Leaving BMG

Dear colleagues,

following the 6-months transition to my successor Thomas I have stepped down as CFO & Member of the Board – positions held at BMG for over 12 yrs. At the same time, I leave parent Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA after 22 yrs. – thereof covering BMG 17 yrs. in total.

I had the privilege to contribute to each step of BMG's portfolio transition – consolidating Zomba/Jive, venturing with Sony Music to form Sony BMG, divesting of BMG Music Publishing and exiting the Sony BMG JV – during a period of transformative disruption.

Following the divestments, the streaming model was still in its infancy. BMG in its current shape was founded the same week as Spotify. Record sales were still in free fall. Download growth was insufficient to offset the impact of digital track un-bundling and of file-sharing .

Still, Thomas at Bertelsmann and Hartwig shared the strategic vision of rebuilding a music rights business for the digital age based on the value proposition of fairness, transparency and client service. In the midst of the financial crisis, all that lacked was financial strength.

KKR, led by Johannes and Philipp, brought capital and M&A discipline to consolidate the independent music publisher landscape – propelling BMG's growth to International scale within few years – and to lay the foundation to consolidate the independent label market.

Today, BMG is a faster growing, more profitable and higher cash-generating business than before – run on a more scalable music rights administration platform which could absorb further writer and artist client growth. The weight of song and recording rights is in balance.

I thank Hartwig for putting the trust in me to partner with him for this mission, overseeing finance, covering operations and systems in between which are now led by my hires and former reports Ben and Sebastian as COO and CIO/CTO, respectively. Thank you both.

I am indebted to Joe, Dave and Caspar for financial and commercial leadership of the regions as well as Kurt, Andrea and Swen for the Group. This extends to Janet, Nils, Gaby and Ulrike for royalties, tracking, copyright and legal as well as to John and Dan for PM. 

The growth of BMG presented a steep learning curve and rewarding experience. Under new CFO leadership, BMG will enter its next stage of growth – partnering with KKR on a selective basis. 

As I look forward to taking on a new professional challenge I wish you all the best for the future. Stay safe and healthy!

Yours truly,

Max