Boosey & Hawkes
Boosey & Hawkes is a major British classical-music publisher and music-rights business known for publishing, licensing, and distributing works by leading twentieth- and twenty-first-century composers.
Last updated August 28, 2026
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Overview
Boosey & Hawkes is one of the best-known names in international classical-music publishing. Based in London and operating within Wise Music Group, the brand publishes and administers a large catalogue of orchestral, chamber, choral, instrumental, vocal, educational, and contemporary music. Its business extends beyond the sale of printed scores: it also supports performance licensing, copyright administration, rental of orchestral materials, digital access, and the promotion and long-term stewardship of composers' works. The brand's history combines two older British music businesses. Boosey & Sons developed from the London music-publishing activities associated with the Boosey family, while Hawkes & Son was established in the nineteenth century as a publisher and supplier of musical instruments and printed music. The two companies joined in 1930, creating Boosey & Hawkes. The merger gave the new business a substantial catalogue, international reach, and connections with both concert music and the practical needs of performers, ensembles, and educators. Boosey & Hawkes became especially influential during the twentieth century through its relationships with major modernist and post-romantic composers. Its catalogue has included works associated with Igor Stravinsky, Béla Bartók, Aaron Copland, Benjamin Britten, Leonard Bernstein, Sergei Prokofiev, William Walton, and many other important figures. The publisher's significance lies not only in the number of famous names in its catalogue, but also in the continuing performance life of those works. Publishing arrangements often encompass authoritative editions, rental materials, permissions, translations, recordings, synchronization, and other rights services. The company has also maintained a strong role in contemporary music. Its catalogue and affiliated publishing operations represent composers working in orchestral, operatic, stage, film, chamber, electronic, and cross-genre fields. This gives Boosey & Hawkes a dual identity: it is a heritage publisher preserving and exploiting historically important repertory, and an active contemporary publisher seeking new works and supporting their circulation among performers, presenters, broadcasters, and recording companies. In 2003, Boosey & Hawkes was acquired by Music Sales Group, another major music-publishing business. The acquisition placed the brand within a broader portfolio while preserving Boosey & Hawkes as a recognizable editorial and commercial identity. Music Sales Group later adopted the name Wise Music Group. Under that ownership, Boosey & Hawkes continues to operate as a specialist music-publishing imprint and rights business rather than as a general consumer-media brand. Its present positioning is therefore built around authoritative classical and contemporary repertoire, professional music users, institutional customers, and international copyright management.
History
Boosey & Hawkes was formed in 1930 through the merger of two established British music businesses: Boosey & Sons and Hawkes & Son. Both predecessors operated in London's music trade during the nineteenth century, publishing printed music and serving the needs of musicians and musical institutions. Hawkes & Son also had a substantial connection with musical instruments and band-related supplies, while the Boosey business developed a particularly important publishing catalogue. Their combination created a company with broader resources and a stronger international platform than either predecessor could provide independently. The new company's development coincided with major changes in concert music. During the twentieth century, publishers became central to the professional circulation of modern repertoire: they prepared and distributed scores, supplied parts to orchestras, handled performance permissions, and represented composers' copyrights. Boosey & Hawkes built an influential catalogue in this environment. Its published and administered repertory came to include works by some of the most consequential composers of the modern era, including Igor Stravinsky, Béla Bartók, Aaron Copland, Benjamin Britten, Leonard Bernstein, Sergei Prokofiev, and William Walton. The catalogue also extended across opera, ballet, orchestral music, chamber music, choral works, instrumental pieces, and vocal repertoire. The firm's importance was not limited to issuing first editions. A specialist publisher has an ongoing role in keeping music performable and legally available. That role can involve preparing corrected or authorized scores, producing performance materials, renting large orchestral sets, licensing public performances, and coordinating rights for recordings, broadcasts, films, and other uses. Boosey & Hawkes developed an international reputation through this combination of editorial, commercial, and rights-management functions. Its name became familiar to conductors, librarians, performers, teachers, conservatories, opera companies, orchestras, and specialist music retailers. Boosey & Hawkes also became an important home for newer generations of composers. Its catalogue has continued to include contemporary concert music and music for stage and screen, alongside historically established works. This balance between heritage and new publishing has helped the brand remain relevant as the economics of sheet music changed. Printed editions remain important, but publishers increasingly support digital discovery, electronic delivery, online licensing, and international administration of intellectual property. In 2003, Music Sales Group acquired Boosey & Hawkes. The transaction placed the company within a broader private music-publishing group with interests in printed music, copyright, and related services. Boosey & Hawkes continued to be presented as a distinct specialist brand, preserving the value of its name and the identity of its composer catalogues. Music Sales Group later changed its corporate name to Wise Music Group. The rebranding affected the parent organization rather than eliminating the Boosey & Hawkes imprint. Today, Boosey & Hawkes functions as an international classical and contemporary music publisher within Wise Music Group. Its activities include publishing and administering composers' works, supplying performance and rental materials, licensing uses of music, and supporting the circulation of repertoire among professional and educational users. The brand's continuing value rests on the combination of a historically important catalogue, long-standing composer relationships, specialized editorial knowledge, and an international rights and distribution infrastructure.
