Publishing
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“Flower Shops” hitmaker and singer-songwriter Ernest is launching his own music publishing venture, ERN’s Cadillac Music, with three songwriters.
The venture, in partnership with Big Loud Mountain Music, has signed writers Chandler Walters and Cody Lohden. Then, in conjunction with Big Loud Mountain Music and fellow singer-songwriter Mitchell Tenpenny’s publishing company High Dime, ERN’s Cadillac Music has signed Mitchell’s brother, Rafe Tenpenny.
As a songwriter, Ernest remains signed to a joint publishing deal between Universal Music Publishing Group and Big Loud Publishing. The CMA Triple Play Award winner has co-written hits for Morgan Wallen (“More Than My Hometown”), Chris Lane (“Big, Big Plans”), Kane Brown (“One Mississippi”), Florida Georgia Line (“I Love My Country”) and Diplo (“Heartless,” feat. Wallen).
Launching his own music publishing venture marks the fruition of a long-held dream. “It’s definitely been within my five-year plan, but I didn’t know it would happen so fast,” Ernest tells Billboard. The company’s name is a tip of the hat to the cover of Ernest’s second Big Loud project, Flower Shops (The Album), which features the beloved Cadillac that Ernest bought in September 2021.
“Cadillac music, that’s kind of what I’ve been joking and calling any of my demos that I’d listen to in the Cadillac,” Ernest says. “It’s gotta pass the Cadillac test.”
Two of the initial signings to ERN’s Cadillac Music have close connections to Ernest. Walters, whom Ernest discovered through TikTok, is his touring steel player, while Ernest met Tenpenny in the fifth grade. Ernest was introduced to Lohden’s music through a social media post from Barstool Sports.
“I respect him not only as a friend, but as one of the best writers in the game right now, so for him to show faith in signing me means the world,” Tenpenny says of Ernest, adding that they wrote their first song together in eighth grade. “It’s always just been two friends coming together and having fun. He’s always had a talent for coming up with words and rhymes on the spot, he’s one of the best freestylers ever.”
“Over the past year we’ve traveled all over the country together and I have gotten to know him as a brother,” Walters says of Ernest via email. “Ern picking me to be in Cadillac Music is super humbling for me. He is one of the most accomplished songwriters in Nashville and him seeing something in me means more than anything.”
“Ern is the GOAT,” Lohden says, adding Ernest is already giving him advice.
“Ern told me to stay humble and keep doing what I’m doing…Just keep working hard and the songs will just keep getting better. It’s very cool to have him on my side and I’m very grateful!”
Big Loud Publishing staffers will work with ERN’s Cadillac Music writers, though as the venture grows, staffers may be added in the future. Ernest says he doesn’t have a set number of writers that he would ultimately like his publishing venture to support, preferring that it grow organically.
“I’m not in a hurry to stack a roster. I love the writers I have now, and the Big Loud building is kind of like one big family,” Ernest says. “It’s like Motown in a way, where there’s several rooms going on at once and I can bounce between rooms and throw in ideas. Now, I’ve got my space over there and Big Loud writers are welcome to crash those rooms and we all just work together.”
He also credits his and Big Loud’s mission of “empowering young creatives to just be free, creatively. Magic will happen if you just create the environment for people to be comfortable and let their guards down.” He adds, “That’s the environment I flourish in and those are the types of writers that I gravitate to when it comes to signing.”
Ernest hopes ERN’s Cadillac Music helps aspiring songwriters get their big break in the same way songwriters The Warren