Publishing
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Rising reggaetón star Yng Lvcas has signed a global publishing deal with Warner Chappell Music Mexico, the company tells Billboard. The signing comes on the heels of Yng Lvcas’ massive success with the “La Bebe” remix featuring Peso Pluma. The reggaetón song has so far spent 17 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at No. […]
“There is a myth that at the SACEM restaurant, there are people serving food with white gloves and an orchestra playing,” the organization’s CEO, Cécile Rap-Veber, says with a hint of amusement in her voice. “It is a good story, but it is not true.”
Rap-Veber, who joined SACEM in 2013 and got the top job in 2021, is referring to what she calls its “old-fashioned” reputation. SACEM, which stands for Société des Auteurs, Compositeurs et Éditeurs de Musique, was founded in 1851 after composers Ernest Bourget, Victor Parizot and Paul Henrion refused to pay their bill at the Paris cafe Les Ambassadeurs until they got paid for the use of their compositions there. It became the first music collecting society, as well as the model for those that followed, and over the years, it grew into something of a French cultural institution: important, successful and perhaps overly aware of it.
Rap-Veber is not running your père’s SACEM, however. As a result of European Union (EU) legislation, collective management organizations (CMOs) in Europe now compete to represent and license online rights throughout the continent (and in some other countries) on behalf of songwriters and publishers. “We are now a global society,” she says.
SACEM still licenses public performance rights in France, but it now competes with other societies, most significantly ICE — a licensing hub owned and operated by the U.K. CMO PRS, the German GEMA and the Swedish STIM — to license works to online services in many international markets. (The United States is not one of them, but SACEM represents online rights in many markets for ASCAP and Universal Music Publishing Group, among others.)
Rap-Veber has pursued a “SACEM 3.0” strategy that she describes as “maximizing rates and minimizing costs,” plus offering new services like URights, which can track the use of music internationally, and MusicStart, which lets creators register their works on a blockchain-based system.
A statuette celebrating the diamond certification of the soundtrack to the 2006 movie musical Le Soldat Rose.
Matthew Avignone
These strategies appear to be working. In June, SACEM announced that 2022 was its best year ever. CMOs across Europe are benefiting from the return of live music and growth in streaming. But SACEM grew more than its peers — its collections increased 31% in 2022 to 1.4 billion euros ($1.5 billion). Even as growth boosts the entire sector, “I have to prove that we deliver the best services at the best cost,” she says. “And honestly, I think we can prove that.”
Congratulations on setting a record for SACEM.
It might be a worldwide record as well. And there is nearly 300 million euros [$328.8 million] more on top of it. In France, we collect neighboring rights [royalties for sound recordings] and private-copy levies [on blank media, which are distributed among rights holders in various businesses] for all the culture industries. So if I talk about the performance of our team, it’s not 1.4 billion euros — it’s 1.7 billion euros [$1.9 billion]. And when I look at the first quarter of 2023, that’s also very good.
Why so good?
In the first quarter of 2022, France still had some COVID-19 restrictions, and then the summer and the rest of the year were great. We also have new agreements — with Hipgnosis, with [Hungarian CMO] Artisjus to collect online, and with ASCAP — plus renewed agreements with better rates, especially for online. And now we collect [for online uses] in more than 150 countries directly.
You talk about running SACEM like a business. Is that a reflection of the competition among the various societies?
There was a time when there was a kind of monopoly in each country. There was no consciousness of the cost because there was no competition. Then the European Commission said any rights holder can withdraw his rights for online uses, and suddenly we were in competition. And we have the highest tariffs in the world.
Rap-Veber’s husband made this painting from a photo he took at a private 2007 Amy Winehouse concert booked by former Universal managing director Valery Zeiton.
Matthew Avignone
How do they compare with U.S. royalties under the new Copyright Royalty Board settlement?
They have reached 15.1%, and it will rise. We already had 15% when Apple Music released its service in 2015. And it’s not just the rate — it’s the minimum per subscriber. Ours is higher since it’s independent of discounts. When you see our effective net rate, it’s above 15%. I’m sure it’s easier for us than for a small Eastern European society: It’s the strength of your repertoire, and it’s unbelievable the repertoire we represent.
What’s your reaction to claims that streaming payouts are less fair for songwriters and publishers than recorded-music rights holders?
