acquisitions
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Marshall Amplification, known for furnishing amps to a who’s who of rock stars, is being acquired by the Swedish tech company Zound Industries, Zound announced on Thursday (March 30). Zound had previously licensed the Marshall name for more than a decade and helped spread it around the world through popular headphones and speakers.
The new combined company will be dubbed the Marshall Group. Zound’s press release trumpeted that “on day one, Marshall Group revenues will be over $360 million with double-digit profitability.”
“Combining our strengths and unique positioning… will fuel our ambition to create premium, innovative, products and experiences for musicians and music lovers around the world,” Zound CEO Jeremy de Maillard said in a statement. “Zound has proven itself as a global, fast growing, and progressive company. With the Marshall Group, we are set to accelerate our profitable growth in a $100 billion market.”
“I am proud that this deal has finally been completed,” added Konrad Bergström, founder and board member of Zound Industries until 2018. “The success that we have achieved with the Marshall brand over recent years is soon going to be seen as having been the warm-up to a new British-Swedish headline act that is going to shake the tech and music industries to their foundations.”
Jim Marshall and his son Terry created the first Marshall amp in 1962, and the gear was subsequently popularized by rockers like Jimi Hendrix and The Who. “We have always looked for ways to deliver the pioneering Marshall sound to music lovers of all backgrounds and music tastes across the world,” Terry Marshall said in a statement. “I’m confident that the Marshall Group will elevate this mission and spur the love for the Marshall brand.”
The Marshall Family will be the largest shareholder of the Marshall Group, holding on to 24%.
Zound first started licensing the Marshall name back in 2010. “We brought the Marshall brand to over 90 countries through the headphones and the speakers,” de Maillard told The Verge. “So it became a much more known brand by the masses than it was before. Before it was the in-the-know, the musicians, people who were really into music who knew about the brand. But through this partnership, we’ve managed to touch a lot more people.”
“We’re very complementary to each other and this deal will enable us to bring together the full range of products and the entire consumer experience under one roof,” de Maillard added in a separate interview with Forbes. “It will allow us to be quicker with innovation and to have a deeper and more holistic connection with musicians and music lovers.”
Multimedia Music secured a $100 million investment “uplift” from its group of investors and lenders, including Metropolitan Partners Group, Bardin Hill, Pinnacle Bank and Regions Bank, according to a press release. That grows the company’s total funds raised to $200 million. Multimedia Music also announced a deal to acquire the catalog and income streams of Emmy-winning composer Sean Callery (Homeland, 24, Bones). Launched in 2022 and led by music industry veterans Phil Hope and James Gibb, Multimedia Music with the goal of acquiring catalogs of film and TV music rights from production companies, composers and other rights holders. The company says it has so far spent over $120 million on acquisitions, including the catalog of film composer James Newton Howard and the film music library of STX Entertainment, which it purchased in February.
Reactional Music, a startup specializing in music personalization for video games, licensed the catalog of Merck Mercuriadis‘ Hipgnosis Song Management. Reactional owns patented technology that allows any music to be brought into a video game, where it reacts live to various elements in the game, including visuals and sounds — thereby creating a “personalized” experience for gamers. Reactional tracks all music use across the platform, while its Reactional Engine does not alter, mix or edit the music master. It previously partnered with Tuned Global, Musiio and Blokur for music delivery, consistent tagging and rights management of all music and sounds. “The intersection of games and music is incredibly exciting,” said Reactional Music president David Knox in a statement on the Hipgnosis deal. “Commercially it presents opportunities for both industries with in-game purchases; creatively it is compelling for artists, composers, and games developers to work more closely. And it’s not just new game releases. Reactional’s platform enables curation and personalisation of music in existing games franchises as part of a seasonal refresh.”
Chrysalis Records signed a global agreement with Secretly Distribution that covers all physical and digital distribution for the label’s frontline releases moving forward, including new projects from Laura Marling, Emeli Sandé, Ben Harper, William The Conqueror, The Wandering Hearts and more. The first release under the deal is The Endless Coloured Ways – The Songs of Nick Drake.
