In a groundbreaking deal announced today, The Orchard, a global leader in digital music and entertainment, has secured marketing and digital distribution rights to all Sony/ATV Music Publishing owned master recordings, including recordings owned by Sony/ATV’s worldwide affiliates covering Europe, Asia, Australia, Japan and South Africa. The worldwide deal, which excludes North America, was made with Sony/ATV Music Publishing International in London and also includes representation rights for creative licensing in film, television and advertising and brand entertainment opportunities.
Commenting on the deal, Guy Henderson, Senior Vice President of Sony/ATV Music Publishing International said, “We are very excited at the prospect of working with The Orchard team to market and sell our master recordings digitally to all parts of the globe. In this new world where music companies are expected to handle all facets of the business, this deal not only provides an opportunity for new income streams for our more established writers, but opportunities for our up and coming songwriters as well”.
Sony/ATV will initially deliver The Orchard hundreds of albums by major country and R&B artists from the renowned Sony Tree Productions, Masters International and Hickory catalogues, which feature the historic labels Dial Records, Four Star, Hickory and Challenge Records.
The Tree Productions/Dial recordings include the original Joe Tex hits, “Hold What You’ve Got,” “I Gotcha,” “Papa Was Too,” “Show Me,” and original masters and re-recordings of chart-toppers by artists including Merle Haggard, Conway Twitty, Roger Miller, Lee Greenwood, Brenda Lee, Willie Nelson, Little Richard and many others.
The Masters International catalogue spans two decades of hits by artists including Patsy Cline, The Champs, The Knickerbockers and Jerry Wallace, who were originally released on the Four Star and Challenge Records labels. Uniquely, the catalogue includes archive spoken word recordings of John F. Kennedy. The Hickory Records and Hickory/ 16th Ave. recordings feature artists such as The Newbeats, Sue Thompson, Don Gibson, Roy Acuff, Bob Luman, Charlie Pride and Don Everly.
In addition to the major artist hits in the Sony/ATV catalogues, the deal is expected to market recordings by new songwriters, as well as unearth “hidden” and previously unreleased “gems” from both international and important local artists from around the world, who have variously recorded masters during the term of their publishing agreements with Sony/ATV and its affiliate companies.
“Sony/ATV selecting The Orchard is an accolade for us, and we will support them with the full breadth of our services offerings – from marketing and promoting to drive digital sales; to placing masters for use in film, TV and commercials; to new and exciting revenue streams from our burgeoning brand entertainment group,” said Greg Scholl, President and CEO of The Orchard. “Our regional offices around the world will combine with Sony/ATV’s affiliates to innovate and create value for this treasure trove of diverse and rare recordings in the digital realm.”