The highest tariff we had on CDs was 9% of the gross price. Then iTunes forced the community to agree on 8% on each download. Now we’re above 15%. Digital has become our biggest source of revenue. I think the main issue is that [the revenue is] going to very few people. There are people, especially in urban music, who are very happy.
CMOs are coming under pressure from some of the big publishers and platforms, both of which would rather strike direct deals than go through organizations like SACEM.
To go direct with one publisher? What does that mean? We represent [the publisher-led mechanical rights organization] IMPEL, [Canadian rights organization] SOCAN, Artisjus, ASCAP and Universal Music Publishing [among others], so we mutualize our cost [of operations] and we decreased our commission on digital for our members to 9%. That’s what I’m most proud of in the last [few] years. I want to use technology to process more at a lower cost. I think it’s the wrong way to think to go direct: It’s one thing for the majors, but what about the others?
You got the top job at SACEM in an interesting way. The tradition at CMOs is that the chief executive retires with a gold watch, but you basically replaced Jean-Noël Tronc as CEO in 2021.
Jean-Noël had been here for 10 years, and I was about to quit because — honestly, I had a job opportunity, OK? So I left SACEM, and Jean-Noël and the board had a discussion, and they decided to stop their relationship. The board asked me to take the interim job, but I already had this new job. And the team here said, “Are you kidding? You’re not going anywhere!” So I went back to the board and said, “I’m interested if you agree with my plan [for] SACEM 3.0,” and they did.
For a long time, there were no women running CMOs. Now there are many: Beth Matthews at ASCAP, Andrea Martin at PRS, Jennifer Brown at SOCAN and Cristina Perpiñá-Robert at SGAE. What took so long?
There was a lot of ego. It was a small circle of people: “We are so smart, ho ho ho! Let’s have lunch and a cigar.” CEOs then were more focused on an institutional view, and now we’re more focused on day-to-day matters and how to reduce costs. Women know how to reduce costs.
What’s your favorite song?
There are so many, it depends on the mood. The songs of the moment…
That’s cheating.
Serge Gainsbourg’s “Initials B.B.,” for sure. Songs by David Bowie, “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” by Elton John, The Beatles, “Live and Let Die” from Wings. When you want to feel better, listen to “Sunny” by [German disco act] Boney M. Or Queen of the Night [the aria in “The Magic Flute”] from Mozart.
Rap-Veber says she discovered this photo of Jane Birkin and Serge Gainsbourg, which was taken for their 1969 joint album, when she was looking for ways to monetize Universal Music Group’s archives. “It had never been exploited before I found it,” she says.
Matthew Avignone
SACEM operates in a very different legal environment from the United States. France has stronger copyright laws to protect creators but also regulations that require SACEM to set aside money to fund culture.
It’s part of our DNA because that’s what a “collective” is. With SACEM, you have the highest rates in the world: concerts, more than 8%; broadcasters, more than 3%. If we take tiny amounts [for cultural funding], you will still get paid more than from any other CMO.
Some Americans hate this idea on principle.
Many of these cultural funds come from private copy levies that don’t exist in the Anglo-American system. By law in France, and this is typically French, 25% of this revenue must be allocated to cultural action. So we pay out the 75% that no one else in the world pays, except GEMA. The publishers benefit from it, too, because it helps them develop new creators.
According to EU regulations, I am required to ask you about artificial intelligence.
Last year, it was the metaverse, but this will last much longer. We see opportunities and dangers. Opportunities: As a tool, it can help musicians create music. The main issue for us is how we know whether or not our works have been used in a new product [and] how we can get paid. It’s a worldwide discussion, but I think Europe — and I hope France — will be at the center of it. We already have 120,000 songs uploaded a day, and 60% of the 100 million tracks on Spotify have less than 100 streams a year. Why do the platforms take all of this nothing music?
A lot of songwriting talent in Africa is turning to SACEM or other European societies to license their online rights internationally. How are you handling that?
African creators are usually with their local societies for their home countries, but many are SACEM members for the rest of the world. One problem is that many of these societies in Africa are controlled by the government. The only thing I can do is partner with them to help them improve their systems. In Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire, we just entered worldwide digital agreements so we can represent their repertoire for the world. We’re working with Morocco, too, and PRS is doing partnerships in some English-speaking countries. The idea is to be a bridge between the continents. I don’t wantto be seen as a colonialist — I want to be a partner.
