BMG Extends With Harrison Estate, Dark Horse

• BMG has entered into a global publishing agreement with the George Harrison Estate to administer the Harrisongs catalog, which includes more than 200 George Harrison songs written with The Beatles, The Traveling Wilburys and for his solo career.

The deal expands on the relationship with Harrison’s Dark Horse Records, with BMG serving as its global partner across recorded music, music publishing, and merchandise, while also developing further areas of business. Dark Horse Records was founded by George Harrison in 1974 and now led by his son, Dhani Harrison and David Zonshine. “I’m delighted to announce that my father’s song catalogue will be joining BMG/Dark Horse Records,” Dhani Harrison said. “We have had a longstanding and successful partnership with BMG over the years and we look forward to continuing to expand our relationship well into the future.”

Harrisongs Limited, the music publishing entity created by Harrison, contains his nearly two dozen songs written with The Beatles, including “Here Comes The Sun,” “I Me Mine,” “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” and “Something.” The catalog also features Harrison’s 12 studio albums of solo works including songs from All Things Must Pass (containing “My Sweet Lord,” “What Is Life,” “Isn’t It A Pity,” “All Things Must Pass”) and Living In The Material World (featuring “Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)”), as well as his songs from the two albums recorded by The Traveling Wilburys, featuring “End of the Line,” “Handle with Care,” “She’s My Baby,” and “Inside Out,” and others.

BMG CEO Hartwig Masuch said, “George Harrison stands at the pinnacle of what it means to be an influential and successful artist and humanitarian. It is telling that of the 188 original songs released by the Beatles during their career, it’s George’s ‘Here Comes The Sun’ which is by far the most played on Spotify. It’s an honor for all of us here at BMG now to be representing the Harrisongs catalogue. The Harrison Estate is rightly fiercely protective of George’s legacy and we will do our best to reward their faith in us.”

Thomas Scherer, BMG President, Repertoire & Marketing, New York and Los Angeles, said, “The music of George Harrison and Dark Horse Records is an inspiration for so many generations of musicians and songwriters. Nurturing the inner light, they are simply timeless! We are grateful to continue strengthening and expanding our relationship with the Harrisons, Olivia and Dhani, to ensure that one of music’s most cherished song catalogs will continue to reach new audiences around the world and play on for many years to come.”

Earlier this year, Dark Horse Records reached a new global recordings agreement for 16 albums from the late Leon Russell, spanning 1984-2013, and a global publishing administration deal for Joe Strummer‘s solo publishing catalog featuring hundreds of songs including all three Mescaleros albums, his scoring contributions, as well as the sixth and final Clash album, Cut The Crap. Recent Dark Horse Records releases include the newest recordings from Billy Idol, The Roadside and Happy Holidays and Benmont Tench‘s forthcoming studio album.

The partnership with BMG has also expanded to include DH Merchandise, a one stop-shop offering creative design through to fulfillment, including the launch of new merchandise stores for George Harrison, Joe Strummer, Johnny Ramone, and additional partnerships with Traveling Wilburys and Buddy Holly; as well as the introduction of the Dark Horse Sounds wellness music series.

BMG also serves as the music publishing and recorded home of Dhani Harrison and released his most recent album, IN///PARALLEL. BMG’s long association with Harrison’s work also includes the 2016 release of George Fest: A Night to Celebrate the Music of George Harrison, the live concert tribute album featuring an all-star lineup performing the career spanning music of Harrison.

Pictured, (l-r): Hartwig Masuch, Dhani Harrison, Thomas Scherer and David Zonshine [Photo credit: Josh Giroux / George Harrison photo courtesy of the Harrison Family]