Concord, Roadshow link arms

September 04, 2007 Village Roadshow Pictures Group, the U.S.-based film production division of Australia's Village Roadshow Ltd. (VRL) will merge with Los Angeles-based independent music firm Concord Music Group in a deal set to close by late October to form Village Roadshow Entertainment Group, executives said on Monday. The new group's assets include features such as "The Matrix" trilogy and the "Ocean's" series, from its co-productions with Warner Bros, and titles such as "Mystic River," and, on the music side, Concord's 5,000 albums from 21 record labels and 6,000 music publishing rights, focused on jazz, classic rock and pop artists such as John Coltrane, Miles Davis, and Creedence Clearwater Revival. Also included is Concord's stake in the Hear Music label created earlier this year with Starbucks Coffee, which already has signed Sir Paul McCartney, Joni Mitchell and James Taylor and released the Grammy award-winning Ray Charles project "Genius Loves Company."

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