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John Malone’s Liberty Media Corp. said Thursday that its board of directors has authorized management to pursue a split-off of the Atlanta Braves and its associated real estate development project and the creation of a new Liberty Live Group tracking stock, which will house the company’s 31 percent stake in Live Nation Entertainment, among other things.
Tracking stocks are designed to let investors track specific businesses that are part of a larger company. Liberty has used such tracking stocks in the past in the hopes of highlighting the performance and value of parts of its wide-ranging portfolio of assets.
“We plan to split off the Atlanta Braves into an asset-backed stock to better highlight its strong value. Additionally, post-split-off, we plan to recapitalize all of Liberty Media’s remaining common stock into three tracking stock groups,” said Greg Maffei, Liberty Media president and CEO. “These actions will provide greater investor choice and enable targeted investment and capital-raising through more focused currencies, while maintaining an optimal capital structure for Liberty Media and preserving optionality with respect to our subsidiary SiriusXM and our Live Nation stake.”
The split-off will be accomplished “through the redemption of Liberty Media’s existing Liberty Braves common stock in exchange for common stock of a newly formed company to be called Atlanta Braves Holdings Inc.,” the firm said. “Atlanta Braves Holdings would hold all of the businesses, assets and liabilities currently attributed to the Braves Group, including Braves Holdings LLC, which is the direct or indirect owner and operator of the Atlanta Braves Major League Baseball Club, certain assets and liabilities associated with the Atlanta Braves’ stadium and mixed-use development project, The Battery Atlanta, and corporate cash.” In connection with the Split-Off, Liberty Media would redeem each outstanding share of its Series A, Series B and Series C Liberty Braves common stock for one share of the corresponding series of common stock of Atlanta Braves Holdings. As a result of the Split-Off, Liberty Media and Atlanta Braves Holdings would be separate publicly traded companies. It is expected that the intergroup interests in the Braves Group held by Liberty Media’s existing Liberty SiriusXM Group and Formula One Group would be settled and extinguished in connection with the Split-Off in a manner to be determined.”
Following the completion of the split-off, Liberty Media wants to create a new tracking stock group, the Liberty Live Group. It would then have three tracking stocks: the Liberty SiriusXM Group, Formula One Group and the Liberty Live Group. The company said the third one would include “its interest in Live Nation Entertainment Inc., corporate cash, certain public and private assets currently attributed to the Formula One Group, Liberty Media’s 0.50 percent Live Nation exchangeable senior debentures due 2050, margin loan obligations incurred by its wholly owned special purpose subsidiary, which are secured by shares of common stock of Live Nation Entertainment Inc., together with other assets as may be determined from time to time by Liberty Media.”
Liberty Media said it expects to complete the split-off and the tracking stock reclassification in the first half of 2023.
This article was originally published by The Hollywood Reporter.
Sheltered Music Publishing has acquired “significant” interest in Dennis Linde‘s musical catalog, including hit songs like “Burning Love,” (Elvis Presley) “Goodbye Earl” (The Chicks) and “Callin’ Baton Rouge” (Garth Brooks). “It is not often that a catalog as distinguished and diverse as Dennis Linde’s becomes available,” said Sheltered Music svp, Darrell Franklin. “As a music publisher, this is the quality of work we all aspire to represent. I’m honored to be able to do that with this music and to help further raise awareness and appreciation of one of Nashville’s greatest songwriting talents.”
Downtown Music Services has signed Masego to a global publishing administration deal. The new agreement includes Masego’s Grammy-nominated back catalog as well as his future works, including his upcoming album, set for release in February 2023. Masego says of the new signing, “Sarah McCann [svp, international creative at Downtown Music Services] is the reason why I chose to work with the publishing company. Through her, I saw that Downtown and me shared a similar vision of creating global, unique, and impactful art.”
Warner Chappell has signed the catalog of Scissor Sisters. A popular early aughts pop group, Scissor Sisters’ works includes hits like “Laura” “Comfortably Numb” “Take Your Mama” and “I Don’t Feel Like Dancin’.” The band, whose membership include Jake Shears and Ana Matronic (vocals), Scott ‘Babydaddy’ Hoffman (multi-instrumentalist) and Del Marquis (guitar/bass), has also appointed Fascination Management as their legacy managers.
