LOS ANGELES (BMG press realese) - Scott Francis, President, BMG Songs, has announced the signing of
Ben Folds to an exclusive worldwide co-publishing agreement. BMG Songs is the U.S. division of BMG
Music Publishing Worldwide.
Under the terms of the deal, BMG Songs will co-publish Folds� 2001 Rockin� The Suburbs (Epic), in addition to his future material. Folds is currently at home in Australia, where he will tour later this month as �The Bens� with fellow celebrated �bens�, Ben Lee and Ben Kweller. In April, Folds will begin recording a new album for Epic Records, which is slated for release later this year.
�I am ecstatic to have Ben join BMG Songs� growing roster of top flight songwriters,� said Francis. �I�ve known Ben since 1994, and his songs have moved me from day one. He is a songwriter in the truest sense of the word with the ability to create the perfect marriage of words and music. His songs are stories- sometimes romantic, sometimes screaming with sarcasm, but always memorable.�
�I'm really happy to be working with my old friend Scott at BMG Songs,� said Folds. �Together, with the other BMG affiliates around the world, we will be able to capitalize and expand on the acceptance my music has received overseas. But when Scott told me I'd be bigger than Jesus, I had to tell him to put the crack pipe down.�
Singer/writer/pianist Ben Folds formed the trio Ben Folds Five in 1994. The band quickly got worldwide media attention with their 1995 self-titled debut album (Caroline Records) and their 1997 release, Whatever and Ever Amen (Epic). The ballad �Brick,� from Whatever and Ever Amen, broke the band commercially and the album was certified platinum in the U.S. and multiplatinum worldwide. After releasing his solo debut, Volume I (Epic), under the name Fear of Pop, Ben Folds Five released 1999�s The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner (Epic). Folds� solo album, Rockin� The Suburbs, included under the BMG Songs deal, was released in 2001, followed by a live album, Ben Folds Live, in 2002.
With wholly-owned offices in 31 countries around the world, BMG Music Publishing (www.bmgmusicsearch.com) is the world�s third largest music publisher. BMG Music Publishing is a unit of BMG, the global music division of Bertelsmann AG, one of the world's leading media companies. BMG owns more than 200 record labels in 42 countries including Ariola, Arista Records, J Records, Jive Records, RCA Records and RCA Label Group
