UKTI visit to Japan a ‘fantastic opportunity’ for Notting Hill Music

London-based independent publishing company, Notting Hill Music, is enjoying renewed success in South East Asia, thanks to support from UK Trade & Investment (UKTI).

The Notting Hill Music Group Limited is an international independent music publishing company. It has its main base in London, a second in Los Angeles which it opened in 2003, and local representation in markets around the world. It has developed a huge catalogue of music and represents over 25,000 copyrights recorded by artists such as Will Smith, Robbie Williams, Rihanna and Beyoncé. With more than 300 UK Top 40 hit singles under its belt, including 18 Number 1s, songs by Notting Hill Music’s songwriters are featured on hundreds of hit albums all over the world.

Renewed focus

Notting Hill Music’s connection with Japan goes back to 1990. In 2010 the company decided to renew its focus on South East Asia. It joined a ten-day visit organised by UKTI where it attended presentations by senior personnel at Sony Records and Universal. The question and answer sessions that followed gave the UKTI group a unique, insider’s view of the Japanese music scene and how they could get further into this music market.

“This visit to Japan with UKTI was a fantastic opportunity for us and really kick-started our renewed interest in Japan and South East Asia,” says John Saunderson, Head of Artists and Repertoire (A&R) at Notting Hill Music. “Thanks to UKTI, we met many more of the top people in the Japanese music industry and got to talk to them about how to get involved in their business. They were really open about different aspects of their work and the local market. We also got added value by being there together with other British companies. We benefited from hearing the answers to the questions asked by other delegates, which we might not have thought to ask ourselves.”

Early success

Convinced that it had found a niche in the market that was worth pursuing, in June 2013 Notting Hill Music took three of its top songwriters to Japan. They attended a music camp organised togther with Sony Music Publishing Japan and built a working relationship with lyricists and songwriters at five different studios. This week-long trip was followed by a similar trip to South Korea. Notting Hill Music has since achieved three Number 1 hits in Japan and a separate Number 1 hit in South Korea.

“We have had a lot of success in South East Asia since the UKTI market visit, and we are pitching every day to get new business in this region,” says John. “We have recently signed three new bands and we’ll be touring with them around Europe shortly. As we do this, we’ll certainly look to UKTI for further support through the different services that they offer.”

Fast facts

Company: Notting Hill Music

Website: www.nottinghillmusic.com

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