Warner/Chappell Music Finland has acquired the entire Ranka music publishing catalog.
Ranka contains 1,300 predominantly Finnish metal and rock works, including songs by Spinefarm acts such as Children of Bodom, To/Die/For, Finntroll, Sonata Arctica and Nightwish, whose entire publishing catalog is now represented by Warner/Chappell.
The music publishing giant bought the catalog from Ranka Kustannus Ltd, for an undisclosed sum.
Under the terms of the new agreement, announced at the Midem trade fair in Cannes, Warner/Chappell Music Finland will administer the rights to the songs in the Ranka catalog, whilst Ranka managing director Riku Pääkkönen will retain ownership of the Ranka company name. Both will continue to work together on Ranka projects.
“I’m confident that Warner/Chappell will bring new synchronization and publishing possibilities to the Ranka catalog,” comments Pääkkönen, who also serves as MD of Spinefarm Records/Universal. The deal should offer additional local and international exposure for those artists on Ranka’s books, he said.
Lars Karlsson, managing director of Warner/Chappell Music Scandinavia added, “I am thrilled that this deal will further expand Warner/Chappell’s catalog in the region and enable us to work with songs that represent the finest in their genre.”
The Ranka acquisition is the latest signal of Warner Music’s intention to upscale its presence in the Finnish market. In December, Warner Music Nordic acquired the multi-faceted Helsinki Music Company, a Finnish firm with operations in recorded music, merchandising, music publishing and touring. HMC founders Niko Nordström and Asko Kallonen were earlier appointed GM and A&R director of Warner Music Finland, respectively.