Merck Mercuriadis‘ publicly-traded Hipgnosis Songs Fund Ltd reported a gross revenue decline for its fiscal year ended in March due to one-time charges and a tough year-ago comparison, but said adjusted revenues in 2022 grew on strong growth in streaming revenues and the return of live performances.
Gross revenues for Hipgnosis Songs Fund declined by 11.5% to $177.3 million for the year ending March 2023 compared to the year-ago period, mainly due to two large, non-recurring adjustments related to usage accrual and other factors. Net revenues also declined to $147.2 million from $168.3 million a year ago.
Stripping out those one-time items and taking into consideration a $16.1 million benefit Hipgnosis expects to gain from the CRB III retroactive accrual, the fund’s underlying revenues rose $12.9 million, chief financial officer Chris Helms said during an investor presentation discussing the results.
The fund’s pro-forma annual revenue (PFAR), which reflects revenue earned from royalty statements and strips out impacts from new catalog acquisitions and one-time items — the metric executives say best reflects the fund’s revenue performance — rose by 12.1% to $130.2 million for the year ending December 2022, rising strongly for catalogs aged younger and older than 10 years.
Overall, streaming income rose 14.8% to generate $52.1 million for the fund, while syncronization income rose 24.7% to make up $19.4 million and performance income rose 9% to $30.8 million, all compared to the year ago period. Mechanical income edged 2% lower to 4.9 million, while digital downloads made up $2.5 million and other publishing income comprised $3.9 million of revenues.
The fair value of the fund’s portfolio rose 4% to $2.8 billion, and the operative net asset value broken down by share price rose 3.6% to $1.9153, driven by revenue exceeding the fund’s independent valuer’s forecast.
Nonetheless, Hipgnosis Songs Fund’s operative EPS for the period is negative 7.41 cents, and adjusted earnings per share is 4.12 cents, down nearly 43% compared to the year leading up to March 2022.
Mercuriadis said this was the company’s “best revenue performance since coming to market in 2018,” reflecting the fund’s high-quality catalog and active song management.
“The songs in our portfolio we’ve bought carefully and we’ve bought well,” Mercuriadis said during the investor presentation. “We have a relatively small portfolio with a very high rate of success. We optimize revenues and collect them as efficiently and cost-effectively as we can.”
Mercuriadis pointed to major synch wins Hipgnosis had from four songs Rihanna sang during the SuperBowl Halftime Show, including “Birthday Cake,” “All of the Lights,” and “Umbrella,” which Hipgnosis from its acquisition of rights held by The-Dream, J eff Bhasker and Tricky Stewart. Other major placements included some on The Masked Singer, where Bon Jovi’s Richie Sambora performed Fleetwood Mac’s “Go Your Own Way” and “Brass In Pocket” by The Pretenders.
Billboard and The Financial Times reported on Wednesday that Hipgnosis has selectively shopped around a portfolio of non-core assets, possibly with the aim of raising money to buy back shares and shore up the fund’s stock price.
Mercuriadis declined to comment on whether a portfolio was being shopped or what assets it could contain, saying the fund is exploring its options with shareholders and the board.
The fund’s adjusted operating costs were 21.2% lower for the period to $29.5 million, due to lower advisory fees “as a function of the company’s lower share price during the year,” reduced administration, legal and professional fees, and lower aborted deal costs, the CFO Helms said.
The company also recognized a $43.8 million catalog performance provision or bonus relating to 6 catalogs. The provision will be paid out contingent on performance hurdles being met by the catalogs, Helms said, declining to detail the targets, which were detailed in the acquisition agreements.
Here are the key points from HSF’s disclosure:
Gross revenues declined by 11.5% to 177.3 million for the year ending March 2023 compared to 2022, due to two large, one-off adjustments. Stripping out those two non-recurring costs, underlying revenues rose by 10.9%.
PFAR rose 12.1% to $130.2 million.
Hipgnosis operative net asset value per share rose 3.6% $1.9153
Syncronization revenues rose 24.7% to 19.4 million.
Streaming revenues rose 14.8% to 52.1 million
Performance income increased by 9% to 30.8 million
A flurry of senior executives and staff members have left posts at Hipgnosis Song Management in recent months, as the company credited with popularizing songs as an asset class explored selling assets to shore up investor confidence ahead of a key vote this fall.
Since March, employees including Hipgnosis’ chief music officer Ted Cockle, along with the global heads of sync operations and song management and an executive vp of digital and innovation, have announced plans to leave the company, according to posts employees shared on LinkedIn and a statement from Hipgnosis.