Concord Music Publishing has signed Jennifer Wayne to a worldwide deal that includes her future works. Best known as part of the all-female country trio Runaway June, Wayne also has writing credits on songs for Keith Urban, Marie Osmond, Eric Paslay, RaeLynn, Brittney Spencer and The Shires. “I’m over the moon about signing with Concord. It’s a family and they are so passionate, creative, supportive, and work as a team to win for their writers,” says Wayne.
Bucks Music Group has signed Tom Webber to an exclusive worldwide publishing deal. The rising talent was awarded Best Demo at Glastonbury 2022, and has supported acts like Nick Lowe, Deacon Blue and Richard Hawley. Webber says of the deal, “I’m very happy to have signed with Bucks Music Group. Simon, Sarah, James and the team really helped me make the decision to join them an easy one.
Singer/songwriter Taylor Grey has signed a new worldwide publishing administration deal with Regard Music, including global sync and creative services for her existing and future catalog. She joins Regard Music’s boutique roster, which includes Robin Thicke, Lyle Lovett, Tom Kelly, meditation company Headspace, and more.
Sony Music Publishing Nashville has signed Songland season 2 champion Madeline Merlo to a publishing administration deal. The Canadian singer and songwriter caught the industry’s attention with “Champagne Night,” a country radio hit performed by Lady A, and soon after her work earned her a nomination for Canadian Country Music Association’s Songwriter of the Year Award. She also has released music of her own, including her new four-track EP Slide. “I am looking forward to working with this world class team that makes you feel like family every time you walk in the door! This is a huge next step for my career and truly is a dream come true,” says the songwriter.
Primary Wave and the estate of James Brown are facing a new lawsuit that claims their $90 million catalog sale last year violated an agreement that the iconic singer had struck decades earlier with another company.
Announced in December, the sale saw Primary Wave scoop up a portion of Brown’s publishing rights, master royalty income and name/likeness rights from the singer’s estate – adding the “Soul Brother No. 1” to the likes of Whitney Houston and Prince in the company’s growing catalog.
But in a new lawsuit filed Tuesday (Nov. 15) in Manhattan federal court, David Pullman’s Pullman Group says the blockbuster sale represents a breach of a contract it struck with Brown way back in 1999 that guaranteed the company the right to broker any such deal in the future.
And Pullman says the breach was no small error: It’s demanding more than $11 million in damages from the Brown estate, and a whopping $125 million from Primary Wave.
“The Primary Wave transaction violated The Pullman Group’s exclusive rights under the exclusive engagement letter to arrange such asset sales for Brown and his estate,” Pullman’s lawyers wrote in their complaint.
In response to the allegations, a rep for the Brown estate told Billboard on Wednesday that the lawsuit “has no merit and the Estate and Trust intend to vigorously defend the action.” A rep for Primary Wave did not immediately return a request for comment.
Pullman is best known for creating so-called Bowie Bonds – a novel financial vehicle that offered investors the right to collect future royalties in return for a lump payment to an artist. He pioneered the arrangement with a $55 million deal with David Bowie in 1997, hence the name.
In the new lawsuit, Pullman Group says it created such a bond offering for Brown in 1999 to help the late singer deal with “financial difficulties,” which were spurred by his “spending habits and legal problems.” Under the terms of the deal, Brown received an up-front payment of $26 million in exchange for future royalties over a set period of time.
But crucially, Pullman’s lawsuit says the deal also guaranteed the company “exclusive rights to arrange all future refinancing or asset sales of Brown’s assets.” It says the that contractual sweetener was included because the deal was risky for Pullman and the company had already agreed to waive its normal up-front fees in Brown’s case.
But in December 2021, Pullman says it learned from media reports that Brown’s estate had reached a deal with Primary Wave. The agreement had been struck “secretly and behind The Pullman Group’s back,” and the estate had instead used a company called Shot Tower Capital to arrange the deal.
“By working for years in secret on the Primary Wave transaction, Primary Wave and Shot Tower Capital intentionally and maliciously interfered with The Pullman Group’s exclusive contractual rights,” the company’s lawyers wrote.
The lawsuit says Pullman would have been entitled to a 12.5% fee from any rights deal struck by Brown’s estate – meaning the estate owes the company $11.3 million from Primary Wave’s $90 million payment.
