Former Polygram Exec To Set Up Edel Publishing Unit

LONDON-Edel, the publicly quoted, Hamburg-based German independent, has handed to one of the industry's most admired and re-
spected publishing executives the task of creating-from scratch-a global music publishing operation.
David Hockman, until last December the CEO of PolyGram's worldwide publishing division, took up the newly created post July 1, reporting to edel founder/CEO Michael Haentjes (BillboardBulletin, July 5). He has also taken up a seat on edel's board.
Currently based at edel's offices in London, Hockman is now looking for new premises in the U.K. capital and plans to soon start recruiting staff.
Edel says that it plans to generate $50 million in revenue from the operation within three years and that "usual music publishing industry margins should be achieved within five years."
The job facing Hockman mirrors the one he took on in 1985 for PolyGram following the sale of its Chappell Music publishing operation to Warner at the end of the previous year. He was at the time working in Chappell's legal department and one of the few employees of the division to remain after the sale.
PolyGram's then president, Jan Timmer, charged Hockman with re-establishing a publishing operation for the company. Within 10 years, Hockman had created a publishing wing that could claim to be the No. 3 player globally after EMI Music Publishing and Warner/Chappell.
Hockman was one of the most senior casualties of the Universal/PolyGram merger last year-finding himself without a post under the new structure. The edel job came about, he says, after an introduction to Haentjes at the beginning of 1999.
"I had no specific plans after PolyGram," Hockman says. "I wanted to take stock. I spoke to all sorts of people at all sorts of companies. I wanted to work with people I liked, and I'd had enough of the corporate world. I hadn't dealt with Michael Haentjes, but he was interested in setting up a [publishing] operation, and several people recommended that he talk to me."
In a statement July 2, Haentjes says, "David is regarded as one of the most capable managers in the music industry. Since I first met him, I not only wanted to work with him but wanted him to join us and help me and my colleagues in edel's top management to develop the company into a significant player in the worldwide music industry."
Haentjes was traveling at press time and could not be reached for further comment.
Hockman's appointment coincides with edel's acquisition of Copenhagen-based Megasongs Publishing, as part of its recent purchase of indie group Mega Scandinavia (Billboard, July 3). The unit holds several hundred copyrights, including hits recorded by Ace Of Base, Backstreet Boys, 3T, Five, Robyn, Jessica, and Leila K., and represents writers Jonas Berggren and Herbie Critchlow, among others.
Hockman says he expects to work closely with Megasongs president Kjeld Wennick, who will report to him. "I hope Kjeld will stay for a long time," Hockman says. "He has lots of creative juices left in him."
The executive says that Megasongs will constitute a part, but not the core, of edel's new publishing activities. "Mega is localized in Denmark," he explains. "I will have to build a whole new infrastructure."
Hockman expects that acts signed to edel "will be a fertile two-way street" as both repertoire sources and outlets for repertoire from elsewhere. "I want to provide as good a service in each direction," he says.
Initial activities will focus on what Hockman calls the "major territories" of the U.K., U.S., France, and Germany. Subsequent target markets, he adds, would likely be Latin America and then Southeast Asia-where edel is represented through licensees. Hockman would not comment on his expenditure plans but says that edel's revenue target "will require considerable investment, although it depends on the mix of A&R and acquisition."
Former colleagues say Hockman is ideally suited to the post. Irwin Robinson, now chairman/CEO of Famous Music and chairman of the National Music Publishers' Assn., worked with the executive for seven years after joining Chappell Music in 1977 as U.S. president. He says, "Although starting a new worldwide venture is surely not as easy today as it was when PolyGram relaunched, David has the knowledge and the drive to accomplish this."
Nick Firth, president of BMG Music Publishing Worldwide, for whom Hockman worked when Firth was president of Chappell International, says, "David is one of the best music publishers in the world . . . He did a terrific job building PolyGram after the Chappell sale. He will be a big pain to me in his new role. I wish him very well."

Assistance in preparing this story was provided by Irv Lichtman in New York.