Beethoven’s local is sold to Wise
NewsThe Viennese emporium of Doblinger, where Beethoven bought his music paper, has been sold to the UK-based multinational publisher Wise Music Group.
Doblinger Musikverlag was a late add-on to the family’s general music business. Founded in 1876, the composers it published are chiefly Austrian, from Franz Abt to Otto M. Zykan. What Wise has acquired is the copyrights, not the building.
Sad. Complete monopoly. And no meaningful way of accessing the by now gigantic Wise Music catalog, neither for employees nor those searching for rep.
Wise Music Group?
Did you know Wise Music Group claims to own a copyright on the melody of “In Dulci Jubilo”?
In 2023 I uploaded to YouTube a recording of J.S. Bach’s c. 1725 chorale harmonization of that melody and immediately got a copyright warning informing me that Wise Music Group was the owner of that melody.
It wasn’t a claim that I was using some modern arrangement they had published (which I certainly wasn’t). They are claiming to own… *the melody*.
The melody is 600 years old and yet they have asserted to YouTube that they own it.
I wonder how much they rake in from Youtube’s automated royalty payment system by submitting preposterous copyright claims such as that one… that apparently go completely unvetted as to validity.
Sad news.
The concentration of the music publishing business into a few large groups like Wise Music and Concord is a worrying trend for classical music. These conglomerates prioritize too much profitability, often at the expense of efficiency and quality of service for the composers and customers. The focus has shifted away from nurturing individual composers and their unique contributions, toward maximizing revenue from the back catalog of established works. This risks stagnating the repertoire, with less support for contemporary composers and a narrowing of artistic diversity.
From personal experience, I was once published by a well-known publisher that was later acquired by Wise Music. Since the acquisition, I’ve noticed significant changes, most of them for the worse. Marketing for less mainstream works was de-prioritized. What was once a collaborative relationship now feels like a bureaucratic process. While the acquisition may have brought financial stability to the publisher, it has also stripped away the personalized attention and advocacy that used to define their support for composers.
he growing consolidation in the publishing world threatens to homogenize the field, making it harder for emerging and unconventional voices to be heard. If this trend continues, we risk losing the very innovation and artistry that keep classical music alive.
Confused. If Beethoven died in 1827, and Doblinger was only founded in 1876 – how did he buy his paper there? Or did the building exist at his time as a general music supply store?