BMG, the largest independent global music company in the world, today communicated to staff details of a new structure designed to futureproof it for the coming years and further develop its ability to deliver for artists and songwriters on a global scale.

The plan involves:

• Focussing on its two key service areas of music publishing and recordings;
• Doubling down on its presence in the US with a new global catalogue function based in Los Angeles;
• Recalibrating its presence in Continental Europe, and renewing its frontline recorded business in a new ‘hub-and-spoke’ structure;
• Further strengthening its services to artists with substantial investments in technology and its myBMG ecosystem;
• Clarifying roles and structures to make the company more accountable to its artist and songwriter clients.

CEO Thomas Coesfeld said, “Fifteen years after the emergence of streaming, music is going through another tectonic change. It is vital we now reengineer our business to make the most of that opportunity. BMG has challenged the conventions of the music industry ever since we began, bringing music publishing and recordings under one roof with a distinctive service-orientated and transparent approach. Now new ways of creating and consuming music and looming changes in streaming economics are challenging us to do even better for our clients.”

“Local where necessary, global where possible”

In line with its successful publishing business, the new structure for BMG’s recordings business will make a clear distinction between local expertise in artist relationships and global functions which serve them. Catalogue, sales and marketing will now become global functions, alongside investments, technology, rights and royalties which BMG already organizes on a global basis. Local campaign management will work with a new global marketing team responsible for analytics, content creation and media planning and buying.

“We are changing the way we do things. We will combine creative intuition with data-driven insights to deliver the best service for our clients and customers,” said Coesfeld. “We are local where necessary, global where possible.”

The changes form part of a strategy which has already seen BMG take control of its distribution, forming direct relationships with Spotify and Apple Music and discontinuing its Berlin-based international marketing function in order to simplify its relationships with artists and empower local A&R and campaign management teams.

“This is a strategy for future growth,” said Coesfeld. “But in a business in which change is a constant, we ourselves need to change to grow further. Standing still is not an option if we want to deliver for our artist and songwriter clients.”