Publishing
Run the Jewels’ Killer Mike Strikes Publishing Deal with Reservoir
Rapper and actor Killer Mike has signed a publishing deal with Reservoir Media, including future works and his back catalog. The agreement will include the independent publisher taking a stake in the discography of Run the Jewels, the rap duo comprised of Killer Mike and EL-P, who have released such hit tracks as “Legend Has It,” “Close Your Eyes” and “Blockbuster Night, Pt. 1.” Born and raised in Atlanta, Killer Mike has dropped four landmark albums with Run the Jewels over the course of his career, as well as six solo projects dating back to his 2003 debut record Monster, released via Columbia Records. He’s also renowned for his collaborations with other hip-hop heavyweights including Jay-Z, Outkast, T.I. and Big Boi. As an actor, Killer Mike has had roles in films such as Baby...
The Hello Group Launches Music Publishing Arm in Partnership With Sony
The Hello Group, a multi-faceted entertainment company, is adding to its capabilities with the launch of a music publishing operation that has pacted with Sony Music Publishing for global administration and other services. Hello Group – which provides label services, artist management, digital marketing and other capabilities – has added a music publishing arm, dubbed THG Publishing, whose initial roster includes Alawn, Andy Love and Lauren Dyson. THG’s core focus will be on placing songs in the K-pop and J-pop markets. THG Publishing’s clients have been involved in writing or co-writing songs that have appeared on No. 1 albums on at least a dozen Billboard albums charts, as well songs that have attained high positions in global and international song charts. They include ITZY’s “Icy,” (Dy...
Influence Media Calls Tainy Catalog Acquisition an ‘Eight-Figure Deal’
Influence Media Partners, which previously acknowledged its acquisition of rights from producer/artist Tainy, has provided additional details on the deal, saying it consists of the producer’s song publishing catalog from 2005 to 2021 and includes such songs as Cardi B‘s “I Like It” featuring Bad Bunny and J Balvin; Bad Bunny and Jhay Cortez’s “Dakiti;” and Kali Uchis’ “Telepatia.” Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, other than to describe it as an eight-figure deal. “I am happy to continue to be a part of this cultural awakening for Latino music and artists in this business,” Tainy said in a statement. “This acquisition solidifies my hard work and the power that Latin music has in the global mainstream.” Influence Media, which is backed with funding from BlackRock Alternative Inve...
Hipgnosis Buys Leonard Cohen Song Catalog
Hipgnosis Song Management has acquired rights to the entire song catalog of Songwriter Hall of Fame and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Leonard Cohen. The deal gives the company 100% ownership of Cohen’s songwriter’s share of all 278 songs and derivatives written over the course of his life. A renowned songwriter, poet, novelist and performer, Cohen is best known for penning one of the most frequently covered songs of all time: “Hallelujah,” which is included in the Hipgnosis deal. Among its over 300 estimated renditions, some of the most famous cuts of the track include those by the likes of Jeff Buckley, Rufus Wainwright and Pentatonix. Cohen’s catalog is often characterized in two distinct groupings: Stranger Music (known as all Cohen releases up to the year 2000) and Old Ideas (rel...
Songwriters Protest Spotify in LA: ‘I Just Want to Be Able to Pay My Bills’
A group of songwriters led by the organization The 100 Percenters gathered outside of Spotify’s old West Hollywood office Monday afternoon (Feb. 28) to protest the streaming service’s low royalty rates. Dubbed “#WeWroteThat,” the collection of creatives began congregating around noon while holding signs with phrases like “My time costs money,” “Would you work for free?,” “Spotify is valued at $67 billion — pay artists” and “1 cent per stream.” Event organizer Tiffany Red — a professional songwriter and founder of The 100 Percenters who has credits on songs performed by Jennifer Hudson, Jason Derulo and more — says the protest at 9200 Sunset Blvd. (a building Spotify previously occupied before moving to its current headquarters in Downtown Los Angeles’ Arts District in 2018) was motiv...
Here’s How Much Lin-Manuel Miranda Has Made in Royalties From ‘Encanto’ Song Publishing
As Billboard has written about extensively recently, penning a Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit as a solo writer is a rare thing in this day and age. But being the lone song author behind an entire hit soundtrack, as Lin-Manuel Miranda has done with the songs to the runaway Disney smash Encanto, is even more unusual — and more lucrative. Billboard estimates that the eight songs that Miranda wrote — each without co-writers — for the animated musical have thus far generated a combined $4.7 million in global publishing royalties. (Miranda’s share of the royalties will depend on what kind of publishing breakdown his deal has — but at the very least, if he has a straight publishing deal without any publisher share, he will get half that amount.) That includes about $1.275 million in publishing royal...
