Publishing Briefs
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Universal Music Publishing Group has signed Yahritza to a global publishing deal. As part of Yahritza Y Su Esencia, a sibling trio which has helped ushed Regional Mexican into the mainstream, she is one of Mexico’s most sought after stars.
Blackx, a new Asia-focused music fund, has acquired a catalog 230 songs from Frances Wang, a notable Taiwanese songwriter. Songs included in the deal span 30 years of work, including hits performed by Faye Wong, A-Mei, Jeff Zhang Xin Zhe, Oaeen, Eason Chan, Wan Fang and Tiger Huang Xiao Hu. This is one of Blackx’s first purchases in Asia. The fund launched in September 2022 with an initial $100 million in financing.
UMPG Germany has signed Berlin-based artist and songwriter Chris James to a worldwide publishing deal. As co-writer on “Komet” (Apache 207 and Udo Lindenberg), his work holds the honor of being the longest running #1 German-language song in 16 years, according to a press release. Most recently, he was listed as a co-writer on Jimin’s recent K-pop smash “Like Crazy” which debuted at No. 1 on the Hot 100.
Universal Music Publishing UK has signed LF System, a chart-topping producer duo, to a global publishing deal. Comprised of Conor Larkman and Sean Finnigan, the duo is a top name in international dance music. Their song “Afraid to Feel” recently topped the UK Singles Chart for eight consecutive weeks.
Sony Music Publishing has signed 1da Banton, a Nigerian songwriter, artist and guitarist, to a global publishing agreement. He recently gained international acclaim with his song “Miss You” with Tungevaag, and his next EP is set to release next month, featuring 255, Rugged and Pimp.
Warner Chappell Music has signed a worldwide publishing deal with Spanish singer-songwriter Ana Mena. With nearly six million monthly listeners on Spotify, Mena’s “Música Ligera” won song of the year at Los40 Music Awards 2022. Most recently, she released her second studio LP Bellodrama, which follows her 2018 debut album Index.
Warner Chappell Music has signed Nia Archives to a worldwide publishing agreement. A DJ, producer and singer-songwriter, she won Best Electric/Dance Act at the MOBOs, Best Producer at the NME Awards, named Introducing Artist of the Year by BBC, and was shortlisted for the Rising Star Award at the BRITs 2023.
Universal Music Publishing Classics and Screen has signed Pulitzer Prize winner Kevin Puts and rising Puerto Rican composer Angélica Negrón to exclusive worldwide publishing deals. As part of the agreements, Universal’s Classics & Screen division also acquired Puts’ compositional catalog.
Angry Mob Music Group has signed UK-based Richard Walters to a worldwide co-publishing agreement. Currently signed to Nettwek Music Group on the label side, Walters next single is out May 26th. As a songwriter, he has worked alongside Joe Henry, Alison Moyet, Solomun, 3LAU, Sony Fodera, Sultan + Shepard, and more.
Warner Chappell Music has joined with Matchless Publishing and Artist Development to sign a global publishing deal with Nashville-based singer, songwriter and producer Dan Pellarin. Pellarin has co-written with acts like Filmore, Atlus, and Savage Hands.
Warner Chappell Music and Cornman Music have teamed up to jointly sign Graham Barham to a global publishing deal. A Nashville-based newcomer, he first gained attention with his popular track “Preachers Need People.”
Creative Nation, an independent music company, has signed Nashville-based songwriter and producer Oscar Charles to a publishing deal. He has written songs with Chase Rice, Elvie Shane, Boy Named Banjo, Madeline Edwards, Hannah Dasher and more. He has released songs with Carly Pearce, Charlie Worsham and Jacob Powell, among others.
Reach Music has acquired master and publishing rights to Judas Priest‘s first two records, Rocka Rolla and Sad Wings of Destiny from Gull Entertainments. As part of their new purchase, Reach will work alongside the British metal legends to release a 50th anniversary edition of Rocka Rolla in 2024 as well as other special projects. This deal builds upon Reach’s existing relationship with the band — in 2021, Reach acquired a 50% copyright interest and the administration rights to guitarist Glenn Tipton’s song catalog, beginning with songs released in 1977.
