MakeMusic Shop's addition of the Hal Leonard catalog, announced last month, is an early, flagship example of the model in action

6 Aug, Milwaukee WI, US | Limassol, Cyprus — Muse Group, music technology and education leaders, today opened its partner program Hal Leonard Connect, a platform designed to let music retailers or resellers offer instant, fully licensed digital sheet music to their customers. The model turns Hal Leonard's catalog, built over more than 70 years and spanning major pop artists from Beyoncé to The Beatles, into a source of recurring digital revenue for the retailers and dealers who carry it.

To launch the program, this month Muse Group announced a new partnership with MakeMusic Shop powered by Hal Leonard Connect, expanding access to thousands of licensed music titles, just in time for the back-to-school period in the US. 

A custom solution for retailers

Retailers, dealers and specialist distributors bring trusted customer relationships, specialist expertise, institutional access and fulfillment capability, and as such remain central to Muse Group's growth strategy. Hal Leonard Connect is designed around that reality: retailer partners keep their own storefront, their own brand and their own customer relationship, while Hal Leonard handles the catalog, licensing, content protection, transaction processing and reporting behind the scenes. Integration options range from a simple embedded storefront to a full API, so partners of very different sizes, from independent specialty stores to the largest national dealers, can adopt the model at their own pace.

As more retailers come online, Muse Group expects the wider industry to benefit from a larger, more active market for licensed music. More revenue will flow back to the publishing partners Hal Leonard represents. Meanwhile, retailers who add digital options will capture new demand on top of their existing business.  Hal Leonard Connect is built for that shift.

"Hal Leonard Connect is how we bring our catalog to every retailer who wants to grow with us," said Eugeny Naidenov, Founder and CEO of Muse Group. "It's the clearest expression yet of something we've always believed: music should be accessible to everyone, wherever and however they play or learn, and our partners should share directly in the value that creates. Not only that, its easy for our partners to implement: minimal infrastructure and no inventory required, just profit."

Made with music educators in mind: From preview to purchase

A core benefit of Hal Leonard Connect partnerships are how they will reduce friction, improve flexibility and ease decision-making for a core segment of global music makers.

Both print and digital remain essential to Muse Group's ongoing strategy to serve all music educator workflows. New digital channels opened by Hal Leonard Connect increase visibility, discovery and participation; print remains central to education, performance and institutional purchasing.

Muse Group's internal research shows that music maker journeys are varied, and therefore a variety of options is essential. For example, a teacher may discover repertoire digitally and buy print copies for a class, a student may sample a title online before purchasing the full method book, or a school may evaluate materials digitally before placing an order through its established retailer. Muse Group's ongoing commitment is to serve all these use-cases and more.

MakeMusic Shop: Hal Leonard Connect is already at work

The most recent example of Hal Leonard Connect in practice is MakeMusic Shop, a digital-first sheet music destination for US music educators, launched by MakeMusic in July 2026. Hal Leonard's catalog is now available there, giving teachers a new channel to browse, purchase and instantly download licensed titles.

"Teachers have been asking for this from day one," said Andy Stephens, President of MakeMusic. "Adding Hal Leonard to the Shop means more of the music educators already know and love, available the way they've told us they want it: digital, instant, and clearly licensed."

MakeMusic Shop joins a growing list of channels carrying Hal Leonard titles — including Hal Leonard Online, Sheet Music Plus and Amazon in print, and MuseScore, Sheet Music Direct and Ultimate Guitar digitally — with further partnerships in development as Hal Leonard Connect expands. Following the successful exit of investors Francisco Partners in June 2026, Muse Group entered a new chapter in its growth journey, with a renewed focus on expanding value for its 400+ million annual audience of creators across its ecosystem of platforms and product lines. 

Hal Leonard Connect is central to that focus: a long-term commitment to making high-quality, licensed music available to music players, teachers and learners everywhere, through the retailers and platforms they already trust.

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Retailers can apply to list titles with Hal Leonard Connect via this form.