BMG has entered into a global publishing agreement with the George Harrison Estate to administer the Harrisongs catalogue.
It comprises more than 200 songs written with The Beatles, the Traveling Wilburys and for George Harrison’s acclaimed solo career.
The deal expands on the relationship with Harrison’s boutique music company Dark Horse Records, with BMG serving as its global partner across recorded music, music publishing, and merchandise, while also developing further areas of business.
Harrisongs Limited, the music publishing entity created by Harrison, contains his nearly two dozen songs written with The Beatles, including the band’s single most popular song on streaming services, Here Comes The Sun, as well as I Me Mine, While My Guitar Gently Weeps and the US No.1 single Something.
The catalogue also features George Harrison’s 12 studio albums of solo works including songs from the triple album All Things Must Pass (featuring My Sweet Lord, What Is Life, Isn’t It A Pity, All Things Must Pass) and Living In The Material World, as well as his songs from the two albums recorded by supergroup The Traveling Wilburys.
Dhani Harrison said: “I'm delighted to announce that my father’s song catalogue will be joining BMG/Dark Horse Records. 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.”
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 is an honour 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.”
The Harrison Estate is rightly fiercely protective of George’s legacy and we will do our best to reward their faith in us
Hartwig Masuch
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 catalogues will continue to reach new audiences around the world and play on for many years to come.”
In 2020, BMG announced it had entered into a multi-faceted global partnership with Dark Horse Records, which was founded by George Harrison in 1974 as a place for his solo work and a home for supporting other artists, and which is now led by Dhani Harrison and David Zonshine.
Recent Dark Horse Records releases include the newest recordings from Billy Idol, The Roadside and Happy Holidays, with upcoming releases including Idol’s forthcoming new EP, and Benmont Tench’s new studio album.
More recently, in 2022, Dark Horse Records reached a new global recordings agreement for 16 albums from Leon Russell’s recorded catalogue spanning 1984 to 2013, and a global publishing administration deal for Joe Strummer's solo publishing catalogue.
The partnership with BMG has expanded to include DH Merchandise, a one stop-shop offering creative design through to fulfilment, including the launch of new merchandise stores for George Harrison, Joe Strummer, Johnny Ramone and additional partnerships with Traveling Wilburys and Buddy Holly. It has also launched the Dark Horse Sounds wellness music series.
BMG also serves as the music publishing and recorded home of Harrison’s son, Dhani, and released his most recent album.
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