Alberts sold to German giant BMG

Alberts, the Australian music company that launched the Easybeats, AC/DC and John Paul Young, has been sold to German giant BMG.

Bon Scott and Angus Young, standing, with George Young, Harry Vanda and Ted Albert in Albert Studio.

J Albert and Son, or Alberts, Australia’s oldest music publishing and recording company that launched the careers of the Easybeats, AC/DC and John Paul Young, has been sold to German multinational music corporation BMG.

The deal, announced today, brings to an end one of the country’s most iconic and longstanding music companies, launched by Swiss immigrant Jacques Albert in 1885 and operated through generations of the Sydney-based Albert family to the present day.

Alberts CEO David Albert told The Australian he had mixed emotions about the sale. “Obviously it has been part of our family for such a long time,” said Albert. “It’s a decision the family have made together and which we have thought through in great detail. We feel positive about it because we believe it is the best way forward for the company.”

Albert said changes in the global technology and digital distribution in the music business were among the reasons for the sale to a company with operations all over the world.

The Albert family will maintain control of Alberts’ biggest asset, the recording catalogue of AC/DC, as well as those of former Easybeats Harry Vanda, George Young and Stevie Wright. while BMG will administer publishing catalogues worldwide on behalf of the family.

“We are holding on to some key assets, which are our closest links to the music business,” Albert said.

Heath Johns, head of BMG Australia, which only opened for business in March, said the acquisition of Alberts was a great coup for BMG.

“We are incredibly excited and honoured that the Albert family chose to do a deal with BMG,” he said. “The Alberts legacy is the most iconic in Australian music. Growing up in the Australian music industry it was always a company that I respected. The responsibility to continue that tradition is not one that I take lightly.”

The deal is effective immediately and some job losses are expected among Alberts employees as a result of the sale.

Other artists on the Alberts roster include contemporary Australian acts such as Josh Pyke, Megan Washington, Urthboy and San Cisco.