George 80 – catalogue moves to BMG and goes atmos

The catalogue of George Harrison’s solo recordings comes to Dark Horse Records/BMG. Photo © Harrison Family

Press release from BMG:

BMG is proud to announce a new catalogue recordings agreement bringing the acclaimed solo recorded works of George Harrison to Dark Horse Records/BMG together with his music publishing catalogue for the first time ever, under one roof, solely at BMG.
In celebration of Harrison’s 80^th birthday, Dark Horse/BMG have released his entire catalogue in Dolby Atmos surround sound exclusively on Apple Music.

Harrison’s recorded catalogue features 12 studio albums of solo works including his debut Wonderwall Music (soundtrack to the film Wonderwall), the US and UK chart-topping critically acclaimed, 7x Platinum-certified triple album All Things Must Pass featuring the Number One single ‘My Sweet Lord’, ‘What Is Life’, ‘Isn’t It A Pity’, ‘All Things Must Pass’; and the US Number One Living In The Material World featuring the Number One single ‘Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)’, through the Platinum-certified Cloud Nine featuring his Number One charting cover of ‘Got My Mind Set On You’, to his final studio album Brainwashed featuring the Grammy award-winning ‘Marwa Blues’.

The catalogue also includes the live double album Live In Japan, featuring Eric Clapton; four compilations Let It Roll – Songs by George Harrison, Early Takes Vol 1, The Apple Years 1968-1975, and The Dark Horse Years 1976-1992.

Previously in 2022, BMG announced it had entered into a global publishing agreement with the George Harrison Estate to administer the Harrisongs catalog comprising more than 200 songs written with the Beatles, the Traveling Wilburys and Harrison’s solo career.

The partnership expands on the relationship with Harrison’s legendary Dark Horse Records as the boutique music company with BMG serving as its global partner and infrastructure across recorded music, music publishing, and merchandise, while developing further areas of business.

Merch goes to BMG

Harrisongs Limited, the music publishing entity created by Harrison, contains his nearly two dozen songs written with the Beatles including the band’s most popular song on streaming services, ‘Here Comes The Sun’, as well as ‘I Me Mine’, ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’, and the US Number One single ‘Something’, his songs from the two albums recorded by supergroup The Traveling Wilburys featuring ‘End of the Line’, ‘Handle with Care’, ‘She’s My Baby’, and ‘Inside Out’, as well as the 12 studio albums of solo works.

Dhani Harrison said, “22 years since his passing, for what would have been his 80th birthday, I am overjoyed to announce that we are bringing my father’s music catalogue back home to Dark Horse Records, the company he started back in 1974. We look forward to releasing only the finest of packages and hope the fans join us on the deepest of dives into our archives as we continue to grow his legacy through our partnership with BMG, starting with the release of his entire back catalog in Spatial Audio, for the first time, on Apple Music. We also will be using this opportunity to make all the custom limited vinyl that we can get away with. Happy 80th Dad!!! We love you always.”

George Harrison © Harrison Family

BMG CEO Hartwig Masuch said, “This is a banner day for BMG, bringing together for the first time the song and recorded rights of one of the greatest musicians in popular music history under one roof. Only BMG can do this. We look forward to working with the George Harrison Estate and Dark Horse Records to promote George’s peerless music to generations old and new.”

Thomas Scherer, BMG President, Repertoire & Marketing, New York and Los Angeles, said, “For years we have had an amazing partnership with Dhani and David that continues to grow to this day. What began as working with Dhani on his own albums and publishing, to the re-launch and expansion of the Dark Horse Records business, together we believe in providing white glove service for artists, globally, with enormous opportunities to grow. We are proud to bring all of George Harrison’s music together, under one roof, and are very grateful for Olivia and Dhani’s trust in BMG.”

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 now led by Dhani Harrison and David Zonshine.

The agreement initially brought catalogue releases from the acclaimed record label and Harrison’s Indian label imprint HariSongs, as well as Joe Strummer’s solo works, including The Mescaleros. Recent Dark Horse Records releases include the newest recordings from Billy Idol Cage, The Roadside and Happy Holidays with upcoming releases including, Benmont Tench’s much-anticipated new studio album, 16 albums from Leon Russell’s recorded catalogue spanning 1984 – 2013, Deep Purple’s Jon Lord, and a global publishing administration deal for Joe Strummer’s solo publishing catalogue featuring hundreds of songs including all three Mescaleros albums, his scoring contributions, as well as the sixth and final Clash album Cut The Crap.

Dark Horse and BMG’s partnership has expanded to include DH Merchandise, a one stop-shop offering creative design through fulfilment, including the launch of new merchandise stores for George Harrison, Joe Strummer, Johnny Ramone, and additional partnerships with Traveling Wilburys, Elizabeth Taylor, Leon Russell and Buddy Holly; as well as the introduction of the Dark Horse Sounds wellness music series.

While Dark Horse Records/BMG administers the music publishing of George Harrison, it will now also serve as his label home.