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"We are committed to a philosophy that a strong classical division can bring both prestige and profitability to our overall operation."
——SBME COO
Michael Smellie

CLASSICAL GAS AT SONY BMG

Disclaimer: Classical Music Is Not Our Specialty; We're Still Trying to Understand the Difference Between Yo Yo Ma and Yo Mama
Sony BMG Music Entertainment has folded together the assets of BMG Classics and Sony Classical to form Sony BMG Masterworks, COO Michael Smellie announced this morning. The combined division will be headed by Gilbert Hetherwick, who has been named President.

Heatherick has named David Lai SVP A&R and Operations, Michael Brüggemann VP of Masterworks Europe, Steve Schoen VP Sales, Faye Perkins VP Marketing and Michelle Errante VP of Classical Marketing & Catalogue Development.

"With Sony BMG Masterworks' talented team now in place, we look forward to a great future for classical music within Sony BMG Music Entertainment," said. Hetherwick. "I am proud to work closely with dedicated, first-rate professionals such as David and Michael as well as the rest of our team, who share my deep commitment to bringing recordings with true classical credibility and musicianship to music lovers the world over."

Sony BMG Masterworks will combine imprints like RCA Red Seal, Deutsche Harmonia Mundi and Arte Nova, as well as Broadway catalogs of both labels. Heatherick’s posse will also be responsible for future cast recordings and orchestral film scores.

Said Smellie, "Sony BMG believes in a positive future for the classical music business and has tremendous confidence in Gilbert's vision for Sony BMG Masterworks. Given [its] extraordinary combined artist rosters and legendary catalogues, our new classical division is uniquely positioned to capitalize on the global demand for quality classical music. We are committed to a philosophy that a strong classical division can bring both prestige and profitability to our overall operation."

"I don't buy the reports that the classical record market is collapsing," Smellie told The N.Y. Times. "It's just a question of recording the right repertory, marketing it convincingly and applying the right discipline. And in my view, getting rid of crossover allows people to be focused. Crossover distorts people's values. You have a record that sells a million copies, and the universe shifts towards finding the next one. That's not what we want to do."

Hetherwick estimated that the division would reissue between 100 and 200 albums a year, along with 20 to 25 new recordings. He told The Times that he hoped to use the Internet to go deeper into catalog, explaining that "What the Internet offers is a place where non-specialists can go and listen to samples to see what they like in the privacy of their homes, without being embarrassed."

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