Digital electronic music store Beatport struck a partnership with blockchain network Polkadot to launch Beatport.io, a digital collectible marketplace that will bring “electronic music culture to Web3,” according to a press release. Developed and designed in collaboration with Define Creative, Beatport.io will launch on Aventus, a Web3 solutions provider in the Polkadot ecosystem. The new platform will allow record labels and artists to create and sell digital assets and engage with fans. In addition to the launch, Beatport and Polkadot will collaborate on 10 events over the next 18 months, each held to celebrate the launch of a new NFT collection accessible via Polkadot-integrated wallets. The events will be produced by Beatport and “take place alongside major music and Web3 events,” according to the release.
The Orchard acquired Above Board, a dance and electronic music distribution and artist/label services company. Under the deal, Above Board’s roster will have access to The Orchard’s full suite of distribution and artist and label services. Above Board founder/managing director Dan Hill will report to The Orchard managing director Ian Dutt as he continues signing and developing global dance/electronic talent for the label. The Above Board team is now based in The Orchard’s U.K. headquarters. The Orchard’s roster of dance labels also includes Liquid State/Dimitri Vegas, Amtrac, TMRW Music Group and Rose Avenue.
Recently-launched live events company LiveCo acquired faith-based concert promoter Transparent Productions, which works with Christian and gospel music artists including Phil Wickham, CeCe Winans, Casting Crowns and For King & Country.
The Warner Music Group/ Blavatnik Family Foundation Social Justice Fund bestowed a $150,000 grant to Janelle Monáe‘s nonprofit, Fem the Future, which has a mission to create opportunities for under-resourced girls and non-binary youth of color in music, the arts and education. The grant will serve as a pilot for a longer-term collaboration between the two organizations. “This grant will enable Fem the Future to scale up its programming; elevate the power and brilliance of Black girls and non-binary youth; and ensure greater access to life-changing opportunities,” said Warner Music Group/ Blavatnik Family Foundation Social Justice Fund executive director Lorelei Williams in a statement.
Universal Music Central Europe partnered with Web3 music company Centaurify. Under the deal, Universal Music Central Europe will release a series of exclusive, limited-edition collectibles celebrating its artists’ achievements. As streaming numbers grow for artists included in the collection, the collectibles will “evolve,” according to a press release. The collectibles will also grant pre-sale access to future collectibles in the series as well as access to exclusive releases from artists. The first wave of collectibles will be available this year in Norway and Sweden, with more countries to be announced soon.
The U.K. office of digital music company Believe signed a long-term label solutions partnership with drum and bass label Hospital Records for Believe’s new b:electronic imprint. Believe will distribute Hospital’s entire catalog of more than 5,300 tracks to its global network of DSPs while offering audience development services to support growing Hospital’s international reach, including video channel management and strategic support from dedicated genre specialists on Believe’s label management and DSP editorial and marketing partnerships teams. Upcoming releases to be distributed under the deal include albums from P Money x Whiney, Metrik, Hugh Hardie and Flava D. Believe also boasts partnerships with other electronic labels including Metalheadz, Shogun Audio, Cr2 Records, Greco-Roman, Knee Deep in Sound and Southern Fried Records.
Warner Music Czech Republic renewed its partnership with and invested in local hip-hop label Mike Roft to help expand its roster’s global reach. Under the deal, Warner Music will become the sole distributor for Mike Roft’s roster, including Czech superstar Calin — also a shareholder in the company alongside fellow Czech artist D-Kop and video director/graphic designer Radim Zboril. All three will continue to lead Mike Roft as an independent label. Mike Roft is also home to artists including Conspira, KOJO, Indigo and STEIN27.
Voyage, a talent consultancy founded by music executive Spencer Moya, has been acquired by digital-focused talent management firm Select Management Group. In partnership with Select, Voyage will now expand its offerings to encompass artist management services across music, TV/film, creative and fashion. The Los Angeles-based Moya will continue running Voyage as a standalone enterprise within Select.
