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BMG launches new “strike force” to push UK talent in the US
By Chris Cooke | Published on Tuesday 17 September 2019
BMG is launching a new international team that will seek to more proactively push UK artists and songwriters in the US market. Dubbed a “strike force” and a “first” for the UK industry, the music rights firm says that the new team “will explicitly address the emerging gap for UK artists in music’s biggest market with the switch to streaming consumption”.
That statement alludes to record industry data that shows that, in America, British talent is not performing as strongly on the streaming services when compared to more conventional album sales. Stats from record industry trade group BPI show that, while the UK industry had a 12.6% share of US album sales in 2018, its share of the streaming market was 7.6%.
There are various explanations for that trend, in particular the huge popularity of home-grown urban music on the American streaming platforms.
However, according to BMG boss Hartwig Masuch, there are more logistical reasons too. He said yesterday: “The problem for UK artists is that US-based companies naturally tend to favour their local repertoire. Our view is that UK artists and songwriters deserve better than that. We need to ensure we maximise their success in the US”.
The new ‘strike force’ will have bases in London, New York and LA, and will focus in particular on performer-songwriters, seeking opportunities for both songs and recordings in the US. The team will work British acts from across the BMG roster, including new, established and heritage acts.
Heading up this new operation will be Ian Ramage, who previously had a long career within the majors, with stints in both labels and publishing. More recently he has been working in academia while consulting on various music business projects, including for BMG.
Confirming all this, BMG’s VP Repertoire & Marketing Alistair Norbury said: “This is a distinctive service which cuts across the traditional dividing lines of music publishing and recordings, which plays to our strength as the only fully-integrated international music company. Ian Ramage is amply qualified to take on this role and we are delighted he has committed to BMG”.
