Video games developer Riot Games has entered into a new strategic partnership with BMG. The companies have also extended their global publishing administration deal.
According to the companies, the “collaborative” new venture between Riot and BMG will focus on signing and servicing songwriters to frontline publishing deals with BMG.
The partnership sees Riot Games, which is owned by Tencent, get closer to the music industry, having already become fairly well-known for working with superstar artists such as New Jeans, Imagine Dragons and Lil Nas X.
Founded in 2006, the Los Angeles-headquartered company is the developer and publisher behind hit games like League of Legends, Valorant and the award-winning Netflix animated series Arcane.
According to Riot and BMG, their partnership “will leverage the wide scope of creative opportunities across Riot’s products and music initiatives”.
BMG serves as Riot’s music publisher for a catalog of around 1,000 custom music titles created for products in and around its games League of Legends, TFT and VALORANT – most notably the OST for Arcane, Esports anthems and virtual artists including HEARTSTEEL, K/DA, Pentakill, and True Damage, among others.
Since joining BMG in 2020, Riot Games has collaborated with BMG on a number of projects including BMG songwriter SAINt JHN’s co-write of PARANOIA and the October 2023 debut single from Riot’s League of Legends-themed virtual band HEARTSTEEL.
Earlier this year, Riot Games and BMG also co-hosted their first BMG SoundLab with more than 30 songwriters focused on creating music around Riot’s pipeline of upcoming projects.
Riot’s owned music catalog recently surpassed 10 billion streams and received RIAA Gold-certification for both League of Legends, The Glitch Mob and Mako Rise (feat. The Word Alive) and League Of Legends & Against The Current Legends Never Die; and Platinum-certification for K/DA’s hit single POP/STARS (feat. Jaira Burns).
GODS by NewJeans and HEARTSTEEL’s debut single PARANOIA recently cracked Spotify’s Global Top 50, becoming Riot’s most successful music launches to date.
Last month, Maria Egan, the Global Head of Music – as well as events – at Riot Games, joined the MBW Podcast to discuss what the music industry can learn from the world of video games and e-Sports.
“Riot stands alone in the gaming industry, with a growing entertainment ecosystem around their world class games, powered by hundreds of millions of music-loving gamers all around the world – BMG is proud to be their chosen partner!”
Thomas Scherer, BMG
Thomas Scherer, BMG President, Repertoire & Marketing, Los Angeles and New York, said: “Riot stands alone in the gaming industry, with a growing entertainment ecosystem around their world class games, powered by hundreds of millions of music-loving gamers all around the world – BMG is proud to be their chosen partner!”
“We are thrilled to extend this partnership with BMG. They saw the potential of the Riot ecosystem many years ago and deeply understand our culture.”
Maria Egan, Riot Games
Maria Egan, Global Head of Music & Events for Riot Games, added: “We are thrilled to extend this partnership with BMG. They saw the potential of the Riot ecosystem many years ago and deeply understand our culture.
“Their creative partnership and best-in-class global team will be a superpower for us as we take Riot’s music initiatives, across games, esports, and entertainment to the next level.”
“Riot Games sets the standard for integrating music with gaming, sports, and visual media.”
Henry Bishop, BMG
Henry Bishop, BMG Director, A&R, Los Angeles, said: “Riot Games sets the standard for integrating music with gaming, sports, and visual media.
“We look forward to growing the dynamic creative partnership that has flourished between Riot Games and BMG over the past years.”Music Business Worldwide