Sunny Side Up Licensing Consultancy and Sony/ATV Music Publishing have signed a new agreement over licensing lyrics from some of the world’s greatest songwriters.

The agreement means that lyrics from the likes of John Lennon, Michael Jackson, Paul McCartney, Carole King, Queen, Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye are  available to be licensed for use on consumer merchandise.

Sony/ATV Music controls nearly 3m songs. Also available to be licensed are famous lyrics from hundreds of Motown songs, as well as timeless classics such as ‘Over the Rainbow’, ‘You’ve Got a Friend’, ‘Stand By Me’, ‘Singin’ in the Rain’, ‘All I Have to Do is Dream’ and ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’.

Under the agreement Sunny Side Up will look to turn Sony/ATV’s world-famous songs into high street brands in their own right through partnerships with major retailers and consumer goods companies.

Product sectors being targeted include clothing, accessories, housewares, food and beverages, toys and games, stationery and giftware.

Bruce New, licensing manager at Sony/ATV Music Publishing UK, said: “Music licensing is a key source of income for our songwriters. As a pro-active publisher, we are always looking to engage with and develop new creative areas where our songs can be placed.”

He added: “Sunny Side Up has developed substantial contacts and trusted relationships in this area of licensing. Together we will seek new opportunities which will ultimately benefit our songwriters by licensing their compositions and lyrics for use on as many new products as possible.”

Michael Gottlieb, managing partner of Sunny Side Up Licensing Consultancy, said: “Retailers and brands are increasingly recognising the strong consumer appeal of putting iconic song lyrics on products to convey humour, express an uplifting sentiment, evoke nostalgia, or just add something special to an everyday item.”

If you would like to receive our daily newsflash email, click here; you can also follow us on Twitter and Facebook and request a print subscription here.