Here television
network branches out into music publishing

Here Network, one of the three leading gay and lesbian television channels, announced Wednesday that it is branching into the music industry with Here Tunes, a full-service music publishing company and "virtual record label." Here Tunes will focus on queer artists but will also accept submissions from GLBT-friendly artists. Here CEO and founder Paul Colichman, former president of IRS Media, will oversee the new venture with Brian Goldman, a former music agent with William Morris and ICM. "We've made Here Tunes as artist-friendly as possible," said Goldman in a statement. "By participating in the artist's publishing, we have a vested interest in the artist's success and their career. A typical film or television company licenses a song and then forgets about it. We want to help expose the artist not only on Here Networks but also via the Here Web site, cell phones, soundtracks, videos, and free [video-on-demand] concerts." Submissions from bands and musicians for upcoming productions will be accepted at the www.HereTV.com site.