(CelebrityAccess MediaWire) —
V2 North America and Sheridan Square Entertainment have formed a new company. In a deal that has the full backing of the existing management team at V2 North America and V2 globally, Sheridan Square Entertainment has not only acquired the assets of V2 North America, which will continue to trade under the V2 brand name, for a substantial consideration but have formed a unique global partnership with V2 Group.
The new company will continue to have rights to market V2's global repertoire in which V2 Group will become the international licensee for V2 North America's titles and other product from Sheridan Square. This will not only ensure that V2 North America can flourish as a stand alone North American company but will retain enviable international links and a global platform unique amongst independent record companies.
"The management team of V2 North America believes that by becoming a stand alone entity in North America through the formation of a new company with Sheridan Square and retaining all the advantages of strong international ties with V2 Group, a best of both worlds scenario is realized," said Andy Gershon, CEO V2 North America. "We will not only continue to develop a fantastic range of artists but have the key benefits of strong backing and an international infrastructure and release schedule. Releases from The White Stripes and Moby have helped make 2005 successful, and 2006 is looking to be a fantastic year for us with new releases ranging from the sick, cutting edge comedy of The Aristocrats to the legendary Ray Davies and the incredibly talented Josh Ritter. In addition, new records from the Mooney Suzuki, The Greenhornes, The Adored, Gosling, and Every Move a Picture amongst others should make for a very exciting year."
Sheridan Square Entertainment Inc. is a full service independent music company based in New York. Its label group includes Artemis Records, Artemis Classics, Vanguard Classics, Triloka Records, Tone-Cool Records, Ropeadope and Compendia. Its artists include Steve Earle and Warren Zevon, Sugarcult, Better Than Ezra, and The Rosewood Thieves amongst many others. Additionally, Sheridan owns the distribution company Musicrama, and represents substantial publishing catalogues.
"We are incredibly excited about the acquisition and global partnership with Virgin's V2 Group," said SSE's co-CEO Anil Narang. "Sheridan Square gains access to a strong catalog and artist roster, as well as a talented management team. The ability to tap into V2 Group's global repertoire and infrastructure will enable Sheridan Square to build scale internationally, yet focus on its core strategy of rights acquisitions in North America. The deal is highly complementary, as both sides value the importance of strategic relationships in a market as difficult and dynamic as this one."
V2 Group (International) will continue to have a presence in the North American market through its Miami based E-Musica venture, which owns the Fania music catalogue and is pursuing a number of other catalogue opportunities, to exploit the rapidly growing interest in Latin music.
"This is one of those rare win-win situations in today's difficult market for the record industry as a whole," said Sir Richard Branson. T"his deal with Sheridan Square and V2 North America, and our continued presence in North America with deals such as Emusica under V2 International will allow both companies to flourish and develop in a way that is true to their core strategies. This new relationship will allow V2 Group to concentrate on core markets of UK/Europe and the rest of the world, and continue our aggressive catalogue acquisition strategy in the US — whilst remaining involved in a close partnership in North America. Both businesses will be free to move forward and maximize their development potential."
V2 North America artists include: Ane Brun, Blanche, Blood Brothers, Buck 65, Carla Bruni, Charlie Mars, Danny Federici, Dogs Die In Hot Cars, Elbow, Every Move A Picture, Gang of Four, Grandaddy, I Am Sam soundtrack, Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan, Jim White, Josh Ritter, Katy Rose, Los Amigos Invisibles, Madness, Mercury Rev, Moby, Nouvelle Vague, Paul Weller, Ray Davies, Rickie Lee Jones, Roman Candle, Stereophonics, Stina Nordenstam, Syd Matters, The Adored, The Crystal Method, The Datsuns, The Greenhornes, The Icarus Line, The White Stripes, Toots and the Maytals, Underworld, Voodoo Child and Whirlwind Heat.