The staff turnover comes as sources say the roughly 5-year-old Hipgnosis Songs Fund Ltd. has been shopping a package of assets that it apparently hopes to sell before its first continuation vote, where investors will be asked to decide whether the publicly traded trust should continue to operate under the management of founder Merck Mercuriadis or liquidate all assets.
SONG, the fund’s ticker on the London Stock Exchange, is down about 14% year to date and down 28% since it went public in July 2018. The stock was worth 0.75 British pounds ($0.97) on Wednesday (July 12).
At that price, SONG is worth less than half of its $2.2 billion operative net asset value, a discount that sources say has prompted Mercuriadis to explore selling some of the fund’s non-core assets.
For months, analysts at Jefferies and other investment banks have called on Hipgnosis to sell some of the fund’s non-core songs to raise cash to shore up the share price. The Financial Times reported Wednesday (Juy 12) that some Hipgnosis Songs Fund investors also want the fund to sell non-core assets to generate cash for buying back stock.
In addition to providing the fund’s managers with an arbitrage opportunity to boost the stock price, it could leave the company with enough extra cash to issue shareholders a special dividend — a sweetener issued ahead of the fund’s continuation vote at its next annual meeting in September.
If investors vote not to continue with the fund and to liquidate its assets, Mercuriadis and Hipgnosis Song Management — which is majority owned by private equity firm Blackstone — would likely have the right to bid on the assets in the fund; or if it goes up for auction, Mercuriadis, with Blackstone, likely has matching rights. Sources speculate that Mercuriadis and Blackstone would want to buy back the portfolio’s most iconic music assets, minus the non-core assets — the package of assets that has been selectively shopped around and which sources say includes copyrights from The-Dream and The Outfield — for their private, Blackstone-backed fund, Hipgnosis Songs Capital.
Hipgnosis Songs Fund will report results for the year ending March 31 on Thursday. In December, the company reported a 7.5% rise in revenues amid a “challenging environment” that “fundamentally undervalues the company,” founder Mercuriadis said during a shareholder meeting discussing the results.
On Wednesday, Hipgnosis announced Cockle, its chief music officer will be leaving the company. A former Universal Music Group executive known for nurturing the careers of Scottish superstar Lewis Capaldi, Bastille, Emeli Sandé and others, Cockle joined Hipgnosis Songs in 2020 as president.
“Given our decision to focus our marketing in the US, Ted Cockle, our Chief Music Officer, will not be moving long term with the Company,” Mercuriadis said in a press release. “He’ll work on the transition to America over the coming weeks. I would like to thank Ted for all he has done for Hipgnosis and I hope there will be opportunities for Ted and Hipgnosis to work together again in the future.”
Last week, Tom Stingemore, Hipgnosis Song Management’s global president of sync & creative, wrote on LinkedIn he was leaving the company after joining in 2021 to build its sync and creative operation. Hipgnosis’ synch team has played a key role in getting the songs that it acquires to generate more money than the often-high price Hipgnosis paid for them, and the team has been successful. In December, Hipgnosis Songs Fund reported sync revenues for the first half of the company’s reporting year rose 32% to 9.78 million compared to $7.41 million a year ago.
“As the division is now fully up & running, my mission is complete,” Stingemore wrote, adding that he may “go & do it all over again” as he works to “plot my next adventure.”
Cockle and Stingemore’s departures follows several other senior staff members. In late May, Nick Jarjour announced on LinkedIn he had left his role as global head of song management at Hipgnosis Songs Fund (a source who declined to speak on the record says his departure occurred six months ago); and in March, Tony Barnes’ announced he would be leaving his role as executive vp of digital & innovation at Hipgnosis Songs Fund in the coming months to lead the metaverse gaming company he co-founded, Karta. Barnes is currently still employed by Hipgnosis.
Stingemore, Jarjour and Barnes did not respond to requests for comment for this story.
Hipgnosis continues to hire, announcing two new hires in Hipgnosis Song Management, a separate company from the publicly traded fund, on Wednesday.
Danny Bennett, son of iconic singer Tony Bennett, joined as executive vp leading global marketing and audience development. Bennett joined Hipgnosis from the Verve Label Group, a Universal Music Group company, where he was chief executive officer.
Sara Lord was hired as executive vp content creation from Concord Music, and Patrick Joest, who joined Hipgnosis in 2021, was promoted to the role of head of synchronisation.
