PARIS (CelebrityAccess) — The torrent of catalog acquisitions continues and this time, its BMG who announced it has acquired the entire music publishing back catalogue of pioneering French electronic musician Jean-Michel Jarre.
The deal includes the rights to Jarre’s classic hits such as Oxygene and Equinoxe along with Jarre’s writer’s income stream. The agreement expands upon BMG’s previous acquisition of the sound recordings for Jarre’s first three albums that came as part of their purchase of the indie label Francis Dreyfus Music in 2012.
A towering figure in the French electronic music scene, Jarre has generated 85m album sales over his career and has performed in front of some of the biggest audiences in history, including the Paris Bastille Day concert 1979 (1m people), Houston 1986 (1.3m people), Paris-La Défense 1990 (2.5m people) and Moscow 1997 (3.5m people).
“This partnership with BMG means a lot to me. Hartwig Masuch and the entire team have been part of my family for many years. Moreover, I am pleased that my publishing back catalogue is sheltered here in Europe and that my work will continue to grow in such good hands. Today is a new start allowing me to develop fresh ideas and giving me the means to explore new territories. Together we will thrive,” Jean-Michel Jarre said.
“Jean-Michel Jarre is not only a ground-breaking pioneer in electronic music, he is a polymath and a shining ambassador for culture and internationalism. Nearly fifty years after Oxygene burst upon the world, we are delighted to build on our longstanding relationship to become custodians of his music publishing rights,” added BMG CEO Hartwig Masuch added.
According to BMG, this was the biggest single deal ever struck by BMG in France but the financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
