BMG has announced that it has signed new global publishing administration agreements covering the song rights of three former members of the Sex Pistols. Those deals are with Steve Jones, Paul Cook and the Sid Vicious estate, and include their respective shares of the Sex Pistols catalogue.
The official announcement of the deal runs through the history and legacy of the Sex Pistols before noting how the band were the subject of the recent mini-series 'Pistol', "which is based on guitarist Steve Jones' autobiography 'Lonely Boy' and follows the band's rise to prominence and notoriety".
What it doesn't note, however, is that that TV programme itself added another interesting chapter to the Sex Pistols story. John Lydon tried to block the use of the band's music in the show. This led to a court battle where a judge chose to enforce an old band agreement that said that no one member could veto a sync deal endorsed by the other band members.
Confirming the new admin deals, BMG’s VP of Music Publishing, Michael Howe, says: “Steve, Paul and Sid’s works with Sex Pistols are among the most important cultural and creative music of the last half-century. Their impact on society and the performing arts is orders of magnitude greater than the group’s incredibly brief lifespan and recorded output would suggest. The band’s influence resonates as deeply today as it did in 1977".
The music firm's President of Repertoire & Marketing for Los Angeles and New York, Thomas Scherer, adds: “We are honoured Steve Jones, Paul Cook and Sid Vicious's estate have chosen BMG to be the publishing home of their musical works with Sex Pistols - the crown jewels of a generation. Cash from chaos!”
Talking of cash, Jones himself is quoted in the official press release as stating, simply, “Where’s my money?!”
