Sony Music and Cuba recording company sign contracts

HAVANA, Cuba, Sep 16 (acn) The Recordings and Musical Editions Company (EGREM by its Spanish acronym) and its American counterpart Sony Music Entertainment signed in Havana contracts for large-scale international distribution of Cuban music, including the catalog of this national label.

T his legal fact without precedent in history of Cuban discography took place with the participation of Edgar Berger, International President of Sony Music, Afo Verde, President of Sony Music for Latin America, Spain and Portugal, and Mario Escalona, EGREM Director General.
The agreements cover phonographic and audiovisual productions uninterruptedly conducted since the 1960s, making up the largest catalog treasured in the Caribbean nation.
About 30 thousand songs generated during this period will be processed and prepared for circulation in many different and advanced formats of digital era, in order to expand that mythical repertoire all over the world.
Thus, the work of artists like Bola de Nieve, Elena Burke, Ibrahim Ferrer, Compay Segundo, Celina González, César Portillo de la Luz and Guillermo Rubalcaba, just to name a few, will be spread and distributed through the various channels Sony Music Entertainment has.
Groups like Aragon Orchestra, Irakere and Los Van Van, including the album "Fantasy ¨, a tribute to Juan Formell-, are part of this prolific collaborative project .
It is an honor for Sony Music bringing to all corners of the world this iconic music representing five decades of Cuban culture, Edgar Berger said at a press conference.
We are grateful for the trust EGREM has placed in our company; we are working on preparing this great treasure to make it available in all possible platforms of music and video, Afo Verde stated.
We see in this agreement an opportunity for joint management in the coming years of our catalog ; EGREM´s leadership, coupled with that of Sony Music, will be the best way to give new impetus to the global spread of Cuban music, Mario Escalona noted.
Founded in 1929, Sony Music Entertainment is the second of the three major record companies that dominate the global music market.
It belongs to Sony, this is an American company that is composed, in turn, by a set of several smaller record labels.