Music publisher Peter Kirsten died yesterday (Dec. 5) at home in Dietramszell, near Munich, following a lengthy illness. He was 69.
Kirsten founded Global Music Group in 1966. By the late 1990s, he had built it into one of Germany’s most successful publishers, with 15,000 local and international copyrights — including the Jacksons’ hit “Blame It on the Boogie” — and sub-publishing rights in Germany, Switzerland and Austria to a further 75,000 copyrights.
In 1999, Kirsten sold the company to London-based independent Chrysalis Group for about $8 million. The following year, he was appointed president of the Global Chrysalis entity. Over the last few years, he has overseen Munich-based Global Art Records Film & Video with his son Ben Bailer, who will continue to direct the company.