As widely rumored earlier this year, BMG and Concord have officially announced “a definitive agreement to combine their businesses,” creating what is basically the fourth major music company, although they’re terming it “the leading independent music company in the world.”
The deal, which sources place between $6.6 billion and $7 billion, would form a company that is considerably smaller than the two dominant major music groups, Universal and Sony — but not far from the third, Warner, at least by some metrics. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The combined company will operate under the BMG name and will span music publishing, recorded music, theatrical rights, and digital distribution. Collectively, the companies’ rosters include works from Jelly Roll, Paul Simon, Lainey Wilson, will.i.am, Jason Aldean, Tina Turner, Diane Warren, and Jean-Michel Jarre, to Creedence Clearwater Revival, Daddy Yankee, Denzel Curry, Hamilton, Phil Collins, R.E.M., and “The Sound of Music.”
The combined company will be owned approximately 67% by Bertelsmann and approximately 33% by affiliates of Great Mountain Partners. Affiliates of Great Mountain Partners will also receive a one-time cash payment of $1.16 billion, according to the announcement. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions including regulatory approvals and is expected to close in the second half of 2026.
Concord CEO Bob Valentine will serve as CEO, and BMG CEO Thomas Coesfeld as chairman of the combined company, with global headquarters in Nashville and European Headquarters in Berlin. It will be named BMG with divisions “BMG Publishing” and “Concord Records.”
The deal “includes a mid-term ambition to achieve $1.2 billion in EBITDA, building from a pro forma EBITDA base of more than $730 million in 2026, driven through organic growth, M&A, and synergies, according to the announcement.
While the company would certainly qualify as a “fourth major” in terms of scale, with few exceptions, the two companies don’t really invest in current superstars: The recorded-music divisions of both BMG and Concord don’t have anyone in the same galaxy as a Taylor Swift or Bruno Mars or Harry Styles, although BMG’s country division’s roster of recorded music does boast Lainey Wilson and Jelly Roll.
Instead, the companies share similar publishing-and-catalog-heavy business models. Since 2021, BMG has invested more than $1.5 billion in music rights acquisitions and an equal amount in signings, licenses, and technology, the announcement states. Concord has invested more than $3 billion since 2020 across publishing, recorded music, theatrical rights, and distribution, and with more than 125,000 artists and songwriters around the world.
BMG, founded in 2008 after the original BMG merged with Sony Music, originally specialized in veteran artists such as Lenny Kravitz, Blondie and Iron Maiden and catalogs like Motley Crue (which they acquired for a reported $100 million), ZZ Top ($50 million), Tina Turner and John Legend, who are past their commercial prime but retain solid and loyal fanbases, particularly outside the U.S., and also sell respectable quantities of profitable physical product.
However, that approach has evolved since Coesfeld took over in 2023, as the company has become more frontline-facing and even scored surprise hits from veteran pop artists like Kylie Minogue, Lily Allen and Marina, along with the occasional big acquisition (like last year’s 1,000-song-plus $250 million deal that included the catalog of MAGA-stumping country singer Jason Aldean).
Concord’s recorded-music divisions are even less superstar-heavy — their frontline artists include Ghost, Sierra Ferrell, Margo Price, Sarah McLauglin and Korn — but they make up for it in volume with a catalog of more than 16,000 albums that sprawls across genres, from jazz to theater to classical, from children’s music to punk, from Latin to Americana. Its vast array of labels includes includes alternative powerhouse Loma Vista, roots-leaning Rounder and the catalogs of the legendary soul label Stax, iconic Latin imprint Fania, jazz giants Prestige, Riverside and Savoy, and the rock labels Fearless, Victory and Wind-up. It also acquired the distribution and artist-services company Stem last year in a mid-eight-figure deal.
The combined publishing divisions, however, would be massive. BMG represents Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Bruno Mars, Diane Warren, Lewis Capaldi, John Legend, Pitbull and many others, and over the years has acquired such publishers as Bug Music, Cherry Lane, Chrysalis and Union Square Music.
Along with the impending merger of publishing giants Kobalt and Primary Wave, which will create a company valued at approximately $7 billion, it reflects both consolidation in the music-publishing world, as well as a resounding statement on its value as an asset class.
Concord, which paid some $300 million for the song catalogs of the three main members of Genesis and $217 million for Daddy Yankee’s, also has a wide roster ranging from Daft Punk to Leonard Bernstein as well as the pop/rap-oriented Pulse Music Group, the 150,000-song catalog of Round Hill Music (for which it paid $468.8 million), the 30,000-song Mojo Music catalog, and the world’s leading classical music publisher, Boosey & Hawkes. It has fewer top-flight pop songwriters but many major cowriters, such as country writer Chris LaCorte, Olivia Dean collaborator Zach Nahome and Rosalia/ Kanye West collaborator Noah Goldstein.
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP is serving as legal counsel to BMG. J.P. Morgan is serving as financial advisor to Concord and Latham and Watkins LLP and Reed Smith LLP are serving as legal counsel. Alston & Bird LLP is advising Great Mountain Partners.
“We believe this is a truly one-of-a-kind opportunity to bring together two world-class teams and rosters at the right moment, as scale in rights ownership becomes increasingly critical to long-term growth,” said Thomas Coesfeld, Chief Executive Officer of BMG and designated Chairman of the combined company. “This transaction accelerates our successful BMG Next strategy by enabling a more ambitious and sustained approach to investing in artists and songwriters, as well as in rights, technology, AI tools, and the talent shaping the industry. As one unified business, we will further deepen our position as a preferred global partner to artists, songwriters, and platforms, combining scale with the agility and independence they value. We look forward to this next chapter and to the opportunities it creates for artists, songwriters, and partners.”
“We are excited to begin working together to build something truly exceptional,” said Bob Valentine, Chief Executive Officer of Concord and designated CEO of the combined company. “Both companies were founded to support great artistry and with a deep sense of responsibility to the performers, songwriters, and playwrights we serve. We share a philosophy grounded in artist development, strategic long-term management of IP, and operational discipline. Our greater scale will allow us to invest more in creative talent, global reach, accretive acquisition opportunities, and technology, while preserving the nimble, entrepreneurial spirit that artists and songwriters value most. This is not about replicating the major label model; it’s about using scale to strengthen independence. Together, we will build a company that gives artists more reach and more flexibility – all designed to support their distinct visions.”
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