In the press release announcing the hires, Mercuriadis said Hipgnosis has continuously invested in new hires and upgrading systems over the past 18 months.
“These appointments demonstrate our commitment to investing in our capabilities and team in order to grow the value of our catalogues, and, most importantly, bring our songs to new audiences around the world,” Mercuriadis said.
Continuation Vote
At Hipgnosis Songs Fund’s annual meeting in September, Mercuriadis’s young company will face one of its biggest tests yet.
In the United Kingdom, publicly traded trusts are required to hold regular continuation votes, where shareholders vote on whether an investment trust should continue in its current form. At this continuation vote, shareholders can choose to stay the course, change managers or liquidate the fund.
Analysts at the investment bank Jefferies issuesd a buy rating on SONG last month, upgrading from their previous “hold” rating, because they said they believe Hipgnosis may sell some non-core assets from its catalog, which would provide a catalyst to narrow its current discount to net asset value ahead of the vote.
However, the continuation vote comes at an inopportune time, only a couple months after Hipgnosis Song Management and Mercuriadis were publicly rebuked by Rod Stewart, who said he called off a deal to sell some his music assets to the company.
In an unusual move, Stewart issued a statement that said, “It’s become abundantly clear after much time and due diligence that this was not the right company to manage my song catalog, career or legacy.”
Additional reporting by Ed Christman
LONDON — “I still feel like that little girl who started out in music publishing,” said Universal Music Publishing Group chairman and CEO Jody Gerson as she accepted the Ralph Peer II Award for Outstanding Contribution to Global Music Publishing. It was presented by the award’s namesake at the July 10 annual meeting of the International Confederation of Music Publishers, or ICMP, held at Abbey Road Studios in London.
Gerson was, of course, being modest: She’s one of the most accomplished publishing executives in the world. But in front of dozens of European publishing and collective management executives, she shared the story of how she got started in the business.
The Pennsylvania native grew up in a music family that owned nightclubs in Philadelphia, and she had always been interested in getting into the music business. But when she first applied for label jobs, she didn’t have much luck. Eventually, she scored an interview with Chappell Music (later Warner Chappell) and her first job there was as the archivist, where she ran the tape library and became interested in the demos submitted by songwriters.
“I started thinking about marching songs with artists,” she remembered.
At the time, she pointed out, the music publishing business was much smaller, both in absolute terms and in comparison with recorded music, which dwarfed it in terms of both revenue and, it seemed to many at the time, wow factor. Now publishing is thriving, and a series of big song catalog purchases are generating plenty of excitement and attention.
The award was presented by Ralph Peer II, executive chair of peermusic and the initial recipient of the ICMP award that’s now named after him. “This wasn’t my idea,” he joked about the name of the prize. “It was foisted on me.” But he praised Gerson’s dedication to the publishing business. “On an everyday level she helps make the industry better,” he said. “She has acumen in business and music that’s very deep.”
Gerson was introduced by Mumford & Sons singer-songwriter Marcus Mumford, who praised her as well as the publishing business at large. “I don’t think artists are the best at protecting their songs, and managers aren’t always much better,” he joked. “We need publishers!”
The ICMP meeting itself, held at Abbey Road before the awards dinner, was more about business — royalties, metadata and the other details that make sure publishers and songwriters get paid as fast and accurately as possible. Trombonist Eric Crees, who plays at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden spoke about making film soundtracks, as did composer Stephen Warbeck.
SYDNEY, Australia — Indie rockers the Rions have struck a global publishing deal with Sony Music Publishing Australia, Billboard can exclusively reveal.
It’s full steam ahead for the Sydney band, whose debut EP Minivan is due out Aug. 11. Featuring fan fave “Scary Movies” and the title track, Minivan was recorded with producer Chris Collins (Matt Corby, Skeggs, Middle Kids) in the Byron Bay hinterlands.
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“They’re a brilliant young band with a lot of heart and soul, writing great songs and we have no doubt they will be captivating audiences for a long time,” comments Sony Music Publishing managing director Damian Trotter, the publishing veteran who signed Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker.
Hailing from the Northern Beaches, the Rions was formed in 2016 by schoolmates Noah Blockley (lead vocals, bass guitar), Harley Wilson (guitar), Asher McLean (guitar) and Tom Partington (drums).