ASM Global and Frost Bank struck a multiyear deal that names Frost as a founding partner for San Antonio Boeing Center at Tech Port. As part of the agreement, Frost is now the official commercial banking partner for the 130,000-square-foot convention center, which has renamed the premium lux level at the arena as Frost Club.
Independent sales, marketing and distribution company Republic of Music signed a global delivery services deal with distribution management platform Labelcamp. Republic of Music’s label partners — including City Slang, Full Time Hobby and Ghostly — can now upload new releases, manage their catalogs and access daily trend analytics from Labelcamp’s white-label dashboard, while the company’s operations and marketing teams are using Labelcamp to manage release submission from partners and ensure their delivery to DSPs. Labelcamp’s other partners include [PIAS], Because Music, Concord Music Group and Ditto Music.
Universal Music Group has acquired the British indie classical label Hyperion Records, the company announced Wednesday (March 15).
The 43-year-old label — which is home to artists like Marc-André Hamelin, Angela Hewitt and Stephen Osborne and represents a catalog of 2,5000 recordings, some of which date back to the 12th century — will operate as a standalone label within Universal Music U.K. alongside Decca Classics. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Hyperion will now join Decca Classics and Deutsche Grammophon in UMG’s classical portfolio, while Simon Perry — who has overseen the label for more than 20 years, after taking over from his father, Hyperion founder Ted Perry — will remain as managing director.
“I’m thrilled to bring Hyperion to Universal Music Group, a company that shares Hyperion’s commitment to bringing the most distinctive and brilliant musicians to as wide a public as possible,” Perry said in a statement. “By being part of UMG, while keeping our artists and staff together, we can continue to build on my father’s legacy and that of everyone who’s been part of the Hyperion family over the past 43 years. My debt to all of them is huge and I look forward to leading this incredible label into an exciting new chapter.”
Hyperion is next set to release Vaughan Williams’ Sinfonia Antartica and Symphony No.9 with BBC Symphony Orchestra, a series it says is dedicated to the Masses and Magnificats of Cristóbal de Morales, as well as recordings from the London Haydn Quartet and Stephen Layton and the Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge, among others. In a statement, UMG president/CEO of global classics and jazz Dickon Stainer called Hyperion “a jewel of a label,” adding that “we are committed to continuing the magnificent work done by the Perry family and to preserving and building on the special place Hyperion occupies in the hearts of artists and music fans alike.”
The acquisition comes amid a veritable wave of news spilling from the world of classical music lately. In November, Deutsche Grammophon launched a new standalone streaming service, Stage+, catering to its own catalog and that of Decca Classics. And earlier this month, Apple Music announced its own standalone streaming app, Apple Music Classical, which will roll out later this month and stems from its August 2021 acquisition of Primephonic.
“We are enormously proud that Hyperion has joined Universal’s family of classical labels to sit alongside Decca Classics in London,” Decca Label Group co-presidents Tom Lewis and Laura Monks said in a statement. “Simon and his father have created a very important recorded classical catalogue that serves a dedicated global audience. And the label continues to work with artists who are the best of the best. We are determined to celebrate the label’s legacy and continue its extraordinary story.”
A new London-based buyer has entered the already crowded catalog acquisition market. Called Bella Figura Music, the company was founded by former BMG U.K. president, Alexi Cory-Smith, who will act as CEO, and former BMG global investments division leader, Neelesh Prabhu, who will act as head of investments.
According to the company’s announcement, Bella Figura Music is a “purpose-built, artist-centric music company, bringing together leading technology and a relentless focus on creative excellence.”
Over the last year, Bella Figura’s team has been quietly amassing a catalog of recording and publishing assets with financing aid from private equity fund Freshstream.
So far, Bella Figura has acquired the publishing catalog of Guy Chambers, one of the songwriters behind Robbie Williams‘ “Angels,” “Feel” and “Let Me Entertain You,” as well as David Gray‘s record label IHT, which owns and controls all of the singer-songwriter’s albums, from 1998’s White Ladder to 2019’s Gold in a Brass Age.
