Hans Kusters Music N.V.

Hans Kusters Music (HKM) is a Belgian independent record company and music publisher founded in 1972 by Hans Kusters. Operating from Belgium, it combines two core activities: a record label group releasing music across genres such as pop, kleinkunst (cabaret/chanson), library music and jazz, and a music publishing house that administers copyrights for original works — mainly by Belgian and Dutch authors — as well as representing numerous international catalogues as a sub-publisher. On the publishing side, HKM manages the rights of original works by writers and composers including Roland Verlooven, Clouseau, Stef Bos, Boudewijn de Groot, Rowwen Heze, Jack van Poll, El Fish, Hans de Booij, Het Gebaar, Pater Moeskroen and Wannes Van de Velde. As a sub-publisher it represents international catalogues such as Tom Waits and Burt Bacharach, among others. Its publishing services range from registering works with collecting societies, checking statements and producing royalty statements, to licensing music for films, series and advertising (synchronisations). The company is active in Belgium, the Netherlands, France and Spain, where it is affiliated with the local collecting societies SABAM, BUMA/STEMRA, SACEM and SGAE, and it maintains a worldwide network of publishers to administer its own works. As a record label, HKM releases music in a wide range of genres spanning pop, kleinkunst, library music and jazz. Its repertoire includes artists such as Boudewijn de Groot, MAXIMUS, Mathias Vergels, Ivan Paduart, Rony Verbiest, Matteo Di Leonardo, Filippo Bianchini, Jack van Poll and Reinhard Vanbergen. The label group covers different genres through a family of imprints — from cabaret to jazz and from rock to literature — including HKM Records, Rana, HKM Literatuur, HPK, Hans, Granota, September, September B.Sharp and Selection Records. Through acquisitions such as September Jazz Records (founded by Jack van Poll in 1984), Selection Records, Bizet Productions (with the Jazz Club series of Félix-Robert Faecq and Veronique Bizet) and the B.Sharp label (driven by Pierre Pletinckx), HKM has gained access to an important part of Belgium's jazz heritage. HKM remains an independent, privately held company. Its dual identity as both a publisher and a label allows it to serve both songwriters and recording artists, and to license its catalogue for synchronisation in film, television and advertising while continuing to reissue and curate historical Belgian jazz recordings.

Hans Kusters Music was founded in 1972 by Hans Kusters as an independent Belgian record label and music publisher. From its base in Belgium, the company developed two intertwined activities: releasing records and administering music copyrights. As a publisher, HKM represents the original copyrights of mainly Belgian and Dutch authors and composers, including Roland Verlooven, Clouseau, Stef Bos, Boudewijn de Groot, Rowwen Heze, Jack van Poll, El Fish, Hans de Booij, Het Gebaar, Pater Moeskroen and Wannes Van de Velde. It also acts as publisher or sub-publisher for a number of international catalogues, including Jalma Music (Tom Waits), New Hidden Valley Music (Burt Bacharach) and Chelsea Music. Its publishing work covers registering works with collecting societies, checking statements and producing royalty statements, and licensing music for films, series and advertising (synchronisations). The company is active in Belgium, the Netherlands, France and Spain, where it is affiliated with the local collecting societies SABAM, BUMA/STEMRA, SACEM and SGAE, and it maintains a worldwide network of publishers for administering its own works. As a label group, HKM covers a range of genres from cabaret to jazz and from rock to literature through several imprints. Artists appearing on these labels include Stef Bos, Clouseau, Boudewijn de Groot, Ivan Paduart, Rony Verbiest, De Hobbyisten, El Fish, Vandiekomsa, Ingeborg, Jack van Poll and Johan Verminnen. The label group includes HKM Records (releasing artists such as Mathias Vergels, Mannen van Naam and Ida de Nijs), Rana (El Fish, Dirk Van Esbroeck), HKM Literatuur (literature and poetry by Ramsey Nasr, Kris van Steenberge and Herman Brusselmans), HPK (Philippe Robrecht, Johnny White), Hans (mainly Boudewijn de Groot), Granota (mainly Wannes Van de Velde) and September. A significant part of HKM's history is its acquisition strategy in jazz. September Jazz Records was founded by Jack van Poll in 1984, and HKM releases jazz records under the September label. HKM also bought the Bizet Productions catalogue, which brought together the jazz productions of Félix-Robert Faecq and later Veronique Bizet under the Jazz Club banner; a number of the jazz records in that series were reissued under the September label. In October 2019 HKM acquired the catalogue of B.Sharp Records, driven by Pierre Pletinckx, and has reissued a selection under its September B.Sharp sublabel. B.Sharp Records had itself reissued on CD a number of jazz records from the Jazz Cats series at René Gailly International Productions, and those recordings are also being reissued via September B.Sharp. HKM also acquired Selection Records, a Belgian library music label whose well-known artist was René Costy. Through these purchases, Hans Kusters Music gained access to an important part of Belgium's jazz past. The company continues to operate as an independent label and publisher, releasing new music across pop, kleinkunst, library and jazz, and curating and reissuing historical Belgian jazz recordings.

• 2019

  HKM acquired the catalogue of B.Sharp Records in October 2019 and began reissuing selections under the September B.Sharp sublabel.

• 1984

  September Jazz Records founded by Jack van Poll; later part of HKM's jazz catalogue.

• 1972

  Hans Kusters Music founded by Hans Kusters as an independent Belgian record label and music publisher.

Independent Belgian record label and music publisher spanning pop, kleinkunst, library music and jazz, with a strong jazz heritage catalogue and international sub-publishing.

• HKM Records

• Rana

• HKM Literatuur

• HPK

• Hans

• Granota

• September

• September B.Sharp

• Selection Records

• Bizet Productions / Jazz Club

1. 1Hans Kusters Music - The Official Hans Kusters Music Websitehanskustersmusic.be
2. 2Hans Kusters Music N.V. - Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3Hans Kusters Music - Wikipedia (NL)nl.wikipedia.org