Manett turns to Mama for ideas.

The head of Mama Group and Nettwerk Music Group's new music publishing venture, Manett Publishing, is looking to tap into Mama's myriad interests - from venues to artist and producer management - to build up the new business.

Joint-venture company Manett further strengthens the relationship between Mama and Nettwerk following an equity swap deal last November. Nettwerk UK's Blair McDonald will oversee the new publishing venture, which will be run alongside Nettwerk's existing publishing business, Nettwerk One Music, which he also oversees.

McDonald says, "We've been developing Nettwerk One as our publishing arm since 2005 and Nettwerk and Mama joined forces at the end of last year, so this is an obvious move and a positive thing to create."

Prior to joining Nettwerk, McDonald was managing director of Columbia Records and has a long history in music publishing that includes a stint as MD of Sony/ATV. He says in the initial stages Nettwerk One will globally administer Manett Publishing, while the new company will also be able to utilise Nettwerk's film and TV licensing teams.

But potentially the most exciting opportunity will be to utilise the parent companies' business interests. The plan is to try and exploit Mama Group's empire, which includes live ...