Daft Punk has signed a timely music publishing deal with Imagem Music U.K., just as the French electronic music duo’s fourth album “Random Access Memories” crashes sales charts around the globe.

Imagem will publish Daft Punk’s songs throughout the world excluding France, where they will be published by Daft Music/Because.

It’s a continuation of a partnership which began well-before Daft Punk were household names. The electronic act had originally signed their music publishing to Imagem — then Zomba — back in 1996.

Commenting on the new deal, Kim Frankiewicz, managing director of Imagem Music U.K., says, “Daft Punk are a creative force in so many aspects; musically, visually and emotionally. They have been the soundtrack to so many people’s lives; they created a genre and continue to be at the top of the game. ‘Random Access Memories’ is a seminal body of work.”

“Random Access Memories” has predictably exploded out of the gate in its first week on sale. In the U.K., the Columbia album on Sunday became Daft Punk’s first-ever U.K. No.  1 album, shifting 165,000 copies to become the year’s fastest-seller, according of the Official Charts Company. Lead single “Get Lucky” FT N.E.R.D’s Pharrell Williams and Chic’s Nile Rodgers has also become 2013’s biggest selling single so far, selling upwards of 711,000 copies since it went on sale six weeks ago.

“Random Access Memories” has also opened at No. 1 in Australia, where it’s platinum certified on debut.

The album is set for a No. 1 bow in the U.S., with first-week sales forecast at north of 300,000 units. [Billboard.biz]