EMI Music and Warner Music Group Expand Existing Marketing and Distribution Partnership in India and the Middle East and Enter Into New Relationship in Turkey
Agreement Builds on Existing Relationship in South East AsiaLONDON and NEW YORK, NY, Dec 10, 2008 -- EMI Music and Warner Music Group Corp. (NYSE: WMG) today announced a new agreement to extend their existing marketing and distribution partnership in India and the Middle East and enter into their first partnership in Turkey.
Under the new multi-year license agreement, EMI Music will continue to serve as the local physical distributor of WMG's repertoire in India and the Middle East -- a role it has had since 2005 -- and will become WMG's local digital distributor as well. In Turkey, where WMG previously licensed to a local physical distributor, EMI will become WMG's new local physical and digital distributor. WMG will continue to develop and operate global digital partnerships, which will include these territories.
Adrian Cheesley, EMI Music's President - International, said: "These markets have exciting growth potential, especially in digital. We are delighted to be extending our successful relationship with Warner Music to include digital rights to their fantastic artist roster and catalogue and to cover Turkey as well."
John Reid, Vice Chairman, Warner Music International, said: "With us currently serving as EMI's distributor in South East Asia, and with EMI serving as our distributor in India, the Middle East and Turkey, we have developed a strong partnership that we're pleased to be expanding with this deal. Since WMG does not have local operations in these territories, it was extremely important that we partner with one of the strongest players in the region, which is why I'm confident that EMI's efforts, local resources and expertise will be of great benefit to our artists."
The territories covered under the new agreement are India, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Lebanon, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Jordan, Syria, Yemen, Kuwait and Egypt. The agreement also includes an extension of EMI's physical distribution deal with WMG for Libya, Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia and adds certain digital rights.
In one or more of these countries, EMI is already the exclusive local distributor of many independent labels including Domino, Beggars Banquet, Ministry of Sound and Cooking Vinyl. EMI also distributes Disney's soundtrack and Hollywood repertoire in the Middle East and Turkey.
Pursuant to an agreement announced in September 2008, WMG markets and distributes -- both physically and digitally -- EMI's repertoire in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Korea and Thailand while EMI will continue to develop and operate global digital partnerships which will include these territories.
The financial terms surrounding the agreement announced today were not disclosed.
About EMI Music
EMI Music is one of the world's leading music companies, representing artists spanning all musical tastes and genres. Its record labels include Angel, Astralwerks, Blue Note, Capitol, Capitol Nashville, EMI Classics, EMI CMG, EMI Records, EMI Televisa Music, Manhattan, Mute, Parlophone and Virgin. Artists on EMI labels include Lily Allen, The Beatles, Coldplay, Corinne Bailey Rae, Gorillaz, Hot Chip, Norah Jones, The Kooks, Korn, Kylie Minogue, Katy Perry, Pink Floyd, Sir Simon Rattle, Joss Stone, KT Tunstall, Keith Urban and Robbie Williams, as well as international artists such as Amaral (Spain), Camille (France), Utada Hikaru (Japan), LaFee (Germany), Belinda (Mexico) and Tiziano Ferro (Italy).
About Warner Music
Warner Music Group became the only stand-alone music company to be publicly traded in the United States in May 2005. With its broad roster of new stars and legendary artists, Warner Music Group is home to a collection of the best-known record labels in the music industry including Asylum, Atlantic, Bad Boy, Cordless, East West, Elektra, Nonesuch, Reprise, Rhino, Roadrunner, Rykodisc, Sire, Warner Bros. and Word. Warner Music International, a leading company in national and international repertoire, operates through numerous international affiliates and licensees in more than 50 countries. Warner Music Group also includes Warner/Chappell Music, one of the world's leading music publishers, with a catalog of more than one million copyrights worldwide.