MUMBAI: Media company Bertelsmann AG will soon launch a music rights business in an effort to become a service provider for artists.

The company plans to offer custom-tailored services for songwriters and performers who want support in the creation, marketing and licensing, collection and accounting as well as advance financing. The music business combination called Sony BMG that was forged four years ago made Sony BMG the world's No. 2 record label. But with a 50 per cent stake each, the joint venture was not able to chart out a clear course of action and the merger floundered.

Now BMG appears to have charted its future course of action, in an industry that expected it to refocus on its growing TV, magazine and book-publishing businesses.
"We are focusing precisely on that area of the music industry which promises growth," chief executive of BMG Rights Management Hartwig Masuch told the media.

The new organisation launches with a selection of European music catalogues that the company retained from the former Sony BMG portfolio. These include works from more than 200 artists and the company is planning to expand on this, initially with further European acts, says a Music Week report.

"Today, a music writer or performer can derive significantly more income from the rights to his work than before. This is where we want to position ourselves with customized, flexible services as well as transparent accounting," Masuch told CNN.

Earlier this month, Bertelsmann said it had completed the sale to Sony Corp. of its 50 per cent stake in music venture Sony BMG in a $900 million deal.

The transaction gave Sony Corp. full ownership of a roster of artists including Alicia Keys and an enhanced ability to sell music on an array of electronic devices.

Part of the deal, announced in August, called for Bertelsmann to take over a few selected European music catalog assets from Sony BMG _ representing about $20 million, or less than 1 per cent of Sony BMG's revenue last year.

Bertelsmann's interests range from publisher Random House to radio and television, including broadcaster RTL, magazines and media services.