According to the company’s announcement, Gray is “closely involved with Bella Figura Music,” acting as an “interested party” in the catalog’s business dealings. Gray’s management team at Mick Management will remain closely involved with the catalog, new products and new initiatives. “Dave remaining involved financially and with creative controls and input intact was a key feature of us wanting to do the deal,” says Cory-Smith. “This is the kind of deal we really like.”
Other acquisitions by Bella Figura include R3HAB‘s recorded music catalog up until 2022, including “All Around the World,” “Sad Boy,” “Runaway” and “Call Me”; AWAL’s divested portfolio of rights, including shares of recordings by Gray, Placebo, The Wombats and Dashboard Confessional; songwriter-producer Darrell Brown’s publishing shares in 25 of his songs, including songs performed by LeAnn Rimes and Keith Urban.
“I view David Gray and Guy Chambers as the founding blocks on which we build the business,” Cory-Smith says. “One is records, the other is publishing — both top quality catalogues. I am very proud of what we have achieved in Bella Figura Music’s first year of business.”
Cory-Smith adds, “I’ve always wanted to have my own music company and after years in corporates, the timing to take an entrepreneurial path felt right.”
“I’ve been looking for a new partner for my music for quite some time, so when I heard about Alexi and Bella Figura I thought it had the potential to be a good fit,” says Gray. “They struck me as a company with serious ambitions, an eye for detail and a point to prove, and the fact that I had a good relationship with Alexi from her time at Chrysalis/BMG was definitely a major positive too. The world of music and technology is in a state of constant flux and it’s vital to work with people who are not only attentive to its challenges but also alert to its opportunities. I feel very optimistic that with Bella Figura I’ve found just that.”
“I’m so pleased to be working with Bella Figura,” adds Chambers. “I think Alexi is one of the most dynamic executives working in the music industry. Having Alexi at the helm of Bella Figura is an exciting prospect for what is a new and vital area for songwriters in the industry today.”
Utopia Music is facing a lawsuit that claims the Swiss company has bailed on a $26.5 million deal to buy a U.S. music technology company called SourceAudio — and now owes more than $37 million.
In a complaint filed Monday (Feb. 13) in Delaware court, lawyers for California-based SourceAudio — a tech platform for digital asset management and monetization — claimed that the company had struck a deal in March 2022 to sell itself to Utopia, a buzzy music fintech firm that has reached a number of such deals over the past two years.
But SourceAudio’s lawsuit says that since striking the deal on March 14 — which could have closed as soon as May 9 — the bigger company has continually balked at actually completing the deal, informing them it was “not prepared to close the transaction.”
“Despite repeated assurances that Utopia would be able to close…, Utopia engaged in a pattern of discontinuing discussions for an extended period of time, only to resurface immediately before the next intended closing date to indicate that it was unable to close by such date,” the complaint reads.
To account for the delays, SourceAudio claims that Utopia agreed to increase the sale price by $334,000 for every calendar week after Nov. 1 that the deal didn’t close. More than three months later, the lawsuit claims those escalators mean that Utopia now owes $37.265 million.
SourceAudio says it’s “ready, willing, and able” to finalize the deal, and that Utopia is legally bound to do so. “SourceAudio requests that Utopia be ordered to specifically perform its obligations,” the smaller company wrote. “In the alternative, SourceAudio has been damaged by Utopia’s breach in an amount to be determined at trial, but no less than $37.265 million.”
In a statement to Billboard, a spokesperson for Utopia refuted the lawsuit’s allegations but provided little additional detail: “Utopia Music rejects the claims made by the plaintiff. As the legal proceedings are ongoing, we will not comment further.”
Utopia, a Swiss-based tech company that delivers financial services for labels, publishers and distributors, has been on a buying spree over the past two years. The company has acquired at least 15 companies, including music tech company Musimap, U.K. physical distributor Cinram Novum and Lyric Financial, a provider of royalty-backed cash advances.
