Publishing
Kanye West Says His Music Catalog Was Put Up For Sale Without His Approval
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Sean Zanni / Getty Kanye West is calling fake news once again. Contrary to popular belief his music catalog is not up for sale. As per Page Six the Chicago, Illinois native says that is denying recent announcements that his musical works are up for grabs. On Monday, Sept. 19 Billboard Magazine published an article stating that his camp had “been quietly and intermittently shopping his publishing catalog.” Related Stories While their undisclosed sources did not detail the alleged price tag on the deal the industry periodical said West is “seeking an eye-popping valuation: as much as 35 times net publisher’s share, or gross profit”. Additionally, to pique interest from potential suitors the lucky buyer(s) “would also get the opportunity to sign a ...
Future Sells Portion Of Publishing Catalog To Influence Media Partners
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: VCG / Getty Future is, without a doubt, one of the biggest hitmaking artists of his era, and his catalog is certainly potent enough to generate him wealth for years. The Freebandz honcho sold off a significant portion of his publishing catalog to Influence Media Partners for an undisclosed amount according to a new report. As reported by Music Business Worldwide, Influence Media Partners announced the purchase of Future’s catalog, adding to other big purchases of publishing catalogs the firm has made in its three years of existence. Related Stories “The impressive catalog marks Influence Media’s latest eight-figure acquisition and builds on the company’s commitment to investing in modern evergreens and cementing hip-hop and R&B’s high value in the mus...
Pete Simmons to Lead A&R at Universal Music Publishing Group in UK
Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) has announced the promotion of Pete Simmons to head of A&R, UK. He will report to the managing director, Mike McCormack. Simmons is the major publisher’s third new high-level A&R appointment in recent weeks, following news that Jennifer Knoepfle will become evp, co-head of U.S. A&R and David Gray, co-head of U.S. A&R, will also take on duties as UMPG’s Global Creative Group. (The Global Creative Group has been described as a new initiative by the publisher to identify and expand global creative opportunities for its signees). Simmons has been at the company since 2014 when he joined as an A&R scout. Since then, the young A&R has helped sign and develop top talents like Rex Orange County, Tom Misch, Thundercat, Four Tet, Bicep,...
Minimal Oversight and Few Obvious Repercussions Leave YouTube’s Royalty System Ripe for Abuse
Louis Armstrong released “What a Wonderful World” in 1967, and the track eventually made its way to YouTube, like nearly every other recording, where it earns royalties for the single’s owner as well as its songwriters. For roughly a month in 2017, however, about $468 of the song’s publishing royalties made its way to the company Create Music Group, despite the fact that Create did not represent any of the parties involved in the song. Create later said that its claim on Armstrong’s classic, made through YouTube’s online rights management portal, was the result of an error, according to emails shared with Billboard. The mistake was subsequently rectified with a payment to the proper entity. Publishing rights are infamously complicated, and sources from around the music business say YouTube...
Publishers, Streamers Reach Deal for Highest Streaming Royalty Rate Ever: Here’s How It Works
Songwriter and publisher U.S. mechanical streaming royalty rates are going up — slowly — to a headline rate of 15.35% of total revenue from 2023-2027. That’s the big news out of Wednesday’s (Aug. 31) joint announcement on the “Phonorecords IV” settlement from the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA), the Nashville Songwriters Associations International and the Digital Media Association (DiMA). But how long will it take to get there and at what pace? What are the other conditions? Billboard now has more more key details about the deal. Under the new settlement agreement — which the NMPA touts will set the “highest royalty rate in the history of streaming anywhere” — the headline rate will escalate from 15.1% of revenue in 2023 to 15.2% in 2024 and then a half a percentage point inc...
Publishing Briefs: Reservoir Signs ‘Industry Baby’ Writer; SMP Pairs With Taiko
Reservoir Media has signed a go-forward publishing deal with Grammy-nominated producer, songwriter, and trombonist Nick Lee. Perhaps best known for composing the horn melody for Lil Nas X’s “Industry Baby,” featuring Jack Harlow, Lee has also become a go-to collaborator for artists like Megan Thee Stallion, Vince Staples, Dillon Francis, Mustard, Stray Kids, CL, JJ Lin, and more. In addition to working with some of the industry’s coolest stars, Lee also scores network TV shows like NBC’s Grand Crew and Fox’s Welcome to Flatch. Up next, he will be co-composing the Netflix drama The Brothers Sun. Sony Music Publishing announced a worldwide publishing agreement with songwriter and producer, Nicolas Jaña, artistically known as Taiko. The artist began creating beats at the age of...
