Music publishers Hans Gerig

What Music publishers Hans Gerig does

Musikverlage Hans Gerig KG is an independent German music publishing company founded in 1946 by Dr. Hans Gerig and headquartered in Bergisch Gladbach, with administration now handled by ROBA Music Verlag GmbH in Hamburg following a 2022 acquisition. The company manages a catalog of over 30,000 copyrights organized across more than 25 individual publishing houses, covering Schlager, Stimmung, Karneval, Rock, Pop, and Classical genres, with particular depth in the Kölsch (Cologne dialect) Karneval repertoire including works tied to artists such as Bläck Fööss, Brings, Willi Ostermann, and Jupp Schmitz. Its product mix centers on printed sheet music (songbooks, instrumental schools such as Play Piano by Margret Feils and Guitar Manual by Wieland Harms), audio recordings on CD, and educational music literature, with sync rights licensing and international rights management as additional revenue streams. Distribution runs through an internal sales division, the sidemton.de online shop (operated by SIDEMTON GmbH), music specialty retail (Musikalienfachhandel), physical fulfillment partner Schott Music in Mainz, and online retailers including jpc.de, amazon.de, thalia.de, and musicstore.de.

The company's wholly owned subsidiary Carlton Musikvertrieb GmbH, founded in 1991, handles in-house record and CD production and distribution on the Papagayo, Carlton Records, and Comedy labels, and has expanded into third-party label distribution services. The group monetizes the catalog via one-time sheet music sales, sync licensing royalties for film/TV/advertising, transaction-fee CD distribution, and international licensing royalties, with German Ladenpreisbindung (fixed retail price maintenance) applying to printed music. Customer segments are diffuse: music educators and students, Karneval/Kölsch performers and enthusiasts, media and entertainment companies seeking sync rights, and music retailers/wholesalers, with no dominant customer or contract disclosed. Technology is limited to a standard publishing/retail stack (e-commerce shop, email-based ordering, QR-coded audio downloads bundled with print titles) with no AI/ML, API, or proprietary software platforms evident in the input data.

Name

Music publishers Hans Gerig

Legal name

Musikverlage Hans Gerig KG

Website

https://gerig.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1946

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Musikverlage Hans Gerig KG is an independent German music publisher managing 30,000+ copyrights across 25+ publishing houses, specializing in Schlager, Karneval, and Kölsch repertoire, serving music educators, performers, retailers, and media licensors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Music Publishing

NAICS

Music Publishers (512230), Music Publishers (51223)

SIC

Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)

akta.pro primary industry

Publishing Administration (Catalog Admin, Global Subpublishing) (MPAIABAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Print Music Publishing (Sheet Music, Scores, Educational Repertoire) (MPAIABAG), Royalty Accounting & Payment Services (Statements, Audits, Payee Management) (MPAIABAL)

Keywords

• Sheet music publishing
• Music publishing rights
• Songbook distribution
• Sync rights licensing
• Music education materials

Headquarters

HQ city

Hamburg

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Music Publishing & Sheet Music Sales: Sale of printed music including single and orchestral editions, instrumental schools, music textbooks, and songbooks. A house-internal sales division handles direct distribution of physical sheet music and music literature.
2. Record & CD Distribution: Carlton Musikvertrieb GmbH, a subsidiary of the publishing group, handles distribution of own label productions on Papagayo, Carlton Records, and Comedy labels. The company also provides distribution services for third-party labels.
3. Sync Rights: The company manages synchronization rights for its music catalog, licensing music for use in film, television, advertising, and other media.
4. International Rights Management: An international department handles acquisition of foreign copyrights and licensing of domestic copyrights abroad, managing and exploiting titles and catalogs globally.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Musikverlage Hans Gerig KG is an independent German music publisher that publishes, distributes, and licenses sheet music, songbooks, instrumental schools, CDs, and educational music literature. The company manages over 30,000 copyrights across 25+ individual publishing houses covering Schlager, Karneval, Rock, Pop, and Classical genres, and operates its own internal sales division for distribution. Through its subsidiary Carlton Musikvertrieb GmbH, it produces and distributes recordings on the Papagayo, Carlton Records, and Comedy labels, and offers sync rights licensing and international rights management.

