Music Sales joins forces with Hebbes Music Group

Sydney-based Music Sales Australia’s Campbell Connelly Australia and its worldwide licensing division, Music Sales Creative, have joined forces with Hebbes Music Group (HMG).

Hebbes Music Group, an independent music publishing group, music business management and consultancy service company, was set up by biz veteran Peter Hebbes AM.

It was voted Independent Music Publisher of the Year in 2003. In 2006, Hebbes was made a Member in the General Division of the Order of Australia (AM) by the Australian Government for his long service to the music industry and his works with charity.

The Music Sales Creative teams have taken over licensing of HMG’s extensive catalogue.

It includes classics such as Iggy Pop’s Passenger, the Dirty Dancing movie’s (I’ve Had The) Time of My Life; Olivia Newton John’s Suddenly; truck driving song Six Days On The Road; Shocking Blue’s 70s chart-topper Venus; kids tune Paw Patrol; as well as Crying In The Chapel, Summer Breeze, Werewolves of London and Let Your Love Flow.

Passenger is currently being showcased in Australia and New Zealand as part of a two-year Volkswagen campaign. Emerging on Pop’s 1977’s album Lust For Life, the track was co-written by Iggy during his Berlin days, partly because he was being driven around in David Bowie’s car as he had no driver’s licence. Further, the punk rocker spent a significant amount of time riding on the Berlin metro, and was to reflect the nomadic, loner spirit of a punk outcast.

The HMG catalogue also covers TV themes such as Vera, Death In Paradise, Fawlty Towers and Foyle’s War; stage shows Hairspray and Butterfly Ball; and songwriters Nils Frahm, Corb Lund, Peter Blakeley, Hennie Bekker, Fredrick Hollander, Mary Gauthier, and Hank Marvin.

Music Sales’ Managing Director Jane English sees a “huge opportunity” for HMG’s global sync expansion. “We have an incredible Licensing team who will help maximise synch potential for the extensive Hebbes Music Group roster of catalogues and seek fitting and successful placements for the many world renown established writers represented by the Group,” she said.

Heading the local Music Sales Creative team is Denise Sharp who, before becoming its Creative Director, spent 22 years undertaking direct sync at Universal Music Publishing/MCA Music Publishing. She worked with Hebbes during his tenure as Managing Director of both companies.

Hebbes added: “I am very pleased to renew my association with Music Sales Australia particularly with Jane, Denise and her team and firmly believe that 2017 will be a fantastic year of activity and growth for HMG, which will be of great benefit to my overseas publishers, writers and clients in general.”