In America, in the late 1930s, brothers Harold ‘Hal’ Edstrom and Everett ‘Leonard’ Edstrom formed a very popular dance band along with their friend Roger Busdicker. The brothers were concerned that their father wouldn’t approve of using the family name for a band, so Harold and Ev took parts of their names and called the band Hal Leonard. As leader of the Hal Leonard Band, Ev eventually became known as ‘Hal Leonard.’
The company Hal Leonard was officially founded in 1947 when their music-publishing journey began. To read the full Hal Leonard company history, please visit the Hal Leonard corporate website.
Head Office, London, UK
Hal Leonard Europe History
Following Hal Leonard’s acquisition of the Dutch instrumental publisher De Haske, in 2008, Hal Leonard has continued to expand its operations in Europe. In 2018, Hal Leonard purchased the physical and online printed music business of the Music Sales Group, along with the Musicroom-branded retail businesses, which collectively became Hal Leonard Europe.
In 2023, Hal Leonard European company locations are in Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and the United Kingdom with distribution centres in the Netherlands, Italy and the UK. More than 300 employees are based in Europe.