Hendrix masters align with new "Axis" in Sony deal

NEW YORK (Billboard) - The Jimi Hendrix catalog is moving over and letting another major take over.

Experience Hendrix, the family company that controls Hendrix's catalog and copyrights, has struck an eight-year, worldwide licensing deal with Sony Music Entertainment for the master recordings of the legendary guitarist.

Sony plans to launch an ambitious reissue campaign in 2010 that will include deluxe editions of the three original albums by the Jimi Hendrix Experience, posthumous releases, the official Dagger Records bootleg line and previously unreleased archival recordings and filmed concerts.

The deal also includes licensing rights outside the United States for the 1970 live set "Band of Gypsys," which EMI Music will continue to distribute stateside. Universal Music Group had held the master licenses for the rest of the Hendrix catalog since 1997. Sony's licensing deal will take effect January 1.

In March, Seattle-based Experience Hendrix moved administration of the Hendrix music publishing catalog from Sony/ATV to Universal Music Publishing Group. At the time, Experience Hendrix president/CEO Janie Hendrix, the guitarist's sister, said she was planning a late-2009 release for a Dagger bootleg title and CD and DVD releases of live performances at London's Royal Albert Hall in February 1969, which would include behind-the-scenes footage. Those releases are now planned for 2010.

Sony's reissue campaign for the core catalog -- "Are You Experienced," "Axis: Bold As Love" and "Electric Ladyland" -- will encompass deluxe editions with extra material and enhanced packaging. Because plans are being worked out, Sony and Experience Hendrix can't yet provide details on the bonus material.

"There is an obligation that we have to fans that when we reissue material, you have to offer a substantial greater value in the content ... whether it be audio, visual or packaging," said Adam Block, Sony Music Entertainment Legacy Recordings senior vice president and general manager. "That is a core fundamental strategy here. I do know that in this case there is an enormous amount of material that Hendrix fans are going to be thrilled to have."

Although the artist's catalog has been repackaged extensively through the years, Hendrix points out one notable omission.

"We have never (released) the core catalog as a boxed set," she said. "That will be one of the next projects to come out under the Sony project."

To help promote the reissue campaign, Experience Hendrix will organize a concert tour next year. The company previously has sponsored tours featuring such contemporary artists as Carlos Santana, Paul Rodgers and Robert Randolph performing Hendrix's music.

The Hendrix catalog sells about 500,000 albums annually in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Billboard estimates worldwide sales average about 1.2 million per year.

Block said Sony Legacy and Experience Hendrix will work hard to bring new Hendrix fans into the fold.

"The beauty in an artist like Hendrix is that year after year, kids come of age and Jimi is a rite of passage," he said. "It is our role and responsibility to make sure that when they wake up on that morning that they have a chance to taste and hear the genius of this guy."

(Editing by Sheri Linden at Reuters)

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