In 2023, Hal Leonard’s CEO Larry Morton and Muse Group CEO Eugeny Naidenov spearheaded the latest radical change in the music industry.

The world-famous Hal Leonard publishing, renowned for their unparalleled sheet music, combined with Muse Group — the digital leaders of tabs, scores and creator software. This combination of the very best of printed and digital music is already transforming how millions of musicians play and learn.

But the move to Muse Group is just the next big leap for Larry Morton, in a career defined by groundbreaking moves in music tech. This month marks 40 years at the forefront.

“Forty years ago, in 1984, I embarked on my music career as one of the first employees at Roland in LA.” says Larry. “Before, I’d navigated the music scene as a freelance musician, programming synths and drum machines for 80s pop hits and TV shows. When I met Taro Kakehashi, the founder of Roland, it all changed. It was an exhilarating time as MIDI was revolutionizing music creation, and I’ve sought out innovative environments ever since!”

“Eventually I met the then-CEO of Hal Leonard, Keith Mardak, and moved to Milwaukee. The rest is history — that is, until last year when we merged with Muse Group, perhaps the most exciting chapter of all!”

That chapter is already being written in big neon lights. Muse Group has already put rocket-boosters on the Hal Leonard team with a fast-paced, future-facing culture, built on leadership principles of accountability, experimentation and cross-functional collaboration. Not to mention unlocked access to a global audience of over 300 million annual musician visitors to Ultimate Guitar and MuseScore alone.

For their part, Hal Leonard boasts decades of music industry experience and a catalog of the world’s most iconic artists and scores, from Taylor Swift and The Beatles to John Williams and Disney soundtracks. Together the two team’s of trailblazers are already pioneering the next phase of music tech, which puts the needs of players, learners and educators front and centre.

The launch of MuseClass for instance, brings together Hal Leonard’s educational expertise and compositions, alongside Muse Group’s machine-learning AutoGrade technology, to build a brand new platform for US teachers that is already making waves. And tens of thousands of Hal Leonard and ArrangeMe scores have already been digitized on MuseScore, granting easier access to iconic music than ever before.

“As I think about Muse today, I’m reminded of my early days at Roland, when we were the constant disruptors, changing the ways things were done” shares Larry. “Much like the founders of Hal Leonard when they were the first to provide pop arrangements to bands in the 1940s, Roland was the 'punk' kid in the keyboard market who was fast, innovative, and spunky. Now Muse Group is just the same today. And not just for digital sheet music, but notation tools, audio software and much, much more!”

So a toast to the ever-evolving Larry Morton — and the entire Muse Group and Hal Leonard team — who are transforming how musicians play, create and learn music, forever.

And here’s a final word from Larry: “I’m so proud to be helping Hal Leonard and Muse Group advance the next phase of music digitalization, in ways we could have never dreamed of in the 1980s. Onward!”

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