Pullman wants far steeper damages from Primary Wave and Shot Tower Capital. Accusing them of so-called tortious interference with a contract – meaning an outside party essentially induced someone to break their word – Pullman is seeking at least $125 million in damages from each company.
A rep for Shot Tower Capital did not immediately return a request for comment on the lawsuit’s accusations.
In a statement to Billboard, David Pullman said he and Brown had a “great mutually successful and beneficial relationship and friendship for years,” but that the current legal dispute had been caused by those running his estate.
Read the entire lawsuit here:
On the heels of their recent Billboard cover story, in which they detailed their acquisition of much of the Whitney Houston estate and catalog, Primary Wave Music has added to their collection of Whitney-related rights by acquiring an interest in much of the publishing catalog for Houston co-writers Boy Meets Girl. The duo, made up of Shannon Rubicam and George Merrill, played a hand in penning “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)” and “How Will I Know,” both of which hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Included in the deal are the writer’s share of royalties from the two Houston cuts, as well as the duo’s successful self-released songs, including “Oh Girl” and “Waiting for A Star to Fall.” Under the agreement, Merrill and Rubicam will have access to Primary Wave’s marketing and branding teams, along with the company’s publishing infrastructure that includes licensing and synch opportunities.
The timing of the acquisition comes just ahead of the Dec. 21 release of the Houston biopic I Wanna Dance with Somebody, a major part of Primary Wave’s campaign to revitalize the Houston catalog. The company purchased a 50% stake in the singer’s publishing, master recording revenue, name, likeness and brand for an estimated $14 million in May 2019 and has been working on efforts to introduce or remind the public of Houston’s venerable legacy ever since, including with two new photo books, Funko! Pop dolls, Whitney-themed Peloton classes, a perfume line, a MAC makeup collection and more.
Rubicam and Merrill have worked as musical partners since the mid-1980s when both were hired to perform at a wedding. They subsequently formed Boy Meets Girl and released their first album in 1985, featuring the song “Oh Girl.” Soon after, the duo kickstarted their songwriting career by penning two of Houston’s biggest hits, earning them Grammys for song of the year in the process. The duo continued to release their own music as well, achieving top 5 success on the Hot 100 with “Waiting for a Star to Fall” in 1988 (a song originally written for Houston). By the 1990s, however, the duo was more focused on writing for others than for themselves, working on songs for OTT and Girlthing, among others. Since then, they have returned to releasing their own work as Boy Meets Girl, including the albums Wonderground (2003) and Five (2021).
“We are so pleased to have placed our songs into the capable and creative hands of the team at Primary Wave. If ever there was a perfect home for our songs at this time, without a doubt this is it. We are excited and honored to be a part of the Primary Wave family and look forward to seeing what else we might cook up together,” says Merrill and Rubicam in a statement.
“When Shannon’s and George’s songs are played – anywhere around the world – people will sing along the minute they begin,” added Justin Shukat, president of publishing at Primary Wave Music. “It’s rare for songwriters to not only see that type of response, but to write #1 hits for both themselves and for other artists. That’s what makes the two of them true songwriting legends. Their catalog of songs fit right at home at Primary Wave, the home of legends.”
Amid a broader economic downturn, Endeavor — the parent company of assets like agencies WME and IMG, sports league UFC, events firm On Location and online gambling platform OpenBet — is pausing new hires through the end of the year.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter by phone while attending an RBC Capital Markets investor event, Endeavor president Mark Shapiro said that the firm will put in place a hiring freeze until 2023 but noted that the Beverly Hills-based conglomerate will be backfilling positions. The Endeavor executive emphasized that no broader cost-cutting would be instituted and travel/expenses, bonuses and spending would not be subject to review at this time for the company’s roughly 8,000 employees.
“The state of the business is strong, but we have to be responsible given the time of the year and the national economic environment,” Shapiro told THR.
The Endeavor exec stressed that the move was being made from a position of strength, as the firm — unlike other Hollywood giants — has been insulated from economic headwinds like those impacting advertising-reliant companies. And the time frame for the hiring pause, as the holiday season approaches, arrives at a typically slower cycle for major agencies, which tend to mostly close up shop in the last couple weeks of the year.
