Studio 100 Media and Sony Music Entertainment Germany are extending their strategic partnership for audio entertainment products for the long term.
The joint licensing agreement allows Sony Music to exploit audio play rights from Studio 100 Media under the kids and family label Europa. The thriving cooperation to date, in which Sony Music has successfully brought Studio 100 Media’s remarkable portfolio into the digital age, will be continued.
With its Europa label, Sony Music Entertainment is the market leader in the German-language children’s audio play segment with a market share of 53%. Audio plays, being largely unknown outside of Western Europe, are typically 40-45 minutes long and feature voice actors for every character, along with sound effects and music – features that distinguish them from audio books in which one narrator reads a story.
The agreement will continue with a library of TV classics, modern CGI series and feature films from Studio 100 Media’s extensive catalogue. Over the last four years Europa has released a programme package of well-known brands such as Maya the Bee, Heidi, Vic the Viking, Nils Holgersson, The House of Anubis and Pippi Longstocking. In addition, Europa has also added new Studio 100 Media brands as audio plays such as the adventure-comedy 100% Wolf. The licence contract includes physical and digital exploitation in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
“Sony Music has successfully taken our brands, both classic and new, into the digital age,” said Martin Krieger, CEO of Studio 100 Media. “I am delighted that Maya, Vic, Pippi and many other of our wonderful characters are ever-present on all major digital platforms, providing great entertainment experiences for children and their families. The partnership between our two companies has already borne fruit, and we look forward to continuing to work together to deliver high-quality children’s entertainment.”
André Mühlhausen, senior vice president Commercial Division GSA at Sony Music, also praised the cooperation: “The Studio 100 catalogue includes the great classics of yesterday and many strong brands of today. I am convinced that together we will continue to offer attractive content for the German-language audio play market in the years to come.”
Joachim Knödler, head of Licensing at Studio 100 Media, added: “Europa is a reliable partner and our joint success is reflected in the number of releases and other key activities. We will continue on this course in the future.”
In the past four years, the Sony Music team has launched more than 500 hours of 30-minute children’s entertainment from Studio 100 Media. There have been 132 releases so far, 89 of which were at the very start of the collaboration.
