BMG Acquires US Indie Rise Records
BMG continues to build on its mission of putting the traditionally siloed worlds of record label and music publishing under one roof with the purchase of US metal and hard rock label Rise Records.
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BMG has acquired US metal and hard rock label Rise Records. Home to artists including Of Mice & Men, Memphis May Fire, Crown The Empire and The Devil Wears Prada, Rise was founded by Craig Ericson in 1991. Current releases include White Noise by PVRIS, currently embarking on a 50-date tour. Rise's YouTube channel has 1.4m subscribers, more than major labels many times its size.
Under the deal with BMG, Rise will continue to operate from Portland, Oregon under Ericson. BMG will handle back office functions and will offer Rise artists access to its international network. Rise currently generates around 95% of its revenue in the US. Details of the acquisition were not revealed.
Sales of hard rock are proving more resilient than in many other genres, according to BMG. Hard rock recordings in the US grew by 8% in the fourth quarter to 2014 at a time when the overall market declined by 3.5%.
BMG brings together the traditionally separate activities of music publishing and recordings under one roof. After launching in 2008, BMG is the world’s fourth largest music publisher. Last year it acquired two alternative rock labels – Vagrant (US) and Infectious (UK).