“We need to really be prudent, we’re in — or walking in — to a recession,” Shapiro said about the hiring freeze during a panel moderated by RBC’s Kutgun Maral. “There’s a lot of fear out there, there’s a lot of fearmongerers. And we just need to keep a lean cost-structure, frankly. As tight as we can have it. And hiring over the holidays does no good, you’re just giving them vacation anyway.”
Shapiro added during the panel that, “at a time like this of uncertainty, we need to be conserving cash and just working on the balance sheet.” The Endeavor exec forecast that the focus in 2023 would be more free cash flow — a profit metric showing an ability to fund operations without outside financing — and expanding margins in each business unit.
But the hiring freeze does arrive as Warner Bros. Discovery, Disney, Paramount, NBCUniversal and others are instituting belt-tightening measures, including cutting back on spending and staff reductions. Disney CEO Bob Chapek warned in a memo to staff on Nov. 11 of “limiting headcount additions through a targeted hiring freeze” while layoffs have been ongoing at the David Zaslav-run Warner Bros. Discovery, impacting multiple divisions including CNN, whose chief, Chris Licht, forecast in late October that restructuring will “accelerate” and will result in layoffs and budget cuts.
On Nov. 10, Endeavor disclosed its third-quarter earnings, with its WME and IMG representation unit seeing revenue fall year-over-year to $388 million from $664 million — due to the sale of 80 percent of Endeavor Content to South Korea’s CJ ENM as part of a deal with the Writers Guild — even as the core agency business made strides. Meanwhile, the company’s owned sports properties, like UFC, saw revenue gain from $288.5 million a year ago to $402 million in the third quarter this year and its events unit stayed about even year-over-year with $440 million in revenue for the frame.
Overall, citing foreign exchange rate changes, Endeavor posted a loss for the quarter of $12.5 million compared to a gain of $63.6 million in the same time frame in 2021. During an earnings call, Endeavor chief Ari Emanuel noted “our business continues to perform well despite the macro headwinds,” and touted comedy bookings as well as growth in music touring, experiences and demand to attend live events.
“Spending habits have shifted, but our company has a presence at every point on the purchase chain,” Emanuel added. “During COVID people were buying stuff, and post-COVID, they are more focused on experiences, and we are the benefit of that side of the equation.”
Since Jan. 3, the first day of trading this year, stock in Endeavor has fallen about 34 percent, from 34.81 a share to 22.92, while the New York Stock Exchange Composite Index has dropped about 10 percent.
This article was originally published by The Hollywood Reporter.
SiriusXM has launched a new program aimed at developing and breaking emerging artists, the company tells Billboard.
Created by the SiriusXM and Pandora programming and curation teams, the Artist Accelerator program will select six to 12 artists across a wide range of genres over the next year. All of them will receive focused programming for a sustained campaign across SiriusXM channels and Pandora stations, as well as ongoing marketing support from both brands.
The program’s inaugural artist is Def Jam/High Standardz signee Coco Jones, whose latest single “I.C.U.”, from her debut EP What I Didn’t Tell You, has been playing in accelerated rotation on SiriusXM’s The Heat and Heart & Soul stations since Oct. 21. On Pandora, “I.C.U.” has been added to various playlists and radio stations across the platform, including New R&B, Black Music Forever, Adult R&B, PLATINUM, Today’s R&B and Hip Hop Hits, Women in R&B and more. The streaming service is also featuring exclusive audio content from Jones via “artist takeover” modes currently running on the PLATINUM and Women in R&B stations, where she takes listeners through the process of recording the EP and hand-picks tracks from some of the artists who inspired her.
“Introducing our audiences to new artists and investing in those artists’ development is a core value of both SiriusXM and Pandora and we are excited to unveil our Artist Accelerator program to the industry,” said Steve Blatter, senior vp/general manager of music programming at SiriusXM. “The program brings together SiriusXM and Pandora to accelerate the growth of artists across our combined massive listener base.”
In addition to her burgeoning music career, Jones has been working as an actor in TV and film since she was a tween. The 24-year-old currently portrays Hilary Banks on Peacock’s Fresh Prince reboot, Bel-Air. On TikTok, where she boasts nearly 2 million followers, she is dedicated to upping representation for dark-skinned Black women.
