BMG | Berlin, 03/16/2020

BMG Named One Of The World’s Most Innovative Companies

The US magazine “Fast Company” has added the Bertelsmann music company to its prestigious annual listing of the “World’s Most Innovative Companies”. It specifically names BMG’s groundbreaking revenue share deals for artists. “Fast Company” annually honors businesses making the most profound impact on both industry and culture.

The radical reshaping of record deals in favor of artists has led to BMG being named one of the “World’s Most Innovative Companies” in the US magazine “Fast Company’s” prestigious annual listing. “Fast Company” annually honors businesses that are having the most profound impact on both industry and culture, showcasing a variety of ways to thrive in today’s fast-changing world. This year’s list features companies from 39 countries. BMG is listed in fourth place in the “Music” category.

“BMG set a new standard in how record deals are constructed,” says the citation. “Instead of the typical deal where labels retain upwards of 80% of the profits, BMG typically retains only 25%, leaving the lion’s share of the revenue to the artist.” BMG CEO Hartwig Masuch said: “Taking our lead from the artists and songwriters we represent; seeing our role as adding value to them rather than extracting value from them: this is what BMG is about. It is very gratifying to see ‘Fast Company’ recognize this. Challenging established practices and old-fashioned thinking is not easy in the music business, but music companies have to change if they are to survive.”