Product overview

Music publishers Hans Gerig (Musikverlage Hans Gerig KG) is an independent German music publishing company founded in 1946, now owned by ROBA Music Publishing in Hamburg since 2022. The company operates through its main publishing arm with over 30,000 copyrights across more than 25 individual publishing houses covering Schlager, Stimmung, Karneval, Rock, Pop, and Klassik genres. The subsidiary Carlton Musikvertrieb GmbH handles record label operations and physical/digital distribution through house labels Papagayo, Carlton Records, and Comedy. The product portfolio centers on printed music (songbooks, instrument schools, guitar manuals like Guitar Manual and Play Piano series by Margret Feils), audio recordings (CDs, singles), and learning aids (NotenMemo, Powervoice). Products are distributed via its own internal sales division, online retailers, and music specialty stores.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Papagayo: Record label for sound recordings
• Carlton Records
• Comedy

Products and services

• Music Publishing Catalog (Hans Gerig Music Publishing Group) Core music publishing operation of Musikverlage Hans Gerig KG, an independent German music publisher founded in 1946 managing over 30,000 copyrights across 25+ publishing houses covering genres from Schlager, Stimmung, Karneval, Rock, and Pop to Classical. Serves music educators, performers, Karneval communities, media producers, and retailers.
• Carlton Musikvertrieb GmbH (Record/CD Distribution) Wholly owned subsidiary that produces and distributes house-label audio recordings on the Papagayo, Carlton Records, and Comedy labels, and provides distribution services for third-party partner labels. Based in Mainz area, it serves as the integrated production-and-distribution arm of the Gerig publishing group.
• Guitar Manual Comprehensive 384-page guitar reference by Wieland Harms covering chord and scale lexicon, power chords, slash chords, open chords, alternate tunings, arpeggios, and 42 jam-tracks for scale training accessible via QR code download. Targeted at guitar students and teachers.
• Play Piano Series (Piano School by Margret Feils) Piano instruction method book series by Margret Feils using the ABC teaching approach; updated in 2022 with pedagogical improvements and digital learning videos by Hans Lilljekvist. Spinoff titles include Play Piano Einfach Klassik (VÖ 2011), Play Piano Duo (VÖ 2013), Play Piano Christmas Plus (VÖ 2016), and Play Piano Notes (VÖ 2018). Targeted at piano students and educators.
• Bläck Fööss XXL Songbook compiling 201 Cologne hits of the Bläck Fööss with complete lyrics and chords plus audio samples. ISBN 978-3-87252-368-6. Targeted at Kölsch music performers, bands, and enthusiasts.
• Willi Ostermann Präsentbox Special CD/DVD box set showcasing career highlights of Willi Ostermann, a cornerstone of the Kölsch Karneval repertoire; produced and distributed via Carlton Musikvertrieb. Targeted at Kölsch music collectors and Karneval session audiences.
• Jupp Schmitz - 50 Jahre Stimmung und Hits Piano edition with complete lyrics and 50 songs of Jupp Schmitz, a pillar of the Cologne Stimmung repertoire. ISBN 978-3-87252-161-3. Targeted at Kölsch/Stimmung performers and pianists.
• NotenMemo (Note Learning Game) Children's note-learning game using an animal alphabet, designed as a playful learning aid for beginner piano students. Targeted at young children beginning music education.
• Powervoice (Rock/Pop Vocal Method) Practice-oriented vocal method book for rock/pop singing by Andrés Balhorn, ISBN 978-8-87252-262-7; available with a companion XXL DVD edition including 17 karaoke songs, 3D animation, a training film, and exercise poster. Targeted at contemporary singers and vocal coaches.
• Guitar Solo Guide Instructional book by Bernd Brümmer covering concepts for independent and creative solo playing on guitar. ISBN 978-3-87252-307-5. Targeted at intermediate to advanced guitarists and teachers.
• SCHMITZ - Met einer Stemm (Album) Debut album by the Cologne band SCHMITZ containing 13 songs across pop, rock, folk, reggae, gospel, and ballads. Distributed by Carlton Musikvertrieb. Targeted at Kölsch music listeners and Karneval audiences.
• Reinold Louis - Ich well verzälle, wie schön et ens en Kölle wor... (Anniversary CD) Anniversary CD with 18 Cologne songs and a 40-page booklet by Reinold Louis, created for his 80th birthday, featuring historical songs and personal stories about Cologne. Targeted at Kölsch music enthusiasts and Reinold Louis fans.