- 2021
Parent company becomes Wise Music Group
[1]Music Sales Group adopts the Wise Music Group name, with Boosey & Hawkes continuing as a specialist publishing brand.
- 2003
Acquisition by Music Sales Group
[1]Music Sales Group acquires Boosey & Hawkes and adds the historic publisher to its wider portfolio.
- 1930
Boosey & Hawkes is formed
[1]Boosey & Sons and Hawkes & Son merge, establishing the Boosey & Hawkes music-publishing business.
Products and positioning
A specialist, internationally oriented classical and contemporary music publisher serving composers, performers, orchestras, opera companies, educators, broadcasters, recording businesses, and other professional music users.
Sheet music publishing
Printed music editions
Boosey & Hawkes publishes printed scores and parts across orchestral, chamber, choral, vocal, piano, instrumental, operatic, and educational repertory. These editions are used by individual musicians, teachers, conservatories, ensembles, orchestras, and opera organizations. Depending on the work, the publisher may provide authorized editions, performance scores, study scores, and instrumental parts.
Performance materials
Orchestral rental materials
Large-scale orchestral, operatic, choral, and ensemble works are commonly supplied through rental rather than ordinary retail sale. The rental service provides conductors, orchestras, opera companies, and presenters with authorized scores and instrumental parts for particular performances or production periods.
Copyright administration
Music rights and licensing
The brand administers and licenses uses of music in its catalogue, including public performance, recording, broadcast, synchronization, and other commercial or institutional uses. These services connect composers and rights holders with performers, media companies, presenters, and other users of music.
Composer publishing
Contemporary composer catalogue
Alongside its historical repertory, Boosey & Hawkes publishes and administers contemporary concert, opera, stage, vocal, chamber, orchestral, and related music. The catalogue model supports new works through publication, promotion, performance materials, licensing, and long-term rights management.
Brand decisions
2021
Parent-group rebrand to Wise Music GroupStrategyBackground
Music Sales Group operated a portfolio of music-publishing and related businesses under a corporate name separate from several of its specialist brands.
Action taken
The parent organization adopted the Wise Music Group name while continuing to operate Boosey & Hawkes as a distinct imprint.
Aftermath
Boosey & Hawkes retained its established market identity within the renamed group.
2003
Joining Music Sales GroupM&ABackground
Boosey & Hawkes was an established specialist publisher with an internationally significant catalogue and rights business.
Action taken
Music Sales Group acquired the company and incorporated it into its broader music-publishing portfolio.
Aftermath
The Boosey & Hawkes name and publishing identity continued under the new ownership.
Recent events
Boosey & Hawkes launches string-duo contest[4]
Reported:
Boosey & Hawkes opened a contest for string-piano duos to submit recordings for possible use in a forthcoming YouTube score video of Stravinsky’s Suite Italienne. Winners were to be announced on June 1, and the score video was scheduled for release on June 17.
Sources4 sources
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