NEW YORK, Sept. 28 - Nickelodeon and BMG Strategic Marketing Group have entered
into a multi-year agreement to expand Nick's presence in the music business
and create a major music brand for kids and tweens featuring talent from the
network, soundtrack music based on its hit shows and compilations. The deal
was announced today by Jeff Dunn, President, Nickelodeon Enterprises, and Joe
DiMuro, Executive Vice President, BMG Strategic Marketing Group.
Combining the innovative marketing and product development expertise of BMG
Strategic Marketing Group with that of the world-class brand development and
stable of Nickelodeon franchises is a winning combination. For BMG, the strategic
partnership is one that clearly supplements the core strengths of the company's
creativity and promotional acumen. The BMG Strategic Marketing Group is one
that specializes in new business growth opportunities and the continued formation
of Nick Records is a significant step in that direction.
"Nickelodeon is clearly the leader in children and tween programming
and entertainment. We are excited to join forces with them," said DiMuro.
"It's a perfect fit as we match their strength in the kid's market with
BMG's unparalleled success in the music business." "We're thrilled
to be teaming up with BMG, a leader in the industry," said Jeff Dunn. "Developing
a record label will allow us to explore another avenue for showcasing Nick talent.
Music plays such a vibrant role in kids' lives. Nick Records will give them
great music and new choices across a variety of styles," he said. The deal
teaming up Nickelodeon, the number-one entertainment brand for kids, and BMG
Strategic Marketing Group, home to many of the world's top recording artists,
will include Nickelodeon-branded soundtrack albums from Nick's popular TV shows.
The first project scheduled under the new deal will be the September 28 release
of an album based on Dora the Explorer, the number-one preschool show on commercial
TV. The album will feature all of the songs the show's fans have grown to love,
including "We Did It!" and "The Map Song," along with two
new tracks, "Fairytale Land" and "Magic Music Box," from
Dora's Fairytale Adventure, airing September 24 on Nick Jr. The second release,
Rugrats Holiday Classics!, will bow on October 12 and feature the Rugrats singing
everyone's favorite holiday songs. Both the Rugrats and Dora titles represent
the first available CD product for these properties. An important component
of the new Nick Records label will be to produce albums marketed to tweens and
fill a void in the marketplace for music for kids 9-14.
Product will include both music compilations from contemporary artists as well
as original music and performances by popular Nickelodeon stars. The N, Nickelodeon's
digital network for tweens and teens, will also provide content for the Nick
Records label. Nick Records and BMG Strategic Marketing Group will support the
label with consumer advertising, in-store merchandising and integrated marketing
efforts. Nickelodeon, which is celebrating its landmark 25th anniversary this
year, is the number-one entertainment brand for kids. It has built a diverse,
global business by putting kids first in everything it does.
Nickelodeon has been the number-one-rated basic cable network for more than
eight consecutive years. Nickelodeon Enterprises is the ancillary business unit
of Nickelodeon Networks, responsible for licensing its own brands and characters
as well as the properties of Comedy Central, Spike TV and non-Viacom properties.
Nickelodeon Enterprises is active in all ancillary markets, including merchandise
licensing, home video, interactive software, electronic media, online, wireless,
book and magazine publishing, music, live tour and stage shows, theme parks
and themed hotel venues. Nickelodeon Enterprises manages the largest TV-based
licensing business in the world with $4 billion in retail sales. Nickelodeon,
Comedy Central and Spike TV are trademarks of Viacom international Inc.
Sony BMG Music Entertainment is a global recorded music joint venture
between Bertelsmann and Sony Corporation with a roster of current artists that
includes a broad array of both local artists and international superstars, as
well as a vast catalog that comprises some of the most important recordings
in
history. BMG Strategic Marketing Group is a fully integrated organization for
the U.S. that brings together BMG Heritage, BMG Special Products, Partnership
Marketing, Digital Licensing and Direct Response TV, as well as licensing
activities on behalf of all the BMG U.S. labels. This structure of the BMG
Strategic Marketing Group offers tremendous benefit to the company and its
businesses by increasing coordination amongst various teams and business units
responsible for all levels of exploitation, across product lines and across
labels.
SOURCE Nickelodeon
Web Site: http://www.nick.com
