BMG Acquires Jet’s Publishing Rights After Catalog Deal, Keeping the Band’s Music Under One Roof

BMG has added Jet’s music publishing interests to its growing relationship with the Australian rock band, a move that follows the company’s 2023 purchase of the group’s recordings catalog and keeps more of the band’s work in one place.

Announced on Wednesday, May 13, the deal covers the publishing interests of three of Jet’s four original members: Nic Cester, who handles vocals and guitar; Cam Muncey, also on vocals and guitar; and Mark Wilson on bass. Founding drummer Chris Cester is not currently in the band.

The financial terms were not disclosed.

For BMG, this is really an extension of a long-running partnership rather than a fresh courtship. The company had already bought Jet’s recordings catalog in 2023 in what was described then as a “landmark deal.” Now the publishing side has been folded in too, matching the rights around some of the band’s best-known songs.

Nic Cester framed it in practical terms: “We’ve loved working with BMG,” the frontman and co-founder said, “and we’re excited to extend that partnership to the publishing side, so these songs can keep finding new audiences in the years ahead.”

Jet first came together in the late 1990s and broke internationally in the early 2000s, part of a wave of Australian acts that also included The Vines and Avalanches. Their run was brief in the way a lot of early-2000s rock success stories were brief, but the impact has lasted.

The band has released three studio albums, and all of them reached the top 40 on the Billboard 200: Get Born, which peaked at No. 26 in 2003; Shine On, which reached No. 16 in 2006; and Shaka Rock, which peaked at No. 27 in 2009. Get Born remains the group’s defining release, certified nine-times platinum in Australia, winning six ARIA Awards, and recognized as one of the five best-selling Australian rock albums ever.

Those songs still travel well. The deal includes Billboard Hot 100 entries such as “Look What You’ve Done,” which peaked at No. 37, and “Cold Hard Bitch,” which reached No. 55, alongside Jet’s best-known track, “Are You Gonna Be My Girl.” That single climbed to No. 29 on the U.S. singles chart and became inseparable from the 2004 Apple iPod campaign.

According to BMG, Jet’s career sales now top 6.5 million records worldwide.

Heath Johns, BMG’s president for Australia, New Zealand and Southeast Asia, who negotiated the deal, said the band remains one of the country’s most recognizable rock exports. “There are few Australian bands with songs as internationally recognizable as Jet,” he said. “Jet was the Australian export story of the early 2000s, carrying the torch for a new generation of rock ’n’ roll storytellers. Jet’s enduring success is illustrated on stage at festivals and headline shows around the world, on radio, across streaming, and through a global sync track record of the rarest order. BMG is honored that Jet has placed their faith in us to help ensure these songs continue to find new audiences for many years to come.”

Jet was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2023 and continues to tour internationally.

Jet

Michelle Pitiris