Universal Music Acquires BMG Music Publishing; Napster Litigation Settled

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 6, 2006 - 5:46pm.

Paris - Media conglomerate Vivendi's Universal Music Group major record label announced on Wednesday that it has signed an agreement with Germany's Bertelsmann, to acquire BMG Music Publishing for $2.1 billion. Bertelsmann's music publishing arm includes a catalog of over one million copyrights, for compositions from artists ranging from Coldplay and Justin Timberlake to Puccini and Ravel. "This is an historic acquisition which will further diversify and expand our portfolio of music assets into such key areas production music library, classical and Christian music," said Universal Music chairman and CEO Doug Morris. "As a result, UMG will not only be even better positioned to fully capitalize on the many new and exciting opportunities in the current marketplace, but able to better serve our artists, songwriters and business partners." Separately, Bertelsmann announced that it has settled outstanding litigation with Universal Music Group over its early financial support of Napster, when it was still a free file-sharing service. Under the terms of the settlement, Bertelsmann will pay UMG $60 million, which includes both damages for copyright infringement and reimbursement of legal fees and expenses.
http://tinyurl.com/fccg4
http://www.forbes.com/business/feeds/afx/2006/09/06/afx2996397.html
http://www.umusic.com
http://www.bmgmusicsearch.com