Sony to distribute Cuban music to world

Sony to distribute Cuban music to world

New York (AFP) - Classic Cuban recordings will soon have a new outlet to
the world as Sony Music signed a deal Tuesday to distribute the catalog
of the state-owned label.

Sony, one of the three major global labels, said it would exclusively
license overseas recordings from Cuba's Egrem dating as far back as the
1960s.

"This landmark agreement will help expand international awareness and
appreciation of Cuban culture, Cuba's rich musical heritage and its many
wonderful artists," Doug Morris, chief executive officer of Sony Music
Entertainment, said in a statement.

Egrem artists that come under the deal would include legendary pianist
and composer Bola de Nieve, the Afro-Cuban singer Ibrahim Ferrer and
Celina Gonzalez, the singer of traditional Cuban countryside music who
died earlier this year.

Egrem's managing director, Mario Angel Escalona Serrano, said that the
joint management of the back catalog with Sony "represents the best way
to give new momentum to the worldwide distribution of Cuban music."

Cuban music reflects the rich cultural legacy of the island --
influences include African rhythms, Spanish classical instrumentation
and US jazz improvisation -- and has enjoyed a wide following worldwide
for more than a century.

Egrem -- an acronym for the Empresa de Grabaciones y Ediciones
Musicales, or the Musical Recordings and Publications Company -- was
created when Fidel Castro nationalized the industry following the 1959
communist takeover.

The company was a monopoly until the late 1980s and remains by far the
biggest record label in Cuba with some 95 percent of the market.

Other labels such as Ojala, Bis Music and Adbala have since started with
private participation, but remain much smaller than Egrem.

The deal with Sony Music, a New York-based company that is a subsidiary
of the Japanese electronic and entertainment conglomerate, comes weeks
after the United States and Cuba restored diplomatic relations as they
seek to move past decades of hostility.

US sanctions remain in place but Sony Music said the deal would be
exempt under a clause in US laws that allows cultural and artistic
exchanges.

Egrem has previously reached deals on international distribution of
specific artists, but the Sony deal would be the first sweeping agreement.

Sony did not immediately announce which works it would first reissue or
distribute. As a major label, Sony's catalog would enjoy a worldwide
reach and generally appear both in physical and digital form.

Source: Sony to distribute Cuban music to world - Yahoo News -
http://news.yahoo.com/sony-distribute-cuban-music-world-231938784.html