We catch up on this week’s music publishing news, from key deals and signings to new hires, legislation and more.
Deals and Acquisitions
Kobalt signs publishing deal with Mr Eazi’s EmPawa publishing (Music Week)
An official press release stated that the partnership with the independent African music company “includes publishing administration, creative services and sync for all of emPawa’s catalogue and future works.”
Hipgnosis Acquires Song Catalog of Mötley Crüe’s Nikki Sixx (Billboard)
The deal gives Hipgnosis 100% of Sixx’s writer’s share of performing rights organization income and writer’s royalties from SoundExchange respect to the catalogue, which includes 305 songs.
Kobalt, SMACKSongs Renew Partnership (Music Row)
Kobalt and SMACKSongs have renewed their global partnership, including a continuation of publishing administration, creative services and synch for all of SMACKSongs’ catalog and future works.
Signings
Shayne Ward signs new Peermusic UK deal (Music Week)
Nigel Elderton, president, Europe & managing director and Luc Floreani, creative manager broke the news of a deal that will see Peermusic administer Ward’s entire back catalogue and future work. The company will also help out with A&R for Ward’s new material.
Warner Chappell Music inks exclusive worldwide deal with Lil Baby collaborator Section 8 (MBW)
Warner Chappell Music has entered into an exclusive worldwide co-publishing deal with Section 8. The producer/songwriter is one of Lil Baby’s main collaborators.
Primary Wave signs songwriter and producer Nicky Chinn (Music Week)
Independent publisher Primary Wave Music Publishing has announced British songwriter and producer Nicky Chinn as its latest signing.
Reservoir signs platinum-selling writer-producer Twysted Genius to a worldwide publishing deal (RotD)
Reservoir announces the signing of Platinum-selling writer-producer Twysted Genius to a worldwide publishing deal. The deal includes rights to Twysted’s entire catalog of works including his collaborations on Lil Baby’s Platinum-selling #1 Billboard 200 album My Turn.
Bucks signs admin deal with Talentbanq (Music Week)
Bucks Music Group has signed an administration agreement with live agent, concert promoter and artist management company Talentbanq.
Awards
Ivor Novello Awards honours Little Simz, Inflo, Dave, Fraser T Smith, Joan Armatrading & more (Music Week)
Celebrating the best songwriting and screen composition of 2019, this year’s awards winners were revealed by Matt Wilkinson on Apple Music 1 radio. All winning works and catalogues can be heard on Apple Music.
Facts & Figures
BMG revenues up 4.8% to $308m in first six months of 2020 (MBW)
BMG’s revenues across records and publishing grew 4.8% year-on-year in the first half of 2020, landing at €282m ($308m).
Hirings & Promotions
Synchtank Taps 20th Century Fox Royalty Executive, Leading Developers to Bolster Royalty Accounting Platform IRIS (Synchtank)
Prior to working with Synchtank, Landrum spent over two decades at 20th Century Fox, most recently as Executive Director, Royalties, and has also held positions at Windswept Pacific and BMI.
BMG ups Levy Isabella to managing director role (Music Week)
BMG has appointed Levy Isabella as MD, Benelux. He will report to Dominique Casimir, BMG, EVP repertoire & marketing, Continental Europe.
Royalties & CMOs
Songwriters Guild of America Joins ARA in Calling Out Backroom Deals Between Streaming Services and Major Publishers (Digital Music News)
Yesterday, Digital Music News was first to report that the Artist Rights Alliance (ARA) had called out “secretive agreements” between streaming services and major publishers. Now, in comments forwarded to the U.S. Copyright Office, the Songwriters Guild of America (SGA) has voiced similar concerns and issued new calls for transparency.
Legal
J Dilla Died In 2006. He’s Now Being Sued for Using a 1974 Rock Sample (Rolling Stone)
On J Dilla’s “Workinonit,” which has been rereleased and licensed to Netflix in recent years, the rapper allegedly sampled 10cc’s “Worst Band in the World” without permission.
Twitter Removes Trump Campaign Video After Eddy Grant ‘Electric Avenue’ Infringement Lawsuit (Billboard)
Twitter has removed a campaign video for Pres. Donald Trump’s that is the subject of a copyright infringement lawsuit from “Electric Avenue” singer Eddy Grant.
Interesting Reads
Africa Express: What Happens Next to Fast Track the Future of the Continent’s Music Industry? (Synchblog)
Streaming, fintech and publishing remain the three key obstacles to the domestic business fulfilling its vast potential in the coming years. In the second of a two-part investigation, Ben Gilbert analyses how these challenges can be met.
UMPG boss Mike McCormack talks the latest co-writing trends (Music Week)
The average number of writers on 2019’s Top 100 singles was down 0.57 to 4.77, its lowest level since 2016. The number of 100% songs (ie those written by a single writer) also soared, from 3 to 10, as a new breed of songwriter – including the likes of Tom Walker, Billie Eilish, Freya Ridings and Tones And I came through.
A music company owned by a pension fund has paid $100 million for part of Imagine Dragons’ catalog — and has more nine-figure deals in the works (Rolling Stone)
US-based Concord just spent nine figures on Imagine Dragons — and, with around $400 million at its disposal, is sizing up more huge acquisitions.
TikTok rules the top lyrics of Summer 2020 (Platform & Stream)
LyricFind has just revealed their top 20 lyrics of the Summer, and there’s no question that this was the Summer of TikTok. These are the lyrics that were searched for most on Google and other platforms by music fans around the world.
‘The Show Must Be Paused’ Continues Its Efforts With List of Demands for Music Companies (Billboard)
On June 2, Jamila Thomas of Atlantic Records and Brianna Agyemang of Platoon made the multibillion-dollar music industry pause. And since it’s resumed, the two Black female executives have officially set a plan for how to keep their initiative moving forward.
Future 25: Jon Platt, CEO of Sony/ATV (Rolling Stone)
The publishing head who Jay-Z once called “the Obama of the music industry,” is remaking the idea of what his industry can look like
Chartmetric releases their trends analysis for the first half of 2020 (Music Ally)
Music analytics service Chartmetric has released their semi-annual report on music industry trends, and is reflecting on one of the most turbulent periods in the industry’s recent history.
A New Spotify Patent Filing Looks a Lot Like TikTok (Digital Music News)
Spotify’s video strategy is expanding more quickly than we’d thought. Now, a new patent filing describes a TikTok-like expansion into user-generated videos and music.
Shane McAnally on Inspiration, Managing Zoom Writing Sessions & His Publishing Deal Advice (Billboard)
In the above interview, the triple Grammy winner gives pointers on everything from how to prepare for a co-writing session to what you should look for in a publishing deal.
Music Publishing Job Spotlight
Songtrust is looking for an Income Tracking Manager. This position will report directly to the Senior Director, Income Tracking based in New York.
Online Operations Data Specialist – ICE (Berlin)
The Online Operations Data Specialist supports the daily business in partnership with the Online Operations Management Team.
Check out more available positions here or get in touch to post a free job listing.
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