Reservoir has launched a joint venture with American Idol producer, 19 Entertainment, which is part of Sony Pictures Television and already partnered with BMG on the master side. Through their new jv, the two will jointly sign new publishing deals with some of Idol’s contestants, and Reservoir will aid in the young writers’ development.
Peermusic Australia has inked a worldwide publishing deal with Sydney-based hip-hop/rock crossover group Triple One. The agreement includes both Triple One’s full back catalog as well as future works.
Position Music has signed artist and songwriter Sam Tinnesz to a worldwide publishing deal. The deal includes some selected catalog cuts as well as all of Tinnesz future releases, including those made under his artist project and those made as a songwriter.
Prescription Songs has signed Nashville-based artist and writer Josie Dunne. As an artist she played alongside artists like Julia Michaels, COIN, Ben Rector, and Andy Grammer. As a writer, she’s create songs with Natalie Imbruglia, Corook, Spencer Sutherland, and more. She was brought into the roster by A&R Chris Martingnago.
Warner Chappell Music has signed a global publishing deal with country sibling trio Voth. The deal was signed just ahead of their next single “You Own It,” out April 28th.
Pulse Music Group has formed a joint venture with publishing client Cordae, who signed in 2019. Though the company has not announced signees yet, their partnered publishing firm, dubbed HI-LEVEL Publishing, will sign and develop songwriters with Cordae acting as the company head.
Primary Wave has purchased a stake in the recorded music and publishing catalog of Sarah McLachlan. The partnership includes songs like “Angel,” “I Will Remember You,” “Hold On, and more.
Reservoir has acquired the publishing and recorded music catalog of Mannie Fresh, the former in-house producer for Cash Money Records. Mannie Fresh (real name Byron Thomas) is credited with producing nearly all the songs across 15 major albums for the label from 1998 to 2004, including projects by Juvenile, T.I. and Lil Wayne. Outside the booth, he is best known as half of hip-hop duo Big Tymers, alongside label co-founder Brian Williams, who went by Baby back then but is now Birdman. Their hits include “Still Fly” — with its 74 million streams on Spotify — as well as “This Is How We Do” and “Get Your Roll On,” among others.
Wise Music Group has acquired a controlling interest in Edition Peters Group, the storied music publishing house which was established in 1863. Wise will now own Edition Peters Group in partnership with Christian Hinrichsen, a descendant of the company’s founders. It is best known for its association with classical greats like Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Grieg, Gustav Mahler, Hugo Wolf, Richard Strauss, Morton Feldman, George Crumb, and John Cage.
Warner Chappell Music has signed Oliver Tree to a global publishing agreement. With multiple RIAA-certified Gold and Platinum records under his belt, Ryan Press, president of North America at WCM calls Tree a boundary pusher with “an innovative and future forward approach.”
Warner Chappell Music and Songs & Daughters Publishing have signed Kimberly Perry to a joint publishing deal. One-third of the sibling trio The Band Perry, Perry says signing this deal is “Beyond thrill[ing].”
Warner Chappell Music has signed Austin Shawn to a global publishing agreement. Shawn’s previous cuts include “Rock and A Hard Place” by Bailey Zimmerman, which is currently No. 10 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart, a first for Zimmerman.
Primary Wave has acquired a stake in singer-songwriter Russ Ballard’s publishing catalog as well as the writer’s share of performance income. included in the deal are songs like “So You Win Again,” “Since You’ve Been Gone,” “I Surrender,” “New York Groove,” “You Can Do Magic,” and “Liar,” and “You Can Do Magic.”
Avex USA Publishing has signed Lucien Parker to a publishing deal. The hip hop producer and songwriter has penned a number of tracks with major stars already, including “My Friends” by Ty Dolla $ign, DJ Mustard, Lil Durk.
