BMG signs Chris Cheney’s publishing catalog, expanding a 2016 publisher relationship

SYDNEY, Australia - BMG has acquired the publishing catalog of Chris Cheney, the frontman, songwriter and guitarist of The Living End, in a deal announced just days after the Australian rock trio was inducted into the 2026 ARIA Hall of Fame. Financial terms of the new agreement were not disclosed, but BMG framed the move as an extension of an existing relationship that has already made it Cheney’s global publisher since 2016. For executives watching the music licensing pipeline, this is the kind of quiet consolidation that matters: publishing catalogs are long-lived revenue engines, and “just days after” is the tell that the timing is strategic, not accidental.

Cheney, speaking in a statement issued Wednesday, June 17, cast the agreement as a vote of confidence in the catalog’s future. He described songwriting as “one of the great joys of being a musician,” and emphasized the emotional and creative bond listeners build through songs over time. He also said The Living End have “always had an incredibly strong connection with our audience around the world through our catalog of songs,” and that he is “thankful and very honored to have done this deal with BMG.” The logic is simple but powerful: when you put a landmark figure’s publishing rights under a “forever home” umbrella, you are betting that catalog exploitation, licensing and administration will compound rather than unwind.

The acquisition also deepens the BMG relationship with The Living End at two levels. Beyond serving as Cheney’s global publisher since 2016, BMG has been the group’s global label since 2018. That means BMG is not just acquiring a static asset. It is integrating a creator’s publishing rights into an operational track record already covering releases, commercialization and global market execution. In practical terms, publishing rights sit at the center of how recorded music life turns into ongoing income: they enable licensing to film, TV, ads, radio performance systems, covers, and more, depending on the territory and the specific rights structure. Even though the deal’s price is not public, the scope of the relationship is: BMG is positioned as the long-term partner for the songs that have become culturally sticky.

For context, The Living End formed in Melbourne in the 1990s and built a reputation as a must-see live act, mixing dashes of rockabilly, pop-punk and indie grit. Their 1998 debut, the self-titled album, reached chart-topping status and remains one of Australia’s best-selling rock albums. It also housed “Second Solution / Prisoner of Society,” an anthem associated with that era of Australian rock. Over time, the band has scored measurable commercial and awards momentum: two No. 1 albums, six ARIA Awards, APRA’s song of the year, and a run of top 10s, including last year’s album release I Only Trust Rock 'N' Roll, which peaked at No. 5 on the all-genres ARIA Chart.

That performance matters for a publishing acquisition because it correlates with how often a catalog gets used, remixed, covered, and referenced in licensing contexts. In other words, demand is not only about nostalgia. It is also about durability of relevance, and durability is what publishing investors and operators try to capture when they expand rights portfolios. The band’s cultural standing was cemented when The Living End was inducted June 11 into the ARIA’s Hall of Fame during a ceremony in Sydney. The class included the late Gurrumul, Jenny Morris, Kate Ceberano, Spiderbait and Vika & Linda, a detail that underscores that ARIA Hall of Fame induction is not an obscure niche event. It is a mainstream credibility signal that can lift interest and usage across platforms.

BMG’s president for Australia, New Zealand and Southeast Asia, Heath Johns, linked the acquisition to that moment. In his comments, he said The Living End has been “the soundtrack to countless Australian stories and memories” while also achieving “cult status internationally as one of the best live rock bands of all time.” He added that as The Living End enter the ARIA Hall of Fame, BMG is “incredibly honored” that Chris has chosen BMG as his “forever home” for these iconic publishing rights. Importantly for decision-makers, this is a governance and positioning play as much as a rights play. Catalog deals often attract attention from the same ecosystem: artists, labels, rights societies, distributors, and investors who track how value shifts from front-end creation to back-end licensing.

In the broader market, publishing catalog acquisitions tend to cluster around a few themes: lifetime value, administrational scale, and the operational advantage of knowing the artist well. When BMG already acts as both global label and the creator’s global publisher, it can coordinate strategy across releases and rights administration in ways a new entrant cannot do as efficiently. That can translate into more consistent exploitation, tighter accounting, and faster decision cycles for licensing opportunities, especially internationally.

For executives at labels, publishers, and rights-holders, the strategic stake is clear. If a chart-topping catalog can become a “forever home” after years of relationship-building, then the underwriting question becomes less about proving historic hits and more about sustaining catalog value through ongoing exploitation. The Living End’s Hall of Fame timing signals a moment when public attention is elevated, and BMG is locking in the publishing base at exactly the kind of cultural peak that tends to renew usage. In a business where many deals fade into paperwork, this one reads like an operational commitment: Chenney’s songwriting catalog stays with the operator that has already been running the playbook.