The encyclopedia · People & Management · People decision · 2024
BMG ended Roger Waters' publishing deal and shelved his Dark Side re-recording
Bertelsmann's BMG cut its publishing ties with Waters in 2024 and dropped his re-recorded Dark Side of the Moon; Cooking Vinyl released it instead.
BMG (Bertelsmann) · 2024-01-30
What happened
Roger Waters signed a publishing deal with BMG — the music division of German media group Bertelsmann — in 2016. The relationship included a planned re-recording of Pink Floyd's 1973 album The Dark Side of the Moon.
On January 30, 2024, Variety reported that BMG and Waters had ended their publishing relationship. The split was reported to have followed Waters' public statements on Israel, which some had criticised as antisemitic; BMG declined to comment.
BMG's new chief executive Thomas Coesfeld, who took office in July 2023, had already shelved the Dark Side of the Moon re-recording. The album was released instead by independent label Cooking Vinyl.
The Guardian noted that while artists are often dropped from recording contracts, it is less common for a company to sever a publishing deal — the kind of long-term catalogue asset a publisher rarely walks away from.
Why it happened
- The split came without a verdict: no court, no regulator, no official finding — reported conduct plus public pressure was enough to end the relationship.
- BMG said nothing: its refusal to comment left the story to be told entirely by reports, and the silence cost it the ability to control the narrative.
- A new CEO's first major call set the tone: Coesfeld shelved the flagship re-recording within months of taking office, making the eventual exit a clean one.
- A publishing catalogue is a decades-long asset: walking away from Waters' royalties shows reputational risk can outweigh an income stream.
The lesson
BMG ended Roger Waters' publishing deal after his Israel comments — no verdict, just pressure. When an artist's politics becomes the brand's headline, even a decades-old catalogue deal is cut.
Aftermath
On January 30, 2024, Variety reported that BMG had terminated its publishing relationship with Roger Waters. The split was reported to follow his public statements on Israel, which drew criticism and a public letter urging BMG to reconsider; BMG declined to comment. The planned re-recording of The Dark Side of the Moon had already been shelved under new CEO Thomas Coesfeld and was released by Cooking Vinyl instead. The Guardian called the split unusual: publishers rarely sever a deal with a working artist of Waters' stature.
Sources
- Variety — Roger Waters Parts Ways With BMG: Publishing Relationship Terminated After Pink Floyd Co-Founder's Anti-Israel Comments
- The Guardian — BMG and Roger Waters part ways after anti-Israel comments
spotted an error? The club wants to know.
More like this
AVROTROS lost Fenna Ramos, the face of its kids block, after backstage-conduct claims
A listed influencer-marketing platform ran out of cash — small shareholders lost it
Dolce & Gabbana cast an all-white Milan show and drew a '50 shades of white' backlash
Somewhere, someone solved the problem this company failed at. 2nd Opinion →
Comments · 0
Sign in to join the comments.