Kobalt and Clarence Coffee Jr. have joined forces to launch Artism Mind Music Publishing. Kobalt also announced Artism’s first signees Caroline “Sur Back” Sans and Dan Ewins.
Warner Chappell Music has signed up-and-comer Jossef to a global administration publishing deal. The urban singer-songwriter — who has yet to release his debut album — has scored collaborations with Ñengo Flow and Eix. “He has a promising career ahead,” notes Laz Hernandez, vice president A&R, U.S. Latin & Latin America, WCM.
Peermusic has signed Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame Inductee Loreena McKennitt to a global publishing administration deal, encompassing both McKennitt’s entire back catalog as well as works made in the future.
Kobalt has signed Leader Entertainment/ El Reino Infantil Network to a publishing administration agreement. The deal entails the administration of both Leader’s back catalog of kids’ music as well as future releases.
Warner Chappell Music has renewed its publishing agreement with Grammy-winning producer MAG, a frequent collaborator of Bad Bunny. In 2022, MAG earned the No. 5 spot on Billboard’s all-genre Year-End Hot 100 Producers chart.
Australian musician Tash Sultana has renewed their publishing agreement with Kobalt. Sultana’s working relationship with Kobalt began in 2017, and the new deal will see Kobalt acting as Sultana’s publishing administrator, including global sync and creative services for future songs.
Wise Music Group has signed a co-publishing deal with influential Indian composer Ravi Shankar. The music company has also acquired Shankar’s archives, including many unreleased recordings and control of his record label East Meets West Music.
Position Music has launched a joint venture with Big Noise Music. Their partnership begins with first signee John “Feldy” Feldmann, a Grammy-nominated producer and songwriter best known for his work with Avicii, Blink-182, 5 Seconds of Summer, Panic at the Disco! and more. Position Music will also now represent Big Noise Music’s publishing catalog for synchronization, including Mod Sun, The Used, The Wrecks, The Veronicas, girlfriends, Goldfinger, Escape the Fate, Arrested Youth among others.
Music rights investment company MusicBird has announced the new acquisition of Midge Ure‘s catalog. MusicBird now owns the writer’s share of publishing plus master recording and neighboring rights income on over 300 songs across his solo career as well as his work with Ultravox, Visage and more.
Jimmy Robbins has signed a worldwide publishing deal with Boom Music Group in partnership with Cinq Music Group. Robbins already 10 No. 1 songs under his belt as a songwriter, including hits with Kelsea Ballerini, Kenny Chesney, Maren Morris, Thomas Rhett, Blake Shelton, Miranda Lambert and more.
SILO: Music hosted its first Pop & Industry event MIND THE GAP on March 23rd in Los Angeles. The event featured performances from SILO: Music artists like Dan Caplen, Drew Love, Bernhoft, Kelsy Karter (who filled in for Paloma Faith) and Thutmose, who both performed songs curated by the music company for sync use.
IMPF has added Vistex, a company which offers a system to capture all contracts, metadata and royalty activity in a single place, to its “Friends and Supporters” category. Launched in 2021, this category was aimed at commercial companies that work to create transparency with the independent music publishing community worldwide.
Salt, a company which built a high-tech SaaS platform for processing and distributing rights holder royalties, has inked a 10-year deal with Dutch music society BumaStemra. Along with the announcement of the decade-long agreement, Salt has also announced its acquisition of Session, an app which “supports music creators from idea to release,” and has added ABBA member Björn Ulvaeus, who co-founded Session, to Salt’s board of directors.
Concord Music Publishing has signed Colony House vocalist Caleb Chapman to handle publishing for his future works worldwide.
Iconoclast, an artist and brand development company, has purchased the catalog of Lady Gaga co-writer and producer Nick Monson. His catalog includes hits like “Human” by Rag n Bone Man, which is currently peaking on TikTok, as well as songs like “Applause” by Gaga, “Good For You” and “Nobody” by Selena Gomez, “Home” by Nick Jonas, “Invitation” and “Just Like Me” by Britney Spears.
