Hal Leonard has joined Muse Group in a shared mission to improve the lives of music makers. Here's what they say:
The landmark deal brings together teams behind the world's most iconic sheet music catalogs, largest online musician communities and award-winning creator software.
Hal Leonard, the legendary sheet music and educational publisher, joins digital leader Muse Group, in a partnership set to revolutionize access to popular music and creator tools for musicians worldwide.
As makers of the world's most popular online libraries, tools and community spaces for audio creators — including MuseScore, Ultimate Guitar and Audacity — this partnership further solidifies Muse Group's position as the industry leader in music content and creation. Both Muse Group and Hal Leonard will retain their respective HQs in the USA and Cyprus, and distinct operational expertise.
Supported by growth investment from Francisco Partners — a key investor in industry giants including Kobalt Music and Native Instruments — this agreement marks the next step in a close, long-standing partnership between Muse Group and Hal Leonard. Both companies share a vision to provide unparalleled access to the best content and resources for the passionate, global community of everyday music makers, educators and learners.
Along with its massive catalog of premier educational and classical music, Hal Leonard's licensed arrangements include the world's most iconic artists and scores, from Taylor Swift and The Beatles to John Williams and Disney soundtracks. Combined with over 3 million expert and community-created tabs and compositions on Muse Group's Ultimate Guitar and MuseScore, the joint business now includes a content library of over 5.5 million scores, tabs, books, video courses, backing tracks and presets.
Now musicians can look forward to learning more from Hal Leonard's high-quality arrangements and top-selling content in digitized, interactive formats on Muse platforms. With over 300 million annual visitors and over 40 million accounts on Ultimate Guitar and MuseScore alone, a whole new global audience will discover Hal Leonard's library.
Muse Group will also bring creator software and technical expertise to Hal Leonard's digital offerings. Flagship Muse Group achievements include the award-winning, open-source MuseScore 4 notation app, cutting-edge Muse Sounds playback presets, plus StaffPad's new machine-learning 'Piano Capture' composition tool.
In addition to their invaluable licensing and arranging experience, the considerable educational expertise of the Hal Leonard team will provide impetus to further expand Muse Group's offering to music learners of all skill levels, through both crafted curriculums and pioneering AI-powered tools.
Our passion for improving the lives of all musicians has always been at the heart of Muse Group — and we're immensely excited to partner with the Hal Leonard team who share that passion.
Eugeny Naidenov, Muse Group CEO.
All Hal Leonard employees will continue in their current roles. The newly expanded Muse Group remains committed to continuing Hal Leonard's valued partnerships with educators, retailers, distributors, suppliers, content creators and license holders that serve the global music community.
This partnership will create more music makers worldwide and will lead to even more advances in music education technology, while also expanding ways creators and rights holders can make their musical works more widely available. Hal Leonard and Muse have been working closely together for over fifteen years and have built trust and mutual respect over that time. Combining the strengths of both companies is a truly exciting prospect, full of potential ways to grow the music industry in new directions.
Larry Morton, Hal Leonard's Chairman
