Imagem Group Statement

12 December 2014 - Press release

The strategic review of Imagem by its shareholders, six years after they first committed funds to invest in music publishing rights, has resulted in the decision to continue with Imagem's successful publishing activities in Pop (Imagem Music), Theatrical (Rodgers and Hammerstein) and Classical (Boosey & Hawkes).

During the review, Imagem and its shareholders saw great interest from many parties, either trade parties or new (financial) parties, to acquire the whole Imagem Group or specific parts. However, because of the successful and stable businesses of Boosey & Hawkes and Rodgers and Hammerstein, both market leaders in their specific genres, which are growing in popularity every year, not least because of an aging demographic in Western economies and the growing business of Imagem Music (Pop), the strategy now will be to grow these activities further, including through new acquisitions. 

The Pop division, Imagem Music, has enjoyed its most successful period since its launch in 2008. Recent success has been with the new Pink Floyd album “Endless River”, which was Number 1 worldwide and also became the most pre-ordered album in the history of Amazon. This January, Mark Ronson will release his much-anticipated new studio album, “Uptown Special”. The first single “Uptown Funk” featuring Bruno Mars has become an instant worldwide hit with the track being rush released in the UK where it is expected to hit #1. The seminal work of writers and producers including Steve Robson and John Shanks continue, with their huge success with their respective artists, Olly Murs and Take That on their No.1 albums.

For Boosey & Hawkes the centenary of composer Benjamin Britten outperformed all expectations and the newly created Rodgers & Hammerstein music Cinderella will conclude a successful two-year run on Broadway, followed by the return of the King and I to the Lincoln Centre in 2015.  Next year will also mark another milestone for Rodgers & Hammerstein, as the publisher celebrates the 50th Anniversary of The Sound Of Music with a major programme of activity to be announced.

André de Raaff, Group CEO of Imagem commented: “We are looking forward to this exciting new chapter in the Imagem story and expanding our position as the world’s number one independent music publisher.”