The Rolling Stones choose BMG for neighboring rights, extend publishing deal

10 December 2020 - Press release

Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Ronnie Wood have chosen BMG to collect the royalties due when their recordings are played on TV and radio around the world, so-called neighboring rights. BMG will also continue to represent Jagger and Richards’ music publishing interests.

The deal to represent the four members of The Rolling Stones comes just six months after BMG announced the launch of its boutique neighboring rights service.

It coincides with a new extension of BMG’s long-term deal to represent the music publishing rights of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. BMG also represents much of the recorded catalogue of Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood and drummer Charlie Watts.

BMG CEO Hartwig Masuch said, “If you are in the business of selling services to artists and songwriters, these are the kinds of client you dream of attracting. We are immensely grateful to Mick, Keith, Charlie and Ronnie for putting their faith in us.”

BMG’s neighboring rights service will collect royalties due for the performance of legendary recordings such as ‘(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction’, ‘Jumpin' Jack Flash’ and ‘Start Me Up’. The arrangement includes recordings ranging from their very first single, 1963’s ‘Come On’, to their widely acclaimed 2020 worldwide hit ‘Living In A Ghost Town’.

Alistair Norbury, BMG President Repertoire & Marketing UK, said, “At a time when streaming is further highlighting the value of iconic music rights, our objective is to offer the best possible service to artists and songwriters. We are delighted for the opportunity to further demonstrate the value we can add for four of the greatest names in rock with our neighboring rights service.”

The extension of BMG’s long-running publishing relationship with Jagger and Richards covers all of the works written by the iconic duo dating back more than 50 years.

BMG will continue to be directly responsible for publishing all of the songs written by The Rolling Stones songwriting team since 1983. Additionally, it will be responsible for handling Jagger and Richards's shares of their pre-1983 copyrights which are represented by ABKCO (1963-1971) and EMI Music Publishing (1971-1983).

Songs directly published by BMG span the albums Dirty Work (1986), Steel Wheels (1989), Voodoo Lounge (1994), Bridges To Babylon (1997) and A Bigger Bang (2005) as well as future compositions. They include classic Stones tracks such as ‘Mixed Emotions’, ‘Love Is Strong’, ‘You Got Me Rocking’ and ‘Doom And Gloom’. BMG will also administer Jagger and Richards’s interests in all of their Rolling Stones hits dating back to 1963 including ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’, ‘Brown Sugar’ and ‘Angie’.

The new expanded relationship precedes the celebration of The Rolling Stones’ 60th anniversary in 2022.

Earlier this year, The Rolling Stones released their newest single ‘Living In A Ghost Town’. Their first new music in eight years, ‘Living In A Ghost Town’ is the first original song they have released since ‘Doom and Gloom’ and ‘One More Shot’ which were featured on their greatest hits album Grrr!, released in 2012. In 2016, the band released Blue & Lonesome comprising covers of some of the greatest blues artists who inspired them including Howlin’ Wolf, Little Walter, Magic Sam, Jimmy Reed, and Willie Dixon.