BMG has bought the recordings of Dope Lemon (pictured). Photo Credit: BMG
BMG has purchased the recordings of Australia’s Dope Lemon in a deal with the act’s creator and sole member, Sydney-born singer-songwriter Angus Stone.
The Bertelsmann-owned music company, having released Dope Lemon projects including last month’s Kimosabè, disclosed the investment today. According to the Berlin-based business, the deal extends to Lemon’s initial three studio albums (2016’s Honey Bones, 2019’s Smooth Big Cat, and 2022’s Rose Pink Cadillac) and the 2017 EP Hounds Tooth, but not the roughly week-old Kimosabè.
While Stone and BMG opted not to identify the precise financials behind the play – one of many that the latter party’s finalized on the year – they did drive home that it encompasses songs such as “Marinade” (which has 116.14 million streams on Spotify), “Rose Pink Cadillac” (46.67 million streams), and “Uptown Folks” (43.35 million streams).
Touting BMG’s business model and operational style across the better part of 200 words, 37-year-old Stone emphasized the company’s “dedication and eagerness to embrace the unconventional ideas and adventures we wanted.”
“It’s been a truly remarkable experience witnessing the company’s culture and their enthusiastic approach to rolling out these records,” proceeded Stone, who’s currently touring (as Dope Lemon) in the U.S. “The creation of an album should never be confined by expectations. The freedom to explore is crucial, and BMG understands this.
“This is where the real magic can be found. By granting artists the liberty to be themselves and be creative, it establishes a symbiotic relationship that rewards patience, making it a trade well worth pursuing,” he proceeded.
In a statement of his own, BMG’s president of Australia, New Zealand, and Southeast Asia, Heath Johns, added in part: “Since signing Dope Lemon to BMG we’ve worked together to sell well over 250,000 albums globally as Dope Lemon continues an incredible international growth story.
“While acquisitions can sometimes seem transactional and impersonal, this is a deeply personal relationship with Angus and it was important to BMG that we established our acquisition strategy with existing relationships that also made sense on a creative level,” concluded the former Universal Music Publishing Group A&R exec.
Last month, BMG purchased the recordings of Melbourne-based rock group Jet and parted ways with its distribution partner, Warner Music Group’s ADA. Also during September, Hipgnosis Songs Fund (LON: SONG) revealed plans to sell off close to $500 million worth of catalogs.
The publicly traded entity’s shares neared a 52-week low today, and execs are currently working to assuage investors’ concerns ahead of a pair of high-stakes company meetings later in October.
