Biz news: Mercury rising as labels pool their film music

Universal Music has just banged all its brands together under the Mercury label as a one-stop shop for film tracks.

The venture will be known as Mercury Classics.

Here’s the press release:

Universal Music Group (UMG) divisions, Decca Records, Verve Label Group (VLG) and Globe Soundtrack & Score today announce that they are joining forces to launch Mercury Classics Soundtrack & Score – a new boutique record label dedicated to the art of soundtrack & score and positioned at the vanguard of film and TV soundtrack creativity, worldwide. This collaboration will support today’s leading score composers and artists as they undertake major audio-visual projects globally.

The first major releases to be announced through Mercury Classics Soundtrack & Score are Till (Orion Pictures), composed by BAFTA-winning Abel Korzeniowski and co-written and directed by Chinonye Chukwu, and Women Talking (Orion Pictures), the highly-emotive score by Oscar®, BAFTA and Grammy Award®-winning composer Hildur Guðnadóttir, based on the novel by Miriam Toews, and written and directed by Academy Award®-nominee Sarah Polley.

These will be followed in 2023 by the soundtrack to A Good Person (MGM), written and directed by Golden Globe®-nominee Zach Braff and starring Oscar®-winner Morgan Freeman and Oscar®-nominee Florence Pugh, with a score composed by Bryce Dessner.

UMG has a long history of releasing award-winning soundtracks across its labels. From 2015-2021, a consecutive run of seven Oscar®, BAFTA and Grammy Award®-winning scores were released or distributed by a UMG label or composed by a UMG artist. Among those, Decca was responsible for The Hateful Eight by Ennio Morricone and The Shape of Water by Alexandre Desplat, while VLG artist Jon Batiste was behind the jazz-infused score to Disney/Pixar movie Soul (composed alongside Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross). Elsewhere, Decca’s Ludovico Einaudi provided the music for Academy Award®-winning films Nomadland and The Father.

In recent years, a wealth of acclaimed scores have been released across Decca, VLG and Globe, and now, all three partners are coming together to create a unified central hub: consolidating their expertise together, with affiliated partners worldwide to create a bespoke home for soundtracks which puts the composer-artist and their music at its core. With new hubs in LA, NY and London, backed by UMG’s global reach, Mercury Classics Soundtrack & Score – with Lana Thompson newly appointed as Label Manager – is focused on delivering unique and creative campaigns for these works. The new label will also enhance the profile and reach of the composers behind them and release soundtracks that appeal to the dedicated and loyal fans and collectors of the beloved genre.

Dickon Stainer, President and CEO of Global Classics & Jazz and Verve Label Group says: “The launch of Mercury Classics Soundtrack & Score reinforces Universal Music Group’s status as the world’s most soundtrack-friendly music company. A succession of Academy Award®-winners for original score have either been distributed by a UMG label or composed by a UMG artist – from Ennio Morricone’s The Hateful Eight to Hildur Guðnadóttir’s The Joker. This exciting new international label venture will enable us to reach ever-wider audiences, and deepen our support for today’s leading score composers and performers.”