The lads got their break with first prize in Triple J’s 2021 Unearthed High competition, for their song “Night Light”. The track would land at No. 51 on triple j’s Hottest 100 countdown for 2021, and they’d follow it up with “Anakin,” which appeared at No. 64 in the national youth network’s annual countdown for 2022.
Support slots came with Lime Cordiale and Boy & Bear, then festival spots at Grapevine Gathering, Party In the Paddock and Festival of the Sun, and, more recently, a sold-out 10-date national tour in support of “Scary Movies.”
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Coming up, a spot on the bill for the two-day Yours & Owls Festival 2023 this October, headlined by Bakar, Broods and Chet Faker.
The Rions are managed by Steve de Wilde at UNIFIED Artist Management. “We’re really excited to partner with Sony Publishing in the next phase of this incredible band’s career,” he enthuses. “Damian and the team have such an impressive track record, and I can’t wait to see what this pairing of creative minds can unlock on a global scale.”
Deadmau5 has regained control of back catalog recordings in North America from his former label, Ultra Records. The term of this deal, which includes the classic LPs Random Album Title from 2008, For Lack of a Better Name from 2009, 4×4=12 from 2010 and >album title goes here
Big Machine Music has promoted Mike Molinar to president of the publishing company, effective immediately. Molinar will continue to report to Big Machine Label Group chairman and CEO Scott Borchetta.
BMM, a division of HYBE America, also announced the advancement of Alex Heddle to senior vp of publishing and Grayson Stephens to vice president, overseeing royalties and finance.
“I’m so proud to announce that Mike Molinar has been appointed President of Big Machine Music. His leadership, vision, artist relations and song sense are unmatched,” Borchetta said in a press release. “We are also acknowledging the outstanding work and accomplishments of BMM’s Alex Heddle and Grayson Stephens as they continue to power the Machine to new heights.”
Molinar has nearly three decades of experience as a music publisher and advocate for creatives. He has led Big Machine Music since its inception in 2011, overseeing the company’s ongoing growth of a diverse roster and dynamic catalog of over 14,000 songs (including the RIAA Diamond-certified “Beautiful Crazy” (recorded by Luke Combs), “In Case You Didn’t Know (Brett Young) and “Speechless” (Dan+Shay), while also leading the company’s impact beyond its Nashville base with the addition of a West Coast division based in Los Angeles. Molinar has been named a Billboard Country Power Player for four consecutive years, and was selected for the Nashville Cohort of the Harvard Young American Leaders Program in 2021. Molinar currently serves as a board member on the National Music Publishers Association, Mechanical Licensing Collective designated by the U.S. Copyright Office, Music Health Alliance, Academy of Country Music and Country Music Hall of Fame Education Council.
Heddle recently celebrated a decade at BMM and represents songwriters Jessie Jo Dillon, Ryan Hurd, Matt Dragstrem, Geoff Warburton and Sara Davis, who recently earned her first Grammy Award nomination with “abcdefu” (GAYLE) for song of the year. A graduate of Leadership Music’s class of 2022, Heddle currently serves on the AIMP Nashville board and as a Music Row Ambassador for St. Jude Children’s Hospital. The Belmont University alum’s career includes time at Love Monkey Music, Writer’s Den Music, Propoel Music Publishing and Ash Street Music.
A graduate of Arizona State University’s W.P. Carey School of Business, Stephens brings nearly 14 years of publishing administration experience to the vice president role, having previously held positions at Sony Music Publishing prior to joining Big Machine Music in 2017.
“I’m honored by Scott Borchetta’s continued faith and partnership. Big Machine Music is my home; our incredible team and world-class songwriters are my family. I’m proud to continue our journey together,” Molinar added in a press release. “In that spirit, I can’t understate how important Alex Heddle and Grayson Stephens have been through these past several years of transition and growth. I’m so happy to see their efforts recognized with such well-deserved promotions.”
BMM’s current roster includes Billboard’s 2022 Songwriter of the Year Laura Veltz, Brett Young, Ryan Hurd, Jessie Jo Dillon, Matt Dragstrem, Geoff Warburton, Sara Davis, Eric Paslay, Justin Moore, Maddie & Tae, Anna Vaus, Matt Roy, Mike Eli, Daniel Ross, Callista Clark, Tyler Rich, Laci Kaye Booth, Troy Cartwright, Ayron Jones, Dalton Mauldin and Teddy Reimer. Catalog writers include Luke Combs, Brandy Clark, Jonathan Singleton and Josh Thompson.
