INXS signs global publishing deal with Universal Music: films, docos, musicals “on the way”

Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) officially announced it has signed a global publishing deal with INXS. The deal, exclusively revealed in The Music Network last month, will see the band’s catalogue come under one publishing house for the first time.

“INXS is simply one of the greatest rock bands of all time, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to bring their core catalogue and all of their hits to UMPG worldwide,” said Zach Horowitz, Chairman and CEO, UMPG. “We’re particularly excited to work with the group and their visionary creative consultant, Chris Murphy, in finding new and innovative ways to take their music to the next level–including the upcoming TV mini-series about their career, movies, and theatrical plays. We’re looking forward to connecting new generations of fans with the band’s timeless music.”

Added Chris Murphy, the band’s Creative Director and Global Strategist, “INXS has become a music brand that breaks media and entertainment barriers on all fronts. Zach Horowitz ‘got it’ from my very first meeting with him, and his passion for INXS’ music was undeniable. We’re over the moon that we’ll be working with him and the outstanding UMPG team to write the next chapter in the band’s illustrious history. The new TV mini-series about the band’s untold story, which will debut in the first quarter of 2014, is just the beginning. Films, the ‘ultimate’ documentary, and a musical are all on the way.”

The first of these, the TV miniseries Never Tear Us Apart: The Untold Story Of INXS, will screen on the Seven Network next year. Both band and Murphy worked with the producers on the series, which stars Luke Arnold as the late singer Michael Hutchence and traces the band members’ rise to rock stardom.

Led by the charismatic Hutchence, INXS went on to sell 30 million records and hits as What You Need, Never Tear Us Apart, The One Thing The Devil Inside, New Sensation and Suicide Blonde. These included No. 1 hits in four continents, six UK Top 10 albums, and five US Top 20 albums. Their most successful album Kick went on to sell 10 million units worldwide, six million of those in the United States. The band never regained those heights after Hutchence’s death in 1997, but continued as an entity with a series of singers and a reality TV talent show.

INXS music was used in films (Donnie Darko; Hot Tub Time Machine; Face/Off; Monster; Pretty In Pink; The Lost Boys; Adventureland), television programs (Dancing With The Stars; 30 Rock; Glory Daze; broadcasts of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games), and ads (Givenchy; John Lewis).

Although UMPG previously published INXS’s early material through a prior arrangement, the new agreement brings all of INXS’s music to UMPG. The company also publishes Hutchence’s rights for songs written on their first four albums.

Band member Andrew Farriss commented,  “INXS are thrilled to be under one roof with such a dynamic team as Universal, the world and INXS’ songs and music just got closer and much bigger all at the same time.”