Bruce Springsteen signs globally with Universal Music Publishing

Bruce Springsteen has signed with Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) to administer his entire catalogue of songs and future projects.

This is the first time that his entire catalogue will be represented by a single publisher worldwide.

It’s UMPG’s third major coup of late, after the Prince catalogue and Jack White.

UMPG will now develop creative and commercial opportunities for legendary albums as Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J., The Wild, The Innocent And The E Street Shuffle, Born To Run, Darkness On The Edge Of Town, The River, Born In The U.S.A., Tunnel Of Love and The Rising.

The songs include Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out, Dancing In The Dark, Badlands, Thunder Road, The Rising, Working On A Dream and Wrecking Ball.

Springsteen also created hits for other artists.

These included David Bowie’s It’s Hard To Be A Saint In The City, Natalie Cole’s Pink Cadillac, Joan Jett’s Light Of Day, Mary J. Blige’s American Skin (41 Shots), Manfred Mann’s Earth Band’s Blinded By The Light, The Pointer Sisters’ Fire, Patti Smith’s Because The Night, Rage Against The Machine’s The Ghost Of Tom Joad and Neil Young’s My Hometown.

Last week British rocker Dave Edmunds (I Hear You Knocking) recalled the time in the 1980s when he attended a Springsteen show in London. He was leaving after, when a tattooed Springsteen bodyguard grabbed him, and in a New Jersey voice said, “Bruce wants to see you.”

Edmunds had no idea how Springsteen knew he was there.. But backstage, Bruce told him he was a fan, played him a new song called Small Things and told him, “It’s yours, man.”

Of the new deal, Jon Landau, President of Jon Landau Management, said, “We are thrilled to be working with Jody Gerson and her team.

“After forty productive years of working with the leading independents, it is now time for us to centralize Bruce’s publishing. UMPG combines putting the artist first with creating, leading, and managing the incredible changes occurring in the world of publishing.

“At this point in Bruce’s legendary songwriting career, they are an ideal fit.”

Jody Gerson, UMPG’s Chairman and CEO, said, “During a career spanning more than 40 years, Bruce Springsteen has amassed one of the most iconic catalogues of songs in the history of music.

“As an artist, his demand for excellence and his requirement for heart and passion in everything that you do is the standard for how we operate every day at UMPG.

“We are thrilled to put the entire global resources of our company into expanding the popularity of his music and creating exciting new fan experiences.”

Beginning in 1973 with Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J., Springsteen’s career spans 18 studio albums that have garnered 20 Grammys – six for songwriting, and an Oscar in 1994 for Best Original Song for Streets of Philadelphia.

In 1999, Springsteen was inducted into both the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which also inducted The E Street Band in 2014.

He was awarded a Kennedy Center Honor in 2009 and he was MusiCares’ 2013 Person of the Year.

Springsteen’s memoir Born to Run (Simon & Schuster) and its companion album Chapter And Verse were released in September 2016.

Born to Run will be issued in paperback by Simon & Schuster this September.

President Barack Obama awarded Springsteen with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in November 2016 for his role in shaping American music.