BMG Goes ‘Boom Boom,’ Acquires John Lee Hooker Music Assets
BMG and its partner FujiPacific Music have acquired the music publishing catalog of John Lee Hooker, the companies announced on Wednesday. In addition, BMG alone has purchased his recorded masters royalties and some of the late blues master’s recorded masters spanning from 1980’s Alone Vol. 1 through 2020’s Black Night Is Falling. Terms of the deals with Hooker’s estate remain undisclosed, but the publishing catalog includes such classic tunes as “Boom Boom,” “One Scotch, One Beer” and “Boogie Chillen’.” BMG says that while some of the Hooker rights will still remain with third parties, the German company will now take the lead role in promoting the artist’s catalog. “As the longtime managers of the John Lee Hooker Estate, JAM, Inc. was happy to help the Estate and BMG conclude this transa...
Alice In Chains’ Music Rights Acquired by Primary Wave and Round Hill
The catalog includes such hits as “Man in the Box,” “Rooster” and “Would.” In the U.S. alone, the band’s activities generated more than 18 million album consumption units, including 12 million CD sales. “Primary Wave is pleased to partner with the estates of Layne Staley and Mike Starr to honor their musical legacies as part of the classic era lineup of Alice In Chains, who created the amazing songs and records that comprise the albums Dirt and Facelift, and the acoustic EPs, Jar of Flies and Sap,” said Primary Wave’s David Weitzman in a statement. “These projects represent the greatest works from one of the best artists of the iconic ’90’s Seattle based grunge era.” Lead singer Staley died of a drug overdose in 2002, while bassist Starr died of an overdose in 2011. Meanwhile, in addition ...
Sony Music Publishing to Provide Songwriters With Mental Health and Wellness Resources
Sony Music Publishing will provide its global roster of songwriters and composers with access to free, confidential counseling services and wellness resources, the company announced Monday (Jan. 31). Starting Tuesday, the new Songwriter Assistance program will offer 24/7 counseling support via global hotlines, in addition to ongoing counseling services for emotional health issues including stress, anxiety, depression and family/relationship challenges. The company’s songwriters and composers will also be given unlimited access to customized resources for tackling responsibilities such as researching childcare and eldercare options, navigating life transitions, co-parenting and budgeting for major life events. Songwriter Assistance is an expansion of SMP’s Songwriters Forward Legacy Unrecou...
Sony Music Publishing UK Launches Second Songs Joint Venture
Sony Music Publishing UK has teamed up with creative executives Caroline Elleray and Mark Gale to launch Second Songs, a joint venture publishing and songwriter management company. Helmed by both Elleray and Gale, who both previously served as executives at Universal Music Publishing Group, Second Songs will focus on making sustainable careers for both developing and established songwriters. Under its management arm, producer and songwriter Steph Marziano — who has penned songs with Hayley William, Matilda Mann, Denai Moore and more — will act as Second Songs’ first signee. At this time, there have been no announcements regarding publishing clients. During their tenure at UMPG, Elleray and Gale were responsible for signing some of the hottest artists and writers of the last two decade...
Round Hill Music Acquires David Coverdale Catalog
The Round Hill Music Royalty Fund has acquired a bundle of music rights from David Coverdale, the Whitesnake frontman and former lead singer of Deep Purple. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. According to the announcement, the acquisition includes his music publishing and master recording royalties and from his three-album stint in the mid-1970s with Deep Purple — Burn, Come Taste The Band, and Stormbringer — and from his entire Whitesnake catalog including the band’s multi-platinum 1987 self-titled album. Also, as part of the deal Round Hill apparently has acquired some Whitesnake master recordings that Coverdale owned. In addition, the deal includes a neighboring rights administration agreement for both his Whitesnake’s catalog and his share of the Deep Purple albums he performed on. ...
John Legend Sells Music Catalog to BMG and KKR
John Legend is taking “All of Me” to another level, selling his signature song as part of a larger portfolio of compositions which were acquired last year by BMG and global investment firm KKR, Billboard has confirmed. As first reported by Bloomberg, the EGOT recipient sold both his personal share of the copyrights to his compositions as well as the recorded music royalties for his music dated 2004 thru early 2021 to the partnering companies for an undisclosed sum back in September. A UCC regulatory filing indicated that DL Music IP LP, an affiliate of KKR Credit Advisors, and BMG Rights Management each purchased a 50% stake in the Legend catalog. BMG and KKR have not formally announced the acquisition, and financial details of the sale are not yet known. Both companies declined requests t...
