Universal Music Publishing nabs Jimi Hendrix catalog

Universal Music Publishing has just landed one of the greatest music catalogs out there. It's become the sole administrator of the Jimi Hendrix collection outside the United States, seizing the coveted role from Sony/ATV Music Publishing, which has handled it since 1998. Experience Hendrix, the Seattle company formed in 1995, will continue to oversee releases within the States. Universal's five-year contract includes synchronization licensing for films, TV, advertising and all other media.

Meanwhile, Experience Hendrix will continue cranking out unreleased material from the late rock legend. It plans to release two new albums in 2009, and a set of CDs and DVDs with live and behind-the-scenes footage from London's Royal Albert Hall. According to Experience Hendrix CEO Janie Hendrix (who is also the deceased star's sister) there's no end in site...at least not for a while. There's "10 more years of Hendrix music" in the vaults, she says.