Major US music rights business BMG Chrysalis (evolved from BMG’s record company and traditional music publishing roots) has acquired the masters recordings catalogue of famous New York dance label Strictly Rhythm, and will handle the publishing rights worldwide.
Strictly Rhythm was co-founded in 1989 by dance music mogul Mark Finkelstein and A&R Gladys Pizarro, and played a key role in defining the sound of house music during the Nineties. The label mixed commercial appeal with underground progression, pushing out global anthems such as Ultra Naté’s Free, Reel 2 Real’s I Like To Move It and Wamdue Project’s King Of My Castle alongside cult club classics via DJ Pierre, Todd Terry and Kenny ‘Dope’ Gonzalez. Other Strictly artists include Josh Wink, Armand Van Helden, Roger Sanchez and vocalist Barbara Tucker.
Finkelstein commented on the deal: “I couldn’t be more pleased that Strictly Rhythm’s catalogue has found a new home with the passionate staff at BMG who will bring new opportunities to our dance classics, as well as creative collaborations for the future producers and artists within our collective families.
“There are great opportunities to expand upon the foundation of Strictly Rhythm; BMG shares our vision and optimism as we move forward into this next stage of the company.”
Richard Blackstone, Executive Vice President – Creative & Business Development at BMG Chrysalis US, added: “We are thrilled to represent this wonderful collection of music, and inspired by what the future partnership will bring. We truly understand the blood, sweat and tears that went into growing an independent business like this. We agree with their simple recipe for success: trust talent, respect your clients and partners, pay on time.”
Today, BMG, an international group of music companies focused on music rights management, is the fourth biggest company in music publishing, BMG has a presence in eight core music markets and represents the rights to more than a million songs and tens of thousands of master recordings.
