Montreal, March 30, 2020 – Johanne Goyette, founder and president of ATMA Classique, and Guillaume Lombart, founder and president of Ad Litteram jointly announced that Ad Litteram, a leading company with more than 20 years of experience in the music industry, has entered into an agreement to acquire the ATMA Classique label, effective April 1, 2020. With this transaction, Ad Litteram Inc. will acquire Disques ATMA Inc.’s shares and the ATMA Classic label, ensuring the company’s sustainability while promoting a bold vision for the future, including an emphasis on video and the expansion of the digital catalog.
Under the umbrella of the new business, ATMA Classique’s artistic mandate, catalogue, and roster of artists will be maintained and all current contracts and projects will be honoured. Founded in 1994 by Johanne Goyette, ATMA has established a sterling reputation for recordings with superb sound quality, featuring distinctive programs performed by some of the world’s finest musicians, including Janina Fialkowska, Karina Gauvin, Yannick Nézet-Séguin and l’Orchestre Métropolitain, Quatuor Molinari, and Les Violons du Roy, among others.
Goyette will continue her role in the area of ATMA’s artistic planning and will work closely with musicians as recording producer. Day to day operations will continue to be managed by ATMA’s current leadership team, Michel Ferland, Director, Production and Communications, and Mélissa Archambault, Director, Sales and Marketing.
“After having dedicated 25 years to establishing ATMA Classic as a world-renowned company, I wanted to ensure a business transfer that would guarantee the label’s continuity while also stimulating the development of new ideas, and I am pleased to have found this possibility with Guillaume Lombart and Ad Litteram” said Johanne Goyette. “I look forward to continuing to work closely with musicians through the entire recording process, from initial concept to final edit and post‐production.”
Ad Litteram’s roster of services includes music publishing, recordings, management, and video production. The company aims to provide its artists — both emerging and established — with the human, technological, commercial, and artistic means to carry out their projects.
Based in Montreal since 1998, the French music editor Guillaume Lombart is one of the founders of APEM (Association of Professionals in Music Publishing) in Canada. He has discovered and nurtured the careers of such talents as Moran, Ivy, Thomas Carbou, Gilles Bélanger, Pierre-Philippe Côté, Mario Péluso, Mathieu Bérubé, Cédrik St Onge, Simon Kingsbury, Reney Ray, among others. In 2012, Lombart created the Livetoune video streaming site to promote the music of Quebec artists online, in partnership with organizations including RIDEAU, FICG, la Fabrique Culturelle, SOCAN, and La Place des Arts.
“Continuing the exceptional work of Johanne Goyette will be Ad Litteram’s goal, and we will rise to the challenge during this time of major shifts and changes in the ever-evolving music industry. Thanks to our in-house technological capabilities, such as video streaming, combined with the expertise of the ATMA team, we are well equipped to face these new challenges,” said Guillaume Lombart. “Likewise, Ad Litteram is looking forward to opening new avenues of collaboration with artists to better respond to their needs.”
This transaction was made possible with financing from SODEC, Quebec’s cultural business development agency under the direction of Madame Sophie Labesse, as well as the Centre de Transfert d’Entreprise du Québec (CTEQ). “The cultural industry faces numerous challenges in succession planning. We need to support entrepreneurs in this process,” says Vincent Lecorne, CEO of CTEQ. “I see this as a successful transaction, in that it ensures the preservation of a business that is deeply rooted in its milieu.”
New albums – March and April 2020
March 27: Karina Gauvin
April 3rd: Auguste Descarries
April 17: Marin Marais/Mélisande Corriveau
April 17: Telemann/Arion Orchestre baroque
ABOUT ATMA CLASSIQUE
Founded in 1994 by Johanne Goyette, ATMA has established a sterling reputation around the world for recordings with superb sound quality, featuring distinctive programs performed by some of the world’s finest musicians. Distributed in 25 countries and present on all digital platforms, the ATMA catalog now comprises more than 550 titles in genres ranging from medieval to contemporary music, and including tango, traditional, and baroque music. ATMA recordings are notable for their high standards, and original, creative programs, which have garnered praise and numerous awards and prizes over the years.
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Press relations:
Alain Labonté for Atma Classique / Ad Litteram (Quebec) 514 815 2128 / alain@alainlabonte.ca
Luisa Trisi, Big Picture Communications (Canada) 416 456-0499 / luisa@luisatrisi.com
https://atmaclassique.com/ http://adlitteram.ca/
