Universal Music Publishing Group's Christian Music Publishing Division Brentwood-Benson Acquires Music Publishing Assets of Maranatha! Music

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- David Renzer, Chairman & CEO, Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) and Dale Mathews, President, Brentwood-Benson, today announced that UMPG has acquired the music publishing assets of Maranatha! Music.

As one of the most widely-recognized and highly-regarded catalogs in the popular Praise and Worship genre, Maranatha! Music is also one of the most active song catalogs on the CCLI charts (CCLI is a specialized chart used to track the use of songs in churches around the world). The acquisition of the music publishing assets of Maranatha! Music further establishes Brentwood-Benson as the world's leading catalog of Christian Music copyrights. The announcement signifies UMPG's firm commitment to its Christian Music division and follows an announcement made by the company in April 2009 that UMPG had acquired the publishing assets of Emack Music, the publishing arm of Christian label Gotee Records.

Dale Mathews commented: "This song catalog is known for being one of the very first, and one of the most important 'Praise and Worship' catalogs ever built. It is an honor and highly energizing, to bring this 'gem' into our family of copyrights. Taking care of this wonderful body of songs, and being able to represent the gifted songwriters that Maranatha! Music has introduced to the world is going to be a real treat for us! We look forward to growing this catalog and helping to perpetuate its legacy of being one of the most valued collections of Christian music copyrights ever assembled."

UMPG is a leader in the contemporary Christian/gospel sector through its ownership of Brentwood-Benson Music Publishing. Brentwood-Benson is also active in the important Praise & Worship market through its GreatWorshipSongs.com imprint.

With over 70,000 copyrights, Brentwood-Benson Music Publishing owns the world's largest Christian music publishing catalogue as well as the second largest evangelically-styled choral music catalog. Its songs have been recorded by virtually every major singer in the Christian music industry as well as by such renowned artists as Bob Dylan, Dolly Parton, Ray Charles, Linda Ronstadt, Amy Grant, Elvis Presley, Willie Nelson, Alicia Keys, Clay Aiken, Trace Adkins, Kelly Clarkson, and Taylor Swift.

UMPG's assets in the contemporary Christian/gospel market also include the Emack Music catalogue (the publishing arm of Christian label Gotee Records), Lorenz Creative Services catalogues, Reunion Music (whose catalogue includes the Eric Clapton hit "Change The World"), the Sparrow catalogues (containing numerous legendary gospel classics), and RBI Entertainment.

The company's leading artists in the genre include Marvin Sapp, Jars of Clay, Fred Hammond, Vicki Winans, Bebo Norman, Pillar, and Disciple. Brentwood-Benson also publishes songs written and recorded by Third Day, Michael W. Smith and Twila Paris, among many others.

About Universal Music Publishing Group

Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) is the industry's leading global music publishing operation and is part of Universal Music Group. UMPG represents music in every genre from many of the world's top songwriters and catalogs including 50 Cent, ABBA, Christina Aguilera, Beastie Boys, Justin Bieber, Mariah Carey, The Clash, Coldplay, Eminem, Gloria and Emilio Estefan, Juan Gabriel, Dave Grohl, Elton John/Bernie Taupin, Linkin Park, Henry Mancini, Maroon 5, Ne-Yo, Owl City, Prince, Darius Rucker, The Sex Pistols, Paul Simon, Tricky Stewart, Justin Timberlake, Josh Turner, U2, and Keith Urban, among many others. UMPG is also a global leader in the areas of Production Music, Christian, and Classical Music.  For more information, visit: www.umusicpub.com.

SOURCE Universal Music Publishing Group