Rondor Music Publishing Partners With Nacional Records for Canciones Nacionales

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Rondor Music, a division of Universal Music Group Publishing, the world's leading music publishing company, and Nacional Records today announced an exclusive worldwide administration deal that covers Canciones Nacionales, the coveted publishing arm of Nacional Records.

Canciones Nacionales is home to such critically-acclaimed artists as Nortec Collective, Aterciopelados and The Pinker Tones. Recent sync licenses include a variety of top television programs and films (Big Love, Entourage, Weeds, Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist, etc), video games (FIFA Soccer, Need for Speed, MLB, etc) and advertising campaigns (Target, Pacifico Beer, Dos Equis, etc).

"Developing songwriters and artists from all genres of music has been central to Rondor's growth," stated Lance Freed, President of the company. "By partnering with one of the largest and most successful independent Latin music companies, we will be even better positioned to maximize the many opportunities now unfolding in this particular market. Together, we will create more value for our songwriters and artists."

"As a fan of Rondor Music, its writers and how it does business, I am thrilled to finally join forces with such a distinguished leader in the publishing world," commented Tomas Cookman, president and founder of Nacional Records and Canciones Nacionales. "The strategic partnership between Nacional and Rondor brings together two companies that share the indie spirit and equally value the importance of artist relations."

ABOUT RONDOR

Almo/Irving Music was founded in 1962 by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss as the original domestic publishing arm of their newly-formed A&M Records. In 1966 the company, with only 200 copyrights, began to reach out for new songs and writers. Today, Rondor Music International publishes more than 80,000 titles covering all musical styles and genres.

As a measure of the company's success, Rondor songs have captured a number of Grammy awards over the years including "From A Distance," written by Julie Gold, "Tears In Heaven," written by Will Jennings and Eric Clapton, "My Heart Will Go On," written by Will Jennings and James Horner and "Red Dirt Girl," written by Emmylou Harris.

Rondor has expanded its range of titles through the acquisition of other major catalogs, including Brian Wilson's Beach Boys Catalog, the Stax-era East Memphis Music Catalog and the Shelter Music Catalog, featuring the music of Tom Petty, Leon Russell, and Phoebe Snow. Other acquisitions include the songs of Lloyd Price, Difford and Tillbrook of the band Squeeze, Leo Sayer and major Jazz catalogs featuring the songs of Les McCann and Wayne Shorter.

ABOUT NACIONAL RECORDS

Nacional Records is an independent record label based in North Hollywood, California. It is home to such leading acts as Manu Chao, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, Nortec Collective and Aterciopelados.

Nacional Records was founded by Tomas Cookman in 2005. Cookman is the president and owner of Cookman International, a multi-faceted company that specializes in expanding the reach of Latin music and culture through artist management, lifestyle marketing, the Latin Alternative Music Conference (LAMC) and the Latino Loop (a weekly industry newsletter). CookmanMGT currently manages Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, Manu Chao, Ozomatli, Aterciopelados, Nortec Collective's Bostich + Fussible, Money Mark and Pacha Massive.

Nacional has released more than 50 physical albums in stores as well as more than 20 digital-only releases  with 20 #1 albums launched at iTunes Latino and over 25 #1 albums launched at eMusic. Nacional has celebrated three Latin Grammy wins and numerous Grammy nominations in its few short years of existence.

SOURCE Universal Music Group