John Pattrick, who was head of the London-based audio-visual department at IMG, told PlaybillArts that he was asked to join Medici several months ago. He proposed that the company acquire the whole AV department, which consisted of him, label manager Lucy Blakeson and the labels they controlled. The acquisition by the Medici Group was effective as of January 1.

The Medici Group will also acquire the Paris-based film production company Id_ale Audience early next year.

The company also plans to produce and market another audio line called "Medici Masters," which will acquire tapes from European broadcasters as well as some U.S. sources.

Medici Group is a private group of investors who specialize in producing and distributing music and arts television, DVD and audio content. Medici's catalogue already includes EuroArts Music International, the Classic Archive DVD label, Richter The Enigma and television/DVD projects with artists and orchestras including Claudio Abbado, Daniel Barenboim, Leonard Bernstein, Herbert von Karajan and Alfred Brendel.