Remember he's a Womble

by Melissa Hancock - Thursday, 14th February 2008 -

Mike Batt - yes, that Mike Batt - may mean only one thing to you. But he's actually one of Britain's top entrepreneurs, with Carla Bruni on his books

Mike Batt's image has been inextricably linked with pointy-nosed, furry creatures ever since he penned the theme tune for the Wombles tv show back in the mid 1970's.

But he's actually one of Britain’s most talented songwriters and composers: he wrote the music and lyrics to Art Garfunkel's well-loved “Bright Eyes” as well as composing for Watership Down and Phantom of the Opera.

More recently, he's become a succesful entrepreneur after having set up his music business Dramatico in 2000: today it's hitting £24m in turnover, making it one of the fastest-growing entertainment businesses around.

Batt began his career in music at 18 as a signed artist. Since then he has scored eight hit singles and four gold albums, many of which he licensed out to the likes of Emi and Sony over the years.

“When I set up Dramatico in 2000, I decided to buy back the licensing rights to all my songs and create a company which serves as a vehicle for my own endeavours as a musician, as well as being a record label for signing new artists.”

Batt hasn’t looked back since. Dramatico now manages Katie Melua - the biggest-selling British female artist in the world last year - and has recently signed Carla Bruni, the now much-coveted First Lady of France.

Batt accredits Dramatico’s phenomenal success to the diversification of the music industry in recent years: “The move of music online has given independent record labels an edge because we can be much more nimble in responding to change. It’s a classic David and Goliath story.”

Related story
Carla Bruni and Dramatico

WHAT NEXT?
Sign up for our newsletter and get our weekly pick of business news in your inbox!
Subscribe to our magazine for in depth interviews and advice from leading entrepreneurs!
Join our forum and talk business with other entrepreneurs!