Netherlands-based music fund Pythagoras Music Fund (PMF) has purchased the worldwide publishing rights to Barton Music and its catalogs, which includes American standards like the Frank Sinatra-recorded “Come Fly With Me,” “Love & Marriage” and more. The acquired catalogs also include compositions recorded by Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole, Doris Day, Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Etta James, Sarah Vaughan, Plácido Domingo, Linda Ronstadt, Michael Bublé, Westlife and Robbie Williams.
Hannah Babbitt has launched BABZ Nashville, a second home for her boutique management company BABZ which represents some of the industry’s top songwriters and producers, including Alex Hope, Jesse Fink, Nick Monson and more.
Sentric Music Group has partnered with Rough Trade Publishing to handle the independent publisher’s global administration. The deal covers all of Rough Trade’s signees, including Alvvays, Chelsea Wolfe, The Tallest Man On Earth, Built To Spill, Black Lips and more.
Platinum-selling producer-songwriter Krupa has signed with independent publishing house Position Music. News of the worldwide deal arrives on the heels of Krupa receiving an RIAA Double Platinum certification for co-writing the song “Blood // Water” by Grandson. He’s also worked with Jessie Reyez, Dillon Francis, Kesha, Travis Barker and more.
EVGLE Publishing has announced the signing of artist, producer, songwriter and violinist GrandMaster Vic, who is best known for his work on Kendrick Lamar‘s Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers. The young publishing joint venture — founded by Blxst, Victor Burnett and Karl Fowlkes — was created in conjunction with Warner Chappell Music and also boasts Jay Millian, J Pilot and Blxst on its roster.
Various Artists Management and Stellar Songs has launched a new joint venture called Alternative Songs. The new company will be administered and funded by Downtown Music Services.
Concord Music Publishing ANZ (formerly Native Tongue) has announced the signing of COTERIE, a five-piece band based in West Australia. The new deal encompasses the band’s back catalog and future works.
Ellen Reid has signed a publishing deal with Wise Music Group and Chester Music Limited. Reid’s work spans opera, sound design, film scoring and ensemble choral writing. In 2019, she won the Pulitzer Prize in music for her opera p r i s m.
Wise Music Group and Chester Music Limited have signed Anoushka Shankar to an exclusive publishing agreement. A film composer, activist, and seven-time Grammy nominee, Shankar said in a statement that it’s a “pleasure” to work with the companies on her future works. “I look forward to expanding my compositional horizons and working with them to bring my creative voice and the sound of my instrument- the sitar- into new spaces.”
Peermusic has signed production and songwriting team, The Stereotypes (Jonathan Yip and Jeremy Reeves), to a worldwide publishing administration deal. The Stereotypes have made their mark on the music industry by penning hits like “That’s What I Like” by Bruno Mars, “Please Me” by Cardi B and Bruno Mars, “Somebody to Love” by Justin Bieber ft. Usher, “Better” by Lil Yachty, and “After Last Nite” by Silk Sonic (with Thundercat and Bootsy Collins), and Yip says of their new peermusic partnership that he “immediately realized [peermusic] was aligned with our vision.”
The indie publisher has also signed singer, songwriter and producer Alex Anwandter to an exclusive, worldwide co-publishing deal. The deal with peermusic marks the first music publishing deal for the Latin pop artist and encompasses his entire catalog as well as future works, according to the company. The Chilean multi hyphenate is set to release his new album, El Diablo En El Cuerpo, on May 26. It will feature singles such as “Qué Piensas Hacer Sin Mi Amor?” and “Maricoteca.”
Sony Music Publishing Nashville has renewed is publishing agreement with Lindsay Rimes, a songwriter and producer who co-created “Whiskey on You” by Nate Smith and “Heaven” by Kane Brown. Rimes has also worked with Troye Sivan, Kylie Minogue, Kelsea Ballerini, Thomas Rhett, Phillip Phillips, Dylan Scott, LoCash, The Cadillac Three, Tyler Rich, Canaan Smith and The Shires. “I couldn’t be more excited about continuing my journey with the Sony family,” says Rimes of the renewed deal.
