ArentFox Schiff Advises BMG in Multi-Billion Dollar Business Combination with Concord

ArentFox Schiff served as Music and Copyright legal counsel to Bertelsmann and BMG on the transaction that will see the businesses of BMG and Concord combine to create the leading independent music company in the world.

The new company will operate under the BMG name and will be a fully integrated global music company spanning music publishing, recorded music, theatrical rights, and digital distribution. BMG is a long-standing client of AFS.

Collectively, BMG and Concord have invested billions of dollars in music rights and built one of the most diverse and culturally significant rosters in the industry, spanning artists, songwriters, and works from Jelly Roll, Paul Simon, Lainey Wilson, will.i.am, Jason Aldean, Tina Turner, Diane Warren, and Jean-Michel Jarre, to Creedence Clearwater Revival, Daddy Yankee, Denzel Curry, Hamilton, Phil Collins, R.E.M., and The Sound of Music.

The combined company’s global headquarters will be in Nashville, with Berlin serving as its European headquarters. Its publishing division will be named BMG Publishing, and its recorded music division will be called Concord Records. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions including regulatory approvals and is expected to close in the second half of 2026.

The multidisciplinary AFS team was led by Partner Matt Finkelstein, and included attorneys Steven Yoon, Taylor Coley, Emily Caylor, Mike Ragan, Ariel Peikes, Gurpartap Singh, Nana Darkwa, Natasha Weis, Megan Woodward, Jack Bistritz, Anne Mose, Catrina Livermore, Marina Phillips, Kendall Murphy, Matthew Kulju, Kyle Freeman, Emily Lewis, and Maggie Lopez. 

Read BMG’s press release here. 

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