Concord Acquires Australasian Music Publisher Native Tongue
Concord continues to expand, this time with the acquisition of Native Tongue, one of the leading independent music publishers in Australasia. A family business since it was established in 2003 by New Zealander Chris Gough, Native Tongue is sub-publisher for more than 40 international catalogs, including Barton Music, Because Editions, Boosey & Hawkes, Cloud 9 Music, Domino Publishing Company, Faber Music, Roys Boys, PULSE Publishing, Ultra Music and Wixen Music. The acquisition, announced Thursday (Aug. 4), is an extension to an alliance that has seen Native Tongue represent Concord in Australia and NZ for more than 12 years. Concord now has access to Native Tongue’s stable of songwriters, which includes Grammy-nominated writer/producer Stuart Crichton (Backstreet Boys, Kesha, Kygo, Ro...
Brad Paisley, Lady A Sell Music Rights to HarbourView
In another move reflecting its diversified genre approach to music acquisitions, HarbourView Equity Partners has entered the Nashville scene in a big way with new investments in Brad Paisley and Lady A‘s catalogs. Paisley, who has won three Grammy awards and has generated activity totaling 17.4 million album consumption units in the U.S., has sold his music royalty income stream to his master recording catalog to HarbourView. Beyond his successful music career, Paisley remains in the spotlight most recently thanks to his involvement in Nationwide Insurance advertising campaigns and due to his partnership with Boot Barn for the Moonshine Spirit clothing line. His last studio album was Love and War in 2017, which reached No. 13 on the Billboard 200 chart and peaked at No. 1 on Top Country Al...
BMG Acquires Jean-Michel Jarre’s Music Publishing Catalog
BMG will represent Jean-Michel Jarre’s entire music publishing catalog in what’s said to be the biggest single deal ever struck by the music company in France. BMG said Thursday that it is acquiring the electronic music pioneer’s decades-deep works, an arrangement that brings in such classic albums as Oxygene and Equinoxe, together with Jarre’s writer’s income stream. BMG previously acquired the sound recordings of Jarre’s first three albums when it bought independent record label Francis Dreyfus Music in 2012. Jarre is a giant in his field. Born in Lyon, France, the electronic music composer has 21 albums to his name, several of them stone-cold classics, including his 1976 album Oxygene, its followup Equinoxe, 1981’s Magnetic Fields and 1984’s Zoolook. Career album sales top 85 mill...
HarbourView Acquires Stake in Hollywood Undead Royalties
HarbourView Equity Partners has acquired an undisclosed stake in the royalty income streams of the band Hollywood Undead’s music publishing and recorded masters catalog from the group’s first four studio albums, which were released by the Universal Music Group. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Hollywood Undead’s UMG albums include the platinum-certified Swan Songs and the gold-certified American Tragedy. The Los Angeles-based band issued the former album, its debut, in 2008, while American Tragedy hit No. 4 on the Billboard 200 in April 2011 and its followup, Notes From The Underground, reached No. 2 in January 2013. Since 2008, the band’s entire catalog — the four UMG albums, as well as three subsequent albums for BMG — has generated activity totaling 4.3 million album consumption un...
Dre & Vidal Sell Publishing Catalog to HarbourView
Alternative asset management company HarbourView Equity Partners announced Tuesday that it has acquired the publishing catalog of songwriting and production duo Andre Harris and Vidal Davis, better known as Dre & Vidal. Deal terms were not disclosed. Dre & Vidal have written songs and produced for major artists including Jamie Foxx, Kanye West, Justin Bieber, Musiq Soulchild, Robin Thicke, Fantasia and Charlie Wilson. Some of their biggest Hot 100 hits include “Caught Up” by Usher, “Yo (Excuse Me Miss)” by Chris Brown, “Oh” by Ciara, and “The Way” by Jill Scott. HarbourView, founded by Sherrese Clarke Soares, launched seven months ago and has acquired 30 catalogs so far. Most recently, the company purchased Latin superstar Luis Fonsi‘s catalog. DLA Piper served as legal c...
NMPA Announces Legal Campaign Against Unlicensed Apps at Annual Meeting
The National Music Publishers’ Association is going after apps that skim music from digital services without getting the necessary licenses. On Wednesday (June 15), during the NMPA’s annual meeting in New York at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center, the trade group’s president and CEO David Israelite announced a new copyright infringement lawsuit filed against the music video-making app Vinkle. This was the first action in a new campaign to bring the app sector into line with U.S. Copyright law, Israelite said, which will also include cease-and-desist notices sent to about another almost 100 apps that the organization believes are not properly licensed. These apps may integrate music through licensed streaming services, but do not have their own licensing deals with rights holders. In a mo...