But in November, news broke that Utopia would restructure operations and lay off 20% of its workforce. As first reported by Music Week, CEO Markku Mäkeläinen told staffers in an internal email that the company had “grown via acquisitions tremendously quickly” and would now need to “realise synergies” and “remove overlaps.”
Spanish Broadcasting System (SBS) has sold its Spanish-language network Mega TV to Voz Media for $64 million, the company announced Monday (Feb. 13). The sale, which includes associated real estate, preserves the Hispanic ownership of Mega TV, which targets Spanish-speaking Latinos in the U.S. and Puerto Rico.
The purchase must still be approved by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
Founded in 1983, SBS is a Spanish-language media company that owns and operates radio stations in the Tropical, Regional Mexican, Spanish Adult Contemporary, Top 40 and Urbano formats. It also operates AIRE Radio Networks, a national radio platform that boasts more than 290 affiliated stations reaching 95% of the U.S. Hispanic audience, according to the company. SBS went public in 1999.
Miami-based Mega TV — a staple in Hispanic television that boasts over-the-air, cable and satellite distribution in Puerto Rico and multiple affiliates throughout the mainland U.S. — airs around three dozen original programs, including Bayly, Dante Night Show, Mega Noticiero, La Corte del Pueblo, Latin Angels and Mega Kids.
“I am very proud of the nearly two decades of award-winning programming, community dedication and industry accomplishments achieved by Mega TV, a network operation that succeeded in forging its own unique position among Hispanic viewers in the U.S. and Puerto Rico,” said SBS chairman/CEO Raúl Alarcón in a statement.
Alarcón continued: “I am especially pleased to leave this unique asset in the hands of a dedicated Hispanic owner, Orlando Salazar, the founder of Voz Media, who will continue the expansion of Mega TV and honor its unwavering commitment to faithfully serve our nation’s burgeoning Latino population. Minority ownership of the media, and the opportunities it affords to our nation’s fastest-growing constituency, is a critical component in guaranteeing a stable, profitable and promising future for America.”
Voz Media was founded in 2022 by CEO Orlando Salazar in Dallas, with headquarters in Las Colinas, Tex. The company, which provides “alternative news and content for Latinos,” is planning a slate of original series and films “that reflect the core Hispanic values of hard work, faith and commitment to family” for its streaming platform targeted at the U.S. Spanish-speaking market and Latin America, according to a press release. The company also has offices in Miami and Madrid.
“It is an honor for Voz Media to be selected to continue the work and tradition started by Raúl Alarcón and Mega TV in the Spanish language television media market,” added Salazar. “We take seriously the challenge of moving Mega TV forward in both reach and content, as we continue to serve Spanish speakers across the United States.”
SBS president/COO Albert Rodriguez added, “We couldn’t be more proud of the fact that the legacy of Mega TV will continue under the leadership of another Hispanic-owned media company. Orlando and the Voz Media team have our unqualified support and we look forward to working with them throughout this transition and beyond.”
South Korean music company HYBE has made a major entry into the U.S. market by acquiring Atlanta-based QC Media Holdings, the company behind hip-hop label Quality Control Music and a roster that includes Migos, Lil Baby, City Girls and Lil Yachty.
Founded in 2013 by CEO Kevin “Coach K” Lee and COO Pierre “P” Thomas, Quality Control will fall under the HYBE America umbrella and the leadership of its CEO, Scooter Braun. HYBE America encapsulates SB Projects, as well as Big Machine Label Group, which HYBE obtained through its 2021 acquisition of Braun’s Ithaca Holdings.
“Based on hip-hop, QC has been making a strong presence in the American music scene,” HYBE CEO Jiwon Park said in a statement. “With our shared vision, I have high hopes in what we can operate and achieve together.”
In HYBE, Quality Control gets a team with a history of building artists from scratch into global stars. “All of HYBE’s leaders are entrepreneurs with phenomenal combined history [of] finding talent and taking it to the next levels,” said Thomas in a statement.
