No earthly clue what implications this has on the past, present or future of the band, but whatever....
http://www.billboard.com/articles/bu...-halen-sonyatv
Publishing Briefs: Atlas Music Group Sign Eddie & Alex Van Halen, Sony/ATV & Spotify Ink European Licensing Deal
By Ed Christman | February 18, 2015 4:11 AM EST
The Atlas Music Group continues to make moves to put the firm at the forefront of the music publishing map. In its latest action, it has signed Eddie and Alex Van Halen to an exclusive worldwide publishing administration deal.
The deal covers Van Halen's entire catalog except for the last album, A Different Kind of Truth.
"This deal has been a long time coming," Atlas Music Group CEO Rich Stumpf told Billboard. "I have been after Irvin Azoff [the manager for the brothers] and Peter Paterno [the lawyer for the brothers], for five years to find out if there would ever be an opportunity to work with the Van Halen catalog. They are my favorite all-time band so this is kind of a surreal moment where my professional and personal lives are coming together."
Now that he has landed his dream band, the work begins. "We will give their music the proper push for synchronizations in films, TV and commercials," Stump says. "This is a premium catalog, so we will look for the right films and brand advertisers to place their music with."
As part of that move, Stumpf says they will focus on opportunities to reach the younger music consumers. "That is how you maintain the value of the [legacy artists] catalog by reaching the younger generations that come along," he says. "A lot of the decision makers themselves are young so we will have to educate them on the importance of Van Halen, and not just their many hits."
The deal now brings the Atlas Music Group catalog to about 4,000 songs, including the Combustion Music catalog the company acquired in September 2014. As part of that deal, Atlas and the Nashville publisher created a going forward joint-venture.
Consequently, the company now has 25-30 active songwriters, with 15 staffers in three locations, New York, Los Angeles and Nashville.
"This is the most important band we have signed; they are legends," says Stumpf, who launched Atlas in 2013. "It speaks volumes that after being with one company for 30 years that they have chosen to move to an independent music publisher that is trying to do things a little differently…This is an important moment not just for us for the independent music publishing community."
Previously, the duo's music publishing catalog had been handled by Warner/Chappell Music. "We will help ensure that new generations of music listeners are keenly aware of just how important Van Halen is to the music world and how incredible their songwriting is," Stumpf said in a statement.