Universal Music Publishing & Hal Leonard Reach Distribution & Rights Fulfillment Deal

Universal Music Publishing Classical (UMPC) and Hal Leonard Corporation have announced a deal for Hal Leonard to provide UMPC exclusive services for worldwide print distribution and for hire (rental) rights fulfillment for UMPC’s classical music catalogues, commencing July 1, 2011.

UMPC’s Universal MGB Publications in Milan oversees publishing, sales, marketing and distribution of printed editions and hire (rental) parts for the music publishing catalogues Ricordi, Éditions Salabert, Éditions Durand, and Éditions Max Eschig. Under the terms of the new deal, Hal Leonard will manage print distribution and hire (rental) operations, and jointly developing with UMPC new publications for global sale. Hal Leonard’s subsidiary, De Haske, will be integrally involved in the European operations. UMPC’s Editio Musica Budapest (EMB) will continue its operations independently, with Hal Leonard assuming EMB printed music and hire (rental) distribution in certain territories. UMPC will continue handling all other rights and repertoire matters relating to all of the catalogues, including grand and small performance rights, synchronization, mechanical and all other licensing rights, promotion, and other operations for all of the catalogues.

Founded in 1808, Ricordi is the principal publisher of Italian opera. Ricordi’s catalogue includes Verdi, Puccini, Rossini, Donizetti, and Bellini, alongside many prestigious 20th-century and contemporary composers published by its Milan, Munich, and London houses. Within the catalogues of Durand, Salabert and Max Eschig are works by many celebrated French composers of the past two centuries: Debussy, Ravel, Poulenc, and Saint-Saëns, to name but a few. EMB owns publishing rights to music by Bartòk, Kodály, Kurtag, Marta, Farkas, and other notable Eastern European composers.

Hal Leonard has been the longtime North American printed music distributor of these classical catalogues, working exclusively with Ricordi and Salabert in North America since 1986, and with Durand, Eschig and EMB in North America since 2001. In addition, Hal Leonard and Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) have worked closely together in several other areas, such as the North American print representation of UMPG’s popular music catalog, and UMPG’s Nashville-based Christian music operation, Brentwood-Benson.

Simon Baker, vice presidnet of operations, Universal Publishing with Larry Morton, president of Hal Leonard Publishing Corp. in Frankfurt earlier this week.