Warner Chappell has partnered with Song Sleuth, a startup designed to find “undiscovered” royalties from user-generated content and derivative works, specifically using their tool UGSeeker. Song Sleuth describes this as “the first of a number of major deals that are currently in the pipeline.”
Connection Music Publishing has signed a new agreement with indie pop singer-songwriter Hayes Warner, fresh off the release of his songs “Shut Up” and “Airport.” The rising talent will perform at SXSW and as an opener for Lewis Capaldi. Connection Music Publishing is an indie publishing house, founded in early 2021 by Daniel Glass, founder and president of Glassnote Records, and Chris Scully, general manager and CFO of Glassnote Records.
George Gershwin‘s heirs have opted to renew their long-term publishing administration deal with Raleigh Music Publishing. The deal is specifically for the works owned under A Gershwin, LLC, which holds a major share of Gershwin’s copyrights, including “Rhapsody in Blue” (arr. Ferde Grofé), works from musicals like Porgy and Bess, Shall We Dance, Crazy for You, An American in Paris, Nice Work If You Can Get It, and more. Songs from these stage productions remain some of the most vital musical works in American history, including “They Can’t Take That Away from Me,” “Love Is Here to Stay,” “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off,” “A Foggy Day,” and “Summertime.”
Sony Music Publishing has extended its global partnership with David Gates and his publishing company Kipahulu Music which began in the 1960s. Gates is best known as the frontman of the band Bread and as the songwriter of hits for The Murmaids and The Monkees, and worked with Elvis Presley, Bobby Darin, Merle Haggard and more. His hits include “If,” “Everything I Own,” “It Don’t Matter To Me,” “Baby I’m-A Want You,” “Make It With You” and many more.
Warner Chappell Music has signed a worldwide publishing deal with MZMC Inc. Korea Co. — a popular production and publishing company in the K-pop market. Under the partnership WCM will be administering MZMC’s entire music catalog worldwide, including hits like ‘Fine’ by Taeyeon; ‘Ko Ko Bop’, ‘Love Shot’, and ‘Tempo’ by EXO; RBB (Really Bad Boy)’ by Red Velvet, as well as ‘We Go Up’ by NCT DREAM.
Ultra International Publishing has expanded its Afrobeats operations to Nigeria and has formed a new creative hub there. Ultra has appointed Harold Serero, a London-based A&R manager, to oversee the operation. The company’s signings within the genre include Tejiri Akpoghene who is signed jointly between Ultra and Revels Group’s publishing arm Coup D’Etat Music. They have also signed Maesu, a rising Afrobeats artist, and Amexin to publishing agreements.
Marv Green has inked a global publishing deal with Red Door Music Group and Warner Chappell Music. Over the past few years, he has worked with Morgan Wallen, Jake Owen, Eric Church, Brooks and Dunn, Jon Pardi, Midland, Lee Brice, Tim McGraw and more. He is most known for his BMI Song of the Year-winning track “Amazed,” which was released by Lonestar.
Boosey and Hawkes, which is part of Concord, has added ballet score Mythologies to its catalog. Written by Thomas Bangalter of Daft Punk, the ballet set to his score has been touring France and Italy since April 2022.
Warner Chappell Music, Liz Rose Music and Jimmie Allen have come together to jointly sign Cameron Bedell to a global publishing agreement. The singer-songwriter from Wichita, Kansas recently co-penned “Down Home” by Allen.
Sentric Music has signed Mason, a Dutch producer and DJ, to an exclusive publishing administration deal. The talent has been making dance music since his breakout song “Exceeder” in 2006. Since then he has worked with Roisin Murphy, Shingai, Aqualung, Kurtis Blow, Sway, and more.