“I genuinely could not be more excited to be partnered with SiriusXM and Pandora,” said Jones. “The way that they’ve supported me and found new ways to highlight my future while acknowledging my past, is iconic. There’s definitely more to come, this is just the beginning! I’m excited for y’all to come with me through the whole journey!”
SiriusXM is just the latest platform to introduce an artist development program. In 2017, Apple Music launched the artist spotlight program Up Next, while SoundCloud introduced First on SoundCloud the following year. And in 2021, Spotify launched Fresh Finds, an extension of the playlist hub of the same name that provides emerging acts with on- and off-platform support.
Jimmy Fallon is not dead, and Jimmy Fallon wants people to know that.
A scurrilous hashtag, #RIPJimmyFallon, has been trending on Twitter Tuesday night (Nov. 15) and The Tonight Show host has had enough, calling on the company’s CEO Elon Musk personally to take down the hashtag.
Earlier on Tuesday, the more mischief-making element on Twitter launched #RIPJimmyFallon, with users posting the hashtag often with a picture of someone other than Fallon.
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Twitter users, particularly those abroad, who weren’t in on the supposed joke were shocked and confused. One Korean user tweeted, “This came up as a hashtag, so I was taken aback. Really. Oh, it’s funny. Because Melon Musk fired all the people in the information confirmation department, now fake news can hit the market, so this hashtag. Oh, it’s funny real #RIPJimmyFallon.”
Perturbed, Fallon tweeted, “Elon, can you fix this? #RIPJimmyFallon.” Musk, who has taken a highly personal approach to content moderation since he took over Twitter, has yet to respond to Fallon’s plea.
Twitter’s current chaos has seen an uptick in disinformation on the platform, a situation compounded by Musk firing a significant number of people involved with content moderation and dealing with fake accounts and fake news.
Last Thursday, an account using the name and logo of the pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly and Co. and carrying a blue “verified” checkmark tweeted, “We are excited to announce insulin is free now.” The fake tweet led to the pharma company’s stock dropping from $368 a share to $346 a share, which reportedly erased billions in market cap.
This article originally appeared in THR.com.
In its third-quarter earnings report Tuesday (Nov. 15), China’s leading music streaming company Tencent Music Entertainment Group (TME) said quarterly net profits soared 39% to RMB 1.09 billion ($154 million USD) from last year as the number of online music subscribers reached a record 85.3 million.
TME, which owns streaming platforms QQ Music, Kugou and Kuwo, plus karaoke app WeSing, reported that music subscriptions rose 18.3% to RMB 2.25 billion (USD $316 million) for the third quarter ending Sept. 30 compared to the same period in 2021. The number of subscribers rose by nearly 20%, up from 71.2 million in the third quarter 2021.
“As we are employing a balanced approach to grow paying users…revenues from online music services increased at a healthy pace in the third quarter, driven by year-over-year gains in subscriptions,” Cussion Pang, TME’s executive chairman, said in a statement. “Meanwhile, effective cost optimization measures and improved operating efficiency led to increased profitability amid challenging macro conditions this quarter.”
Overall, online music services revenues rose by 18.8% to RMB 3.43 billion (USD $482 million), but that wasn’t enough to offset a 20% decline in revenues from social entertainment and services, the company’s other main business unit. TME’s total revenues fell by 5.6% to RMB 7.37 billion (USD $1.04 billion).
Media companies have reported widespread declines in mobile revenues for the third quarter, as increased prices for many and the worsening economic outlook globally has caused consumers to rethink everyday expenses. TME was not spared from the trend. The number of monthly active mobile music users fell by 7.7% to 587 million in the quarter, compared to 636 million in the third quarter last year — a decline the company attributed to casual listeners dropping off the platform.
Monthly average revenue per paying user of TME’s online music edged 1% lower, to RMB 8.8 million (USD $1.24 million) compared to RMB 8.9 million (USD $1.25 million) during the year-ago period.
The company bought back $800 million of its own stock in the third quarter, part of a $1-billion stock buyback program it announced last spring.
In September, TME launched a secondary listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange; it was already publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange in the United States. Its move to issue secondary shares in Hong Kong followed similar moves by other big Chinese companies seeking to safeguard themselves against potential ramifications of the geopolitical tensions between China and the U.S.
The crypto world was rocked last week by the stunning implosion of FTX — the second-largest cryptocurrency exchange. Though the ripple effect across the industry is still playing out, Coachella appears to be caught up in the collateral damage.
