the agreement’s perceived potential to help their body of work “live on for generations to come.”
And in remarks of his own, Thomas Scherer, BMG’s president of repertoire and marketing for New York and Los Angeles, said his company’s “delighted” to represent The Hollies’ catalog, the sale price of which hasn’t been identified publicly.
“The Hollies spearheaded the ‘British Invasion’ of the Sixties,” communicated Scherer, “and we are delighted to have secured rights to their golden period in the US, including ‘Long Cool Woman (in a Black Dress)’. We are honored to represent their continuing creative legacy.”
BMG (which is set to name Thomas Coesfeld CEO next month) also disclosed that it “expects to announce further transactions shortly.” For reference, 2022 had seen the Pinterest-partnered company complete approximately 45 music-IP buyouts, including catalog deals with the estate of Harry Nilsson, Fools Garden, Primal Scream, and the estate of John Lee Hooker.
Notwithstanding the uncertain economy, other industry companies are continuing to close catalog purchases of their own. To this point in June, for instance, Seoul’s Beyond Music has announced a $170 million raise and laid out plans for IP investments, Anthem Entertainment has increased its stake in Timbaland’s catalog, and CTM Outlander has finalized an agreement with songwriter Shane McAnally.
Meanwhile, despite an apparent pause in blockbuster deals and some rumored transactions’ failure to materialize, Universal Music Group is reportedly teeing up a more than $1 billion play for Queen’s catalog.