Publishing Update: BMG Rights Mgmt.; Israelite Re-ups

BMG Rights Management, the global company which purchased the Crosstown Songs America catalog earlier this year, has officially established it US operations and announced the opening/transitioning of offices in New York, Los Angeles and Nashville. The Nashville office will continue being headed by Dann Huff along with Sr. VP Creative Darrell Franklin. The publisher is home to Neil Thrasher, Desmond Child, Jonathan Singleton and more.

Laurent Hubert has been appointed Chief Operating Officer, North America, and will be building US operations from the company’s New York office. Deirdre O’Hara has been appointed Chief Creative Officer, North America, and will work out of Los Angeles and New York. Both will report to Hartwig Masuch, CEO of BMG Rights Management. Headquartered in Berlin, Germany, BMG Rights Management also has offices in the UK, France, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands. The music venture, which is owned by Bertelsmann and KKR, purchased Crosstown for an estimated $70 million.

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David Israelite

David Israelite has accepted a contract extension to continue his role as President and CEO of the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) through 2014. Israelite has served in this capacity since February, 2005 and is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the NMPA’s operations, from legal strategy and implementation to government affairs and advocacy.

His tenure to date has produced legal successes on behalf of publishers, including work on the Copyright Royalty Board’s royalty rate setting deliberations, negotiating a rate agreement with multiple industry trade groups on interactive streaming and limited downloads, a recent settlement with the RIAA regarding late fee payments to publishers and songwriters, and the PRO-IP Act.