HMV moves into branded gig venues

hmv.gifHMV is moving into the live music business via new joint venture with venue operator Mama Group. The deal will see three famous venues be rebranded with the music retailer’s name.

From today, the Hammersmith Apollo will become known as the HMV Apollo, and name changes will see the Forum in London’s Kentish Town and the Edinburgh Picture House become similarly branded.

Eight other venues will be joint-owned by the pair, including London’s Jazz Cafe, London club Heaven and North London venue The Garage.

The news comes as HMV reveals a 3.3% rise in sales for the five weeks to January 3, and its international like-for-like sales dropped by 6.6%.

Revealing the results to the City as the market closed today (January 14), the retailer also revealed it had acquired 14 stores from rival Zaavi, which went into administration in December.

Meanwhile, book seller Waterstones, which is also owned by the HMV group, revealed like-for-like sales fell by 2.2% over the Christmas period.