Minds on Fire, a pop and dance-focus music publishing company, has announced that it is partnering with BMG. Its catalog will now be administered by BMG and future co-publishing signings will be done jointly with the Berlin-based company as well. The first signings to this new deal are Emre Turkmen and Michael Goldsworthy, founding members of the group Years & Years.
King Pen Music and Warner Chappell have joined together to sign a global publishing agreement with Liam St. John, a blues singer-songwriter and former contestant of The Voice (Season 19).
TuneCore and Sentric Music Group have renewed and expanded their long-term partnership. The refreshed deal will allow TuneCore’s DIY musicians to use Sentric’s technology and direct global collection network to increase revenue opportunities. The original partnership was formed in 2018, allowing TuneCore artists to submit unlimited songs for a one-time $75 set-up fee and 15% commission with the option for synch services as well.
Big Machine Music — a subsidiary of HYBE America — has signed Troy Cartwright to an exclusive co-publishing deal. Last year, the Texas-born artist was named On the Horizon Artist by SiriusXM channel The Highway. As a songwriter, he has already written with Ryan Hurd, Josh Abbott Band, Nickelback and more.
Warner Chappell Music has signed an agreement with Truth or Dare Publishing to co-develop select artists from the Truth or Dare Management Projects roster. Led by Missi Gallimore, Truth or Dare Publishing’s client list features KK Johnson of Track 45, Ben Roberts of Carolina Story, Mary Gauthier, Abbey Cone and Sam Williams (grandson of Hank Williams).
Bucks Music Group has signed New Zealand-born Molly Payton to an exclusive publishing deal in the U.K. and Europe. She remains signed to Mushroom Music Publishing, which has a longstanding relationship with Bucks, for the rest of the world.
After earning his first Latin Grammy nomination for his work on Rauw Alejandro’s Trap Cake, Vol. 2, YENSANJUAN (real name: Roberto Rivera Elias) signed a global publishing deal with Rimas Publishing. In addition to Alejandro, the emerging Puerto Rican songwriter, who says he’s “living one of the most exciting moments of my career,” has worked with artists such as Sebastian Yatra and Feid. He joins Rimas’ star-studded roster, which includes Bad Bunny, Eladio Carrión, Mora, Súbelo NEO and Tempo.
Variety show host, singer, songwriter and entrepreneur Pat Boone has reorganized his 2,300-song catalog, which consists of both his own works and others he acquired over the years from other talents. As a songwriter, Boone penned the lyrics to “The Exodus Song (This Land Is Mine)” and a number of film scores, but his catalog also contains compositions and recordings he purchased from others along the way, including cuts from David Gates, Leon Russell, Ralph Carmichael, Paul Smith, Donn Thomas, Jimmy & Carol Owens, Roger Dollarhide and Mort Lindsey, as well as masters from Boone’s Gold Label by legacy artists such as Jack Jones, Sha Na Na and Toni Tennille. Boone’s catalog, which is held under the self-owned companies Spoone Music and Cooga Music, will team up with Honolulu-based Craft Brewz Music, a creative agency specializing in catalog data collection and film/TV licensing. Spoone also has partnerships with Sweet on Top, a company that’s subpublished by peermusic, to pitch Boone’s catalog for placements.
Lickd, a music licensing platform for content creators, has partnered with Warner Chappell Music. Under the deal, which expands upon the partnership Lickd has already forged with the publisher’s parent company, Warner Music Group, Lickd will provide YouTube creators full, precleared access to use WCM’s music catalog in their video content.
Sony Music Publishing is currently holding its first-ever West Africa songwriting camp in Accra, Ghana, Jan. 5-12, 2023. Organized by Wale Davies, the company’s head of A&R, Africa, the camp will encompass a week’s worth of sessions, wellness activities and community outreach workshops to further the development of the next generation of songwriters in the region.
Sony Music Publishing U.K. has signed rising artist Naomi Kimpenu to a global publishing agreement. Awarded the Rising Star honor at the 2022 Ivor Novello Awards for her songwriting skills, the newcomer is already gaining the attention of Jack Saunders and Sian Eleri of BBC Radio 1.