• Sync Rights Licensing Licensing service granting synchronization rights for the Gerig catalog (including classic titles such as 'Über sieben Brücken musst du gehn' and 'Das Rennsteiglied') to film, television, advertising, and other media producers. Operated through the company's international department.
• International Rights Management Service operated by the international department for acquisition of foreign copyrights and licensing of domestic copyrights abroad; manages and exploits titles and catalogs globally and builds long-term trusted business relationships with foreign partners.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Schott Music GmbH & Co. KGcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSchott Music GmbH & Co. KG serves as the physical music sheet distribution and delivery partner for Musikverlage Hans Gerig, handling order fulfillment from their facility at Weihergarten 5, 55116 Mainz.
• SIDEMTON GmbHcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSIDEMTON GmbH operates the online shop (sidemton.de) for end-customer fulfillment of Musikverlage Hans Gerig and Carlton Musikvertrieb products. SIDEMTON handles all shipping, including free shipping for orders over 25 EUR and a 2.50 EUR flat shipping fee for smaller orders.
• ARD Das ErsteminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerARD Das Erste is listed as a client and cooperation partner of Gerig Music Publishers, indicating media/broadcasting relationships for music content.
• Deutscher Musikverleger-Verband (DMV)minorOthersDeutscher Musikverleger-Verband (DMV) is listed as an association partner, representing German music publishers' interests.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Alfred Music: Large US-based music publisher with strong educational catalog and global distribution of method books and sheet music. Comparable in print music education publishing — directly competing for guitar, piano, and general music education shelf space.
• BMG Rights Management: Berlin-headquartered major publisher with a deep German-language catalog and strong sync and subpublishing operations. Directly comparable in rights administration, international exploitation, and German-language repertoire acquisition.
• Schott Music GmbH & Co. KG: Mainz-based, one of Europe's oldest music publishers, with deep classical, educational, and contemporary catalogs. It is Gerig's physical distribution partner and thus directly comparable in print music publishing and educational repertoire, while operating at substantially greater scale across many more genres.
• Hal Leonard Corporation: Global print music leader for educational, popular, and classical sheet music. Comparable in music education publishing, method books, and songbook products that overlap with Gerig's Play Piano, Guitar Manual, and Kölsch songbook lines.
• Warner Chappell Music (Germany): One of the 'Big Four' music publishers with German operations, competing for sync rights and songwriter signings in the same market where Gerig operates. Comparable in rights administration and licensing economics, though at substantially larger scale.
• Universal Music Publishing Germany: The German arm of the world's largest music publisher, operating across pop, schlager, and classical with strong sync capabilities. Relevant as a broad incumbent competing for the same sync and licensing budgets that Gerig's catalog targets in Germany.
• Sony Music Publishing (Germany): German arm of Sony's publishing division, with catalogs spanning German schlager, pop, and classical. Comparable as another broad incumbent pursuing sync and licensing revenue in the German-speaking market.

Direct peers

• Hans Sikorski Musikverlag: Hamburg-based independent German music publisher with a long classical, educational, and entertainment catalog. Directly comparable to Gerig as a German indie publisher with a similar mix of print educational repertoire and rights administration.
• ROBA Music Verlag GmbH: ROBA is the Hamburg-based parent/administrator of Musikverlage Hans Gerig KG following its 2022 acquisition. It runs an overlapping German music publishing catalog with active international subpublishing, an international rights department, and sync exploitation — the closest structural and operational peer to Gerig.
• Bosworth Music Verlag: Berlin-based German music publisher with print sheet music, educational methods, and choral catalogs. Closely comparable to Gerig in print educational repertoire, songbook product, and independent German mid-market positioning.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/carlton-musikvertrieb-gmbh

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Music publishers Hans Gerig