Universal Music Publishing Australia today announced the signing of globe conquering pop duo The Veronicas to an exclusive, music publishing agreement for Australia and New Zealand.

“Jess and Lisa are incredibly savvy operators. They have achieved enduring global success with The Veronicas in a notoriously fickle pop landscape - all without the aid of a television show which is becoming increasingly rare. Central to this success is their ability to write great songs and naturally it is this aspect of their careers that has us most excited about this new deal,” said Heath Johns, Director of A&R, Universal Music Publishing Group - Australia.

The Veronicas are Brisbane born twin sisters Jessica and Lisa Origliasso. In 2005, their debut album The Secret Life Of… amassed local sales in excess of 4x Platinum and spawned five Platinum or multi-Platinum singles but it was their follow-up album Hook Me Up that truly announced the global arrival of The Veronicas. Hook Me Up reached multi-Platinum status in Australia and featured the global smash single Untouched a track that went on to reach Platinum status in the U.S. and sell in excess of 1.5m downloads worldwide.

“We are thrilled to now be a part of the Universal Music Publishing family. We have been waiting for the right time to secure a deal with people that really understand and believe in who we are as writers and will continue to grow with us through this creative journey. When we met Heath, we just knew Universal Music Publishing was the right place for us to call home. We have so many exciting ventures we want to explore as song writers, this just the beginning," said Lisa and Jess Origliasso of the new deal.

Following the success of Hook Me Up, Jessica and Lisa enjoyed some time outside of The Veronicas ‘bubble’ and explored their own individual interests. Fast forward to August 2012 and The Veronicas have unleashed Lolita the first single taken from their forthcoming third album Life On Mars. Lolita is an urgent and infectious electro-pop track that has already been embraced by Australian radio as it scales the ARIA singles chart.