Primary Wave has purchased a stake in the publishing catalog of Kool & The Gang founding band member and drummer George Brown, the company announced Wednesday (June 28). The sale also includes a stake in the Grammy winner’s writer’s share of his music publishing and the writer’s share of his public performance income.
The deal — which includes classics like “Ladies Night,” “Celebration,” “Get Down on It,” “Cherish,” “Jungle Boogie,” “Summer Madness” and more — is in the multi-million dollar range, according to Primary Wave.
In addition to Brown, Kool & The Gang is comprised of Robert “Kool” Bell, Ronald Bell, Dennis “Dee Tee” Thomas, Robert “Spike” Mickens, Charles Smith, Woodrow “Woody” Sparrow and Ricky West. The Jersey City troupe first got its start on indie label De-Lite Records, which released the band’s debut album, Kool and the Gang, in 1969. The group broke through in 1973 with its fourth album, Wild and Peaceful, which contained hits like “Jungle Boogie” and “Hollywood Swinging.” Pulling from funk, soul, R&B, disco and jazz influences, Kool & The Gang’s work also played a defining role in the soundtracks for Rocky (1976) and Saturday Night Fever (1977).
For its impressive body of work, Kool & the Gang has received two Grammy awards, seven American Music Awards and was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame. The group also received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, while Brown — along with bandmates Taylor and Robert and Ronald Bell — was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2018.
“I am very pleased to call Primary Wave my music partner and to join with dozens of other iconic artists and creatives in an incredible business family,” said Brown of the deal. “I look forward to collaborating with Larry Mestel and the entire Primary Wave team to further enhance my catalog and the Kool & The Gang brand.”
Kendall A. Minter, Brown’s legal counsel, added, “As counsel to George Brown and Astana Music, it was my pleasure to initiate, negotiate and close this deal with Primary Wave. The alignment of a globally iconic artist and creative talent with an iconic, global independent music publisher and brand enhancer is a win-win for the entire music community and fans.”
“Kool and the Gang’s influence on generations of musicians and fans around the globe cannot be denied,” said Primary Wave senior vp of business and legal affairs Samantha Rhulen. “A few of us from Primary Wave were excited to have been in the audience when they were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2018, and we are so thrilled to now be partnering with George Brown in 2023.”
Runner Music, the publishing and music company formed by Ryan Tedder, artist manager Ron Laffitte and publishing executive Andrew Sparkler, has hired former Sony Music Publishing executive Amanda Hill as president of A&R/and co-chief creative officer.
Hill is the company’s first major hire since launching in January. In her Los Angeles-based role, Hill will be responsible for leading Runner’s global creative strategy, including writer and artist signings, company development and building out the Runner team.
“I am so excited to be starting this new chapter with Runner Music and to partner with Ryan, Ron, and Andrew, each of whom I’ve respected and admired for many years,” she said in a statement to Billboard. “I’m thrilled to be building this company from the ground up alongside them, and together with our songwriters we will create the future of music publishing.”
More recently, Hill served as senior VP of A&R at Sony Music Publishing, where she worked with major songwriters and artists including Tedder, Greg Kurstin, Miley Cyrus and Johnny McDaid. She consulted for Columbia Records from 2013 to 2019 and has managed Sarah Aarons since 2016.
“In almost 20 years of working with publishing A&Rs across all the major and indie companies, I’ve never had a more effective dialog and workflow with anyone than Amanda,” said Tedder, who serves as co-chief creative officer with Hill. “Her genuine passion for songs, writers and the creative process is as good as it gets and her 17-plus years of experience in all facets of music publishing are invaluable to myself and the Runner team. Speaking on behalf of our writers, artists and myself, we are beyond ecstatic to have her join the Runner family.”
Earlier this month, Runner and Sony Music Nashville partnered to sign 19-year old multi-instrumentalist David J. “David is a true unicorn talent and I’m thrilled that Runner can partner with Sony to help bring his music to the world,” said Tedder at the time of the announcement. “I’m also pleased to announce that Brandon Silverstein is working with Runner as a strategic and creative partner for this project.” David J has earned 75 million career on-demand streams through his independent releases, including “Lost My Heartbreak,” “Before You,” and “Stay,” according to Sony.
Blackstone Group’s Melody Holdings is an equity partner in Runner Music.