“P and I are ecstatic about this partnership with Scooter and HYBE and are confident they can get us to our global ambitions we’ve had in our scope since the beginning of the company as nothing means more than our artists impacting worldwide,” Lee added. “Over many years, Scooter and I have cultivated real trust and a common way of looking at the world and culture.”
Quality Control expands Braun’s purview to a genre that has been missing from HYBE’s broad roster. SB Projects clients include Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, Demi Lovato and Kid Laroi. Big Machine’s country-focused roster features Tim McGraw, Thomas Rhett and Rascal Flatts. HYBE has dipped its toes into hip-hop with Big Machine’s partnership with Blac Noize! Recordings, the label behind the 2022 summer anthem “F.N.F. (Let’s Go)” by Hitkidd and Glorilla.
HYBE dominates K-pop with artists such as BTS, the BTS members’ solo projects, Tomorrow X Together, Enhypen and Seventeen. In December, it launched a new Japanese imprint, Naeco, and signed Japanese singer Yurina Hirate. HYBE also has a joint venture with Universal Music Group’s Geffen Records and is developing an international girl group in the U.S. But the ambitious Korean company had a limited presence in the world’s largest music market until the 2021 Ithaca acquisition. Quality Control, Braun’s first major acquisition as HYBE America CEO, further diversifies HYBE and gives it a premiere hip-hop brand.
Quality Control’s recordings have been distributed through Universal Music Group’s Motown Records, which formed a joint venture with Quality Control in 2015 along with UMG’s Capitol Music Group. A HYBE spokesperson did not comment on the state of the joint venture following the acquisition. Quality Control’s Thomas noted that both companies have a relationship with “the Universal Music Group family of companies [that] makes this seamless,” he said in a statement.
In 2022, Motown/Quality Control’s overall market share rose to 0.97% from 0.90% in 2021. In terms of current market share — music released over the previous 18 months — Motown/Quality Control improved from 1.18% in 2021 to 1.33% in 2022. It had remained part of Capitol’s market share during that period, despite its ostensible status as a standalone entity. Capitol’s overall market share declined from 6.81% in 2021 to 6.40% in 2022 while its current share dropped from 5.64% in 2021 to 4.97% in 2022.
In 2022, Lil Baby had 2.97 million equivalent albums – a metric that combines sales and streams – and 4.3 billion on-demand streams in the U.S. in 2022, according to Luminate. His track “In a Minute” peaked at No. 14 on the Hot 100 in April and ranked No. 43 on the year-end Hot 100 Songs chart. Despite not releasing a new album in 2022, Migos had 2.9 million album equivalent units and 4.3 billion on-demand streams last year. Lil Yachty had 424,000 album equivalent units and 637.8 million on-demand streams. City Girls had 251,000 album equivalent units and 361.6 million on-demand streams.
The acquisition also broadens HYBE’s tech portfolio. HYBE built its own social media platform, Weverse, to create a direct connection with its K-pop groups’ massive fan bases. It also owns a controlling stake in AI audio startup Supertone. Last year, Quality Control’s Solid Foundation Management, the company’s artist management arm, invested an undisclosed sum in music streaming platform SoundCloud. “This partnership is a vital part of our plan to innovate the entertainment industry through a diversified portfolio and innovative technologies,” said Bang Si-Hyuk, HYBE’s chairman, in a statement. “We will work together to continue adding to the global depth of hip-hop.”
Additional reporting by Dan Rys.
U.K. digital music company 7digital plans to accept an acquisition bid by Songtradr for 19.4 million pounds ($23.4 million), 7digital announced Wednesday (Feb. 8).
7digital shareholders will receive 0.695 pence ($0.84) per share in cash, a 114% premium over the prior day’s closing price.
7digital directors, who collectively hold 43.7% of outstanding shares, intend to recommend that shareholders vote in favor of the acquisition. Songtradr says it has also received irrevocable undertakings to vote in favor of the deal from institutional and other shareholders representing 24.8% of outstanding shares.
