MUMBAI: American singer and songwriter Neil Diamond signed a publishing agreement with Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG), which will allow UMPG to represent Neil Diamond's entire catalogue. The deal will include his original studio album, Melody Road, that will be released on 21 October through Capitol Records.

Through the worldwide deal, UMPG will represent his songs for synchronisation in film, TV, advertising, games and other media, as well as provide global copyright administration of his entire back catalogue and future works during the term. Universal Music Group (UMG) chairman and CEO Lucian Grainge and North America UMPG president Evan Lamberg announced the deal on 13 October.

In January this year, Diamond signed a contract with Capitol that unified his complete recording which spans his entire career with various recording labels like Columbia, Uni/MCA and Bang recording, under UMG for the first time. Grainge said, "It fills me with immense pride to now have Neil's entire publishing and recorded music catalogues both at Universal Music. Neil's enduring popularity is a testament to his considerable talents as a performer and songwriter. We look forward to continuing to work with Neil and to maximise opportunities for him and his music on a global scale."

"Neil is one of the greatest and most timeless songwriter-artistes of any generation. He continues to write some of the very best songs of his career and we are extremely honoured to have him join the Universal Music Publishing family," said Lamberg.

Diamond is one of the world's best-selling artistes of all time as he has sold over 125 million records worldwide. As a solo artistes, Diamond's hits have included some of the most popular songs of all time such as 'Solitary Man,' 'Cherry, Cherry,' 'Girl, You'll be a Woman Soon,' 'Thank the Lord for the Night Time,' 'Kentucky Woman,' 'Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show,' 'Sweet Caroline (Good Times Never Seemed So Good),' 'Holly Holy,' 'Cracklin' Rosie,' and 'Song Sung Blue' to name a few. "

Diamond has charted 37 top 40 singles and 16 top 10 albums in the U.S. A Grammy Award-winning artiste, Diamond was inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He is a recipient of the Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award, one of the highest honours bestowed upon songwriters.