Iconic Scottish rock band Simple Minds have sold their "key music interests" to BMG.
According to BMG, the agreement with the band's core members Jim Kerr and Charlie Burchill includes the publishing rights to more than 240 songs across five UK No. 1 albums, the band's neighboring rights and royalties from their entire recorded catalog.
BMG has previously served as the administrator of the band's publishing catalog and released their 2018 album Walk Between Worlds. Last month, BMG announced that it will release the band's latest studio album, Direction Of The Heart, on October 21.
"We are very pleased to have struck this deal," Kerr said. "It feels like the right time for us and our families. We look forward to working with everyone at BMG."
Alistair Norbury, BMG President Repertoire & Marketing UK, said, "There are few bands who can claim to have changed music, but over a period of 45 years Simple Minds have done precisely that. It has been a long courtship, but we are delighted to have the opportunity to be custodians of their outstanding catalogue. We are thrilled that BMG is now the musical home of Simple Minds, past, present and future."
BMG says that the acquisition of the Simple Minds catalog is its eighth acquisition in the UK this year. The company announced in April that it had acquired a 50% stake in Primal Scream's music publishing interests.
(Photo: Dean Chalkley)
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