Since its founding in 2014, Santa Monica, Calif.-based Songtradr has raised over $100 million to build a company intent on solving many of the inefficiencies in music licensing. It acquired AI metadata and music search company Musicube in 2022, music licensing agency Massive Music in 2021 and licensing agency Big Synch Music in 2019. In addition, Songtradr established a global creative division, led by industry vet Amanda Schupf, in 2021.
Songtradr’s announcement highlighted a number of strategic benefits it will receive from the proposed transaction. For starters, 7digital would give Songtradr a platform and music catalog that “will enhance relationships with existing customers and accelerate new customer acquisition” and put the company “in an advantageous position to provide unmatched combined solutions” in the video game space for both licensors and music rights holders.
Also, 7digital, which launched in 2004, would give Songtradr a technology solution that “delivers both music and audio rights at scale, metadata enhancement, digital rights management, content tracking and royalty spending.” The acquisition would allow Songtradr to quicken its growth strategy and “simplify global music licensing,” the announcement added.
Following the acquisition, current 7digital CEO Paul Langworthy will join Songtradr along with the rest of the senior leadership team, though interim chairman Mark Foster, CFO Michael Juskiewicz and all non-executive directors will step down. Songtradr will additionally repay 7digital’s £2 million revolving credit facility as well as two £500,000 loans. It will continue to operate 7digital’s London office for the time being.
The acquisition marks the close of a turbulent few years for 7digital, which in July 2019 faced the possibility of going into administration — or the U.K. equivalent of Chapter 11 bankruptcy — unless it managed to raise £4.5 million ($5.5 million) in additional funds by the end of that month.
Grouplove signed with Glassnote Records ahead of their sixth album, which is due out this year. “We just made the best album of our career and on our first call with Daniel, we could immediately tell that he agreed,” said the band in a statement. “Glassnote has so many amazing artists we respect and admire and we are so proud to call it our new home.”
B2B distributor FUGA, a division of Downtown Music, struck a distribution deal with Marathon Music Group that will see Marathon utilizing FUGA’s global digital and physical distribution offering for its own roster and all labels under the group’s umbrella, including Moves Recordings, New Soil, Mahogany and DMY. Marathon will also have access to other FUGA services including marketing, enhanced trends and analytics, synch and brand partnerships, YouTube services and audience strategy.
Spotify added over 10,000 Arabic songs to its platform via a new licensing deal with Rotana Music for the label’s full catalog. The songs will be available to Spotify users in Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Chad, Comoros, Cyprus, Djibouti, Egypt, Georgia, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Oman, Pakistan Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. Spotify will provide on-platform support by introducing “This is Rotana,” a destination that will serve as the home for some of the label’s most popular songs.
Music strategy and supervision agency Premier Music Group closed its second round of financing led by MEP Capital, which will join Premier’s board of directors. The investment will power Premier’s ongoing acquisitions, including, most recently, sonic identity and sound design firm We Are Listen. Premier, which did not disclose the dollar amount of the current round, was advised by Arnaud Levy at Qualia Legacy Advisors.
ASM Global‘s Tech Port Center + Arena in San Antonio has been renamed Boeing Center at Tech Port. Additionally, Boeing entered a seven-year partnership with the Kelly Heritage Foundation — an educational nonprofit affiliated with Port San Antonio, on whose behalf ASM Global manages the arena — to expand STEM learning and workforce development in South Texas via a $2.3 million investment from the aerospace company.
Music technology platform Orfium — which provides software, data and licensing solutions to the entertainment industry — acquired music cue sheet reporting and audio recognition company Soundmouse. “Over the past 20 years, Soundmouse has been building and setting the standard in cue sheet management and monitoring for the broadcast and entertainment production space,” said Soundmouse co-CEO Charles Hodgkinson in a statement. “Combine that with Orfium’s expertise in UGC tracking and claiming for publishers, labels and production music companies and we bring the worlds of digital and broadcast together in an integrated way.”
