Influence Media
Influence Media has launched a new frontline label, called SLANG, with Will Smith among its initial signings, the company announced today (July 24).
The company, which has been backed by the Warner Music Group and BlackRock, is launching the new label with its partner and founding advisor Rene McLean at the helm. SLANG, in partnership with TRIBL Records, released Smith’s latest single, the Gospel track “You Can Make It” feat. Fridayy and Sunday Service, on June 28, which has racked up 1.13 million on-demand streams in the U.S. so far, according to Luminate.
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Joining Smith on the SLANG roster are producers Camper (Big Sean, Mary J. Blige) and 30 Roc (Cardi B, Roddy Ricch), as well as the Underachievers, Leaf, Truththebull, Isaia Huron and more.
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“I’m proud to lead SLANG’s efforts to partner with quality artists and invest in their growth, regardless of genre or where they are in their respective careers,” McLean said in a statement. “In a quickly-changing music industry, SLANG artists will be surrounded by a team of like-minded strategists who will stop at nothing to further their trajectory and help them meet their goals. Our commitment to culture comes first, and we consider our SLANG roster family.”
Influence Media launched in 2017-2018, initially using bridge financing from Morgan Stanley to acquire assets from artists and producers Jeff Bhasker, Shane McAnally and Ben Rector, before selling those rights to Tempo Music in 2019. Two years after that, it launched its Fund I with $100 million in backing to acquire some copyrights from songwriter Ali Tamposi (Kelly Clarkson, Camila Cabello) and singer/songwriter Julia Michaels (“Issues,” Justin Bieber).
The backing from WMG and BlackRock, announced in February 2022, was intended for purchasing new assets and as an investment in Influence’s platform; at the time, Influence was said to have deployed some $300 million of the $750 million it had raised overall on songwriting catalogs from Tainy, the Stereotypes, Jessie Reyez and Skyler Stonestreet. Since then, it also acquired parts of the publishing catalogs of Future and Harry Styles songwriter Tyler Johnson, and partnered with Enrique Iglesias for a rights management deal and acquired Blake Shelton’s master recordings.
McLean, a 2023 Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Power Player, led several of those acquisitions; he has served as a manager for the likes of Cam’ron, LMFAO and Kelis over the years, and had a hand in the careers of artists such as Missy Elliott, Busta Rhymes, Pharrell and Timbaland, according to a press release.
Influence Media has acquired the publisher’s share of a big chunk of the song catalog of Harry Styles collaborator Tyler Johnson. While terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, the acquired catalog includes all songs Johnson co-wrote on Styles’ first two solo albums, as well as tunes recorded by Meghan Trainor, Sam Smith, Maren Morris, Keith Urban, Diplo, Miley Cyrus and John Legend.
According to the ASCAP/BMI SoundView song platform, Johnson is credited with writing or co-writing 197 songs. The 67 songs included in the catalog acquisition cover those he wrote from 2012 through 2020, according to the announcement.
“Influence Media is committed to partnering with the secret weapons behind some of music’s modern classics, and Tyler Johnson is at the top of that list for his work with Harry Styles alone, along with fellow superstars like Sam Smith, Meghan Trainor and Miley Cyrus,” Influence Media partner and founding advisor Rene McLean said in a statement. “We are so proud to represent Tyler’s works and look forward to introducing them to even wider audiences.”
Influence Media, which is partnered with Black Rock and Warner Music Group, previously acquired the master recording catalog of Blake Shelton for his records issued between 2001 and 2019 as well as Future’s song publishing catalog, among other music investments.
“It has been a pleasure working with the trusted team at Influence Media on my song catalog,” Johnson, a Grammy winner and five-time Grammy nominee, said in a statement. “These songs are very important to me and I feel our deal reflects the value of this catalog that I have built over the last 10 years.”
According to Influence Media, it formed the collaboration with Johnson “as part of its investment strategy built on ‘modern evergreens,’ songs and artists with a strong potential for long-term impact on pop culture.”
“Rene and I have been doing business with various clients for a while now, he’s a straight shooter,” said Johnson’s manager Nathaniel Cochrane in a statement about the deal. “It was a pleasure to get this deal over the line together and I look forward to building with Influence.”
Johnson was represented in the deal by Francois Mobasser, Audrey Benoualid and Andrew Paster at Myman Greenspan Fox Rosenberg Mobasser Younger & Light. Influence Media Partners was represented by Lisa Alter, Katie Baron and Jaclyn Felber at Alter, Kendrick & Baron.
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