The festival partnered with FTX.US to sell $1.5 million worth of NFTs back in February, a couple of months before the Southern California event’s first staging since the pandemic. The collection included 10 NFT “Coachella Keys,” which granted lifetime access to the festival and VIP perks such as luxury experiences and exclusive merchandise. Many of those NFTs now appear to be stuck and inaccessible on the defunct exchange.
“Like many of you, we have been watching this news unfold online over the past few days and are shocked by the outcome,” said a Coachella staff member on the festival’s Discord server. “We do not currently have any lines of communication with the FTX team. We have assembled an internal team to come up with solutions based on the tools we have access to. Our priority is getting Coachella NFTs off of FTX, which appears to be disabled at the moment.”
Coachella did not immediately respond to requests for further information.
FTX filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Friday citing a “severe liquidity crisis,” after depositors rushed to withdraw more than $6 billion in 72 hours. It is alleged that FTX and its founder Sam Bankman-Fried commingled customer deposits with its sister trading firm Alameda Research, resulting in a multi-billion dollar hole in the exchange’s balance sheet. When customers rushed to withdraw their funds, it became clear that FTX was insolvent.
The knock-on effects have been disastrous, with billions of dollars locked up and little prospect of recovery. Among those assets are several NFTs released through the FTX platform, including NFTs from Coachella and Tomorrowland.
One collector told Billboard he was able to withdraw his Coachella Key to his own wallet just days before FTX went bankrupt, but many others have not been so lucky. Anyone who kept their NFT on the FTX platform currently has no access to them.
Although few in the Web3 industry predicted a crisis on this scale, many crypto advocates have long argued that NFTs and cryptocurrencies should not be stored or held by centralized platforms such as FTX. The last update from the Coachella team — issued on Saturday (November 12) — advised users against interacting with any FTX product and recommended they sign out of all FTX accounts.
With massive successes from superstars Adele, Beyoncé and Harry Styles, Columbia Records landed the most nominations among labels in the Big Four Grammy categories of album, song and record of the year and best new artist. With nine nominations, Columbia was comfortably in first, as all three artists earned nominations for album, song and record of the year.
Columbia’s noms helped parent company Sony Music to lead the charge among label groups, with 16 nominations, besting the Warner Music Group (13), Universal Music Group (nine) and the indie label sector (two). In addition to Columbia, RCA racked up four nominations — Steve Lacy’s “Bad Habit” for record and song; Doja Cat’s “Woman” for record; and Latto for best new artist — while Epic picked up one (DJ Khaled’s “God Did” for song of the year), Sony’s distribution company The Orchard landed another for Bad Bunny’s Un Verano Sin Ti, and Arista picked up one, with Maneskin getting a nod for best new artist.
The second-biggest haul of nominations was for Warner-owned Atlantic, which landed five: a trio for Lizzo, an album nod for Coldplay and song of the year for new artist GAYLE. Three other Warner Music labels picked up two nominations apiece: Warner Records, with two best new artist nominees in Anitta and Omar Apollo; 300, which saw Mary J. Blige pick up noms in record and album of the year; and Elektra, with perennial Grammy favorite Brandi Carlile getting nominated for record and album of the year. (Earlier this year, 300 and Elektra were merged into the new 300 Elektra Entertainment.) Nonesuch also picked up a best new artist nomination with Molly Tuttle, while Bonnie Raitt — who got a song of the year nomination for “Just Like That” — put out her latest album through her Redwing label, which is distributed by Warner-owned ADA.
Within Universal, Interscope grabbed the most nominations — a trio for Kendrick Lamar — while ABBA’s nods in record and album of the year landed two for Capitol through ABBA’s Polar Music. Four other UMG labels also scored one nomination: Def Jam (best new artist, Muni Long), Republic (song of the year, Taylor Swift’s “All Too Well (10 Minute Version)”), Verve (best new artist, Samara Joy) and Blue Note (best new artist, DOMi & JD Beck, in partnership with APESHIT Records.)
Finally, two nominations for best new artist went to acts unaffiliated with the big three labels: Wet Leg, which released its debut album on Domino; and Tobe Nwigwe, whose latest album was put out through his own imprint The Good Stewards.