RECORDS Nashville, Barry Weiss‘ joint venture with Sony Music Entertainment, signed the James Barker Band. The group’s first single under the label, “Meet Your Mama,” drops Friday (Jan. 27). Comprised of James Barker, Taylor Abram, Connor Stephen and Bobby Martin, the band is signed with BOOM Music Group for publishing and Starseed Entertainment for management.
Live entertainment and concert production company Décibels Productions has acquired a majority stake in Olivier Gluzman‘s French talent agency Les Visiteurs du Soir (Rufus Wainwright, Angélique Kidjo, Pink Martini). The deal will allow Les Visiteurs du Soir artists to “tap into [Décibels’] production skills and global network,” said Gluzman in a statement. Morgan Production, the audiovisual company and festival organizer that first invested in Les Visiteurs du Soir in 2011, will remain a key stakeholder in the agency.
Sony Music and Todd Moscowitz‘s new artist and label services company Santa Anna signed a distribution agreement with indie label Listen to the Kids (Yeat, Alexander 23, Ericdo, Sally Bossa). Under the deal, Listen to the Kids’ roster will have access to Santa Anna’s marketing, distribution, legal and promotional support, among other services.
Big Loud Records artist Mackenzie Porter (“Thinking ‘Bout You,” “Pickup”) signed with CAA. She will be represented by the agency’s Bennett Beckner and Jeff Krones.
Riser House Records artist Meghan Patrick signed with WME for global representation and Make Wake Artists — where she will work with Chris Kappy and Randi McFadden — for management. Patrick released her new song “She’s No Good For Me” on Friday (Jan. 20).
Compass Records Group signed alt-country artist Robbie Fulks, who will release a new studio project on the label this spring. Fulks is ramping up for a U.S. tour that kicks off in April.
Kelsey Hart signed with Curb Records; he previously signed to Curb | Word Music Publishing as a songwriter for artists including Jake Owen, Dylan Scott and Trace Adkins. The label recently released two songs from Hart: “Forget to Remember You” and “My Daddy’s Fault.”
Nettwerk signed producer Donovan’s Playground, a new project from Fallen Roses member Donovan Ferra; Smile High, the solo project of Ben “Smiley” Silverstein of The Main Squeeze; and Malaysian alt-pop artist A Kid Named Rufus. The label will soon release Donovan’s Playground’s debut album To My Past Self, Smile High’s EP Snack Pack and Rufus’ single “Eighteen” featuring Cole Bauer.
Matador Records signed Brooklyn duo Water From Your Eyes and will release their new album in the first half of the year. Water From Your Eyes will host a weekly live residency in New York throughout the month of March leading up to the release.
Penske Media Eldridge — a Penske Media Corporation (PMC) subsidiary and joint venture between PMC and Eldrige — has acquired Dick Clark Productions (dcp), it was announced Wednesday (Jan. 25). PMC is the parent company of Billboard.
The acquisition of the live events and alternative media producer was made as part of a broader strategic alliance between PMC and Eldridge, expanding the latter’s existing partnership with PMC’s entertainment media brands and SXSW, including the SXSW festival, Life is Beautiful, ATX TV festival and LA3C.
Founded in 1957, dcp owns and produces a number of TV’s most enduring awards shows, including the Golden Globe Awards, the American Music Awards, the Academy of Country Music Awards and the Billboard Music Awards. It also produces shows including Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve and So You Think You Can Dance (in partnership with 19 Entertainment).
Penske Media Eldridge will assume full control of dcp’s operations in the coming weeks. As part of the deal, Adam Stotsky will step down as dcp president following a transition period.
“I am thrilled to expand our partnership with Eldridge and Todd,” said Jay Penske, CEO and founder of Penske Media. “I have long admired dcp’s portfolio of iconic and prominent live entertainment brands and look forward to growing and evolving dcp’s footprint and legacy for future audiences across all platforms.”
“At Eldridge, we seek to grow businesses that stand the test of time,” added Eldridge chairman and CEO Todd Boehly. “Our decision to build upon our partnership with Penske Media, with whom we already have a deep alliance around media and publishing, is in service to that goal – so dcp may continue to flourish for many decades to come.”