Concord Music Publishing and Stax Records collaborated to host a songwriter workshop at Stax Music Academy in Memphis. The two companies have collaborated for the last three years on other songwriting workshops, but this is the first time they’ve been able to host the classes in person. Young students got instruction from hit-makers like songwriter Varren Wade, founding Soulsville president/CEO Deanie Parker, Concord senior vp of A&R Jeremy Yohai and Concord senior manager of A&R Matthew Megan.
Rock and blues singer-songwriter Chris Rea has sold his “music interests” to BMG. The deal includes the royalty shares of his 17 studio albums, including hits like “Driving Home for Christmas,” “On The Beach,” “Road to Hell,” and “Fool (If You Think Its Over).”
Electric Feel Entertainment has signed singer-songwriter Xplicit to a management deal, and Sony Music Publishing has signed the artist for publishing. Xplicit is known for penning some of pop’s stickiest hits of the last decade, including cuts like Justin Bieber’s “Anyone,” Fifth Harmony’s “Work From Home,” and Lil Dirk/Morgan Wallen’s “Broadway Girls.”
Liz Rose has renewed her publishing deal with Warner Chappell Music. Rose is regarded as one of the most essential songwriters in Nashville today and is particularly known for her collaborations with Taylor Swift. She has also worked with Maren Morris, Miranda Lambert, Ingrid Andress, Little Big Town, and more.
BMG has acquired the royalty interests of Haddaway‘s recordings. A multi-platinum Eurodance act, Haddaway is best know for their songs “What is Love,” “Life” and “Rock My Heart.”
Concord Music Publishing has partnered with Chromatic Music to sign producer and songwriter Aaron Chafin to a co-publishing agreement. The deal entails both his back catalog and future works made under the term of the deal. It marks the second-ever signing for the Toger Brown-founded Chromatic Music, following their deal with Nashville-based talent Lauren Hungate.
Jesse Murphy has signed an exclusive publishing deal with peermusic Nashville. Son of country singer David Lee Murphy, Jesse is part of crossover band House Whiskey. This marks the first signing under the tenure of Michael Knox, president of peermusic Nashville.
The Songwriters Hall of Fame recently hosted a documentary film screening and panel of “Killing Me Softly With His Songs,” a tribute to composer Charles Fox that chronicles his life and work. The hitmaker behind classic cuts like “Killing Me Softly With His Song,” “I Got A Name,” and “Ready To Take A Chance Again,” as well as iconic television show themes for Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, The Love Boat, Wonder Woman and more, Fox is one of the most defining songwriters of his generation.
Big Yellow Dog Music has inked a publishing and label deal with Kyle Coulahan. The protege of legendary producer Chips Moman (Waylon Jennings, Elvis Presley, Willie Nelson), Coulahan is an up and coming country act that also writes for other artists across Nashville.
AJ Smith has signed a new exclusive publishing deal with Wise Music Group. Born in Denver and now based out of New York City, Smith is a pop artist on the rise, with songs “We’re All Gonna Die,” “Confetti” and “Grammy.”
Centricity Publishing has renewed their publishing deal with songwriter, singer and multi-instrumentalist, Kyle Williams. A recent winner of ABC’s Songland, Williams is one of Christian’s most talented writers, and he has built a career out of writing for other Christian artists as well as working on his solo projects and band We Are the Messengers.
Warner Chappell Music has linked with the company Group Projects to launch a joint publishing venture. Group Projects’ new publishing outfit, founded by Anthony Manker and Cooper Anstett, has already found a first signee, Sam Martinez. Born and raised in Virginia, Martinez moved to Nashville to pursue music. He’s worked closely with collaborators like Zack Dyer, Ben Stoll, Jared Scott, and more.
Bucks Music Group has inked an exclusive publishing agreement with Yahael Camara-Onono. The musician is best known for his work as both the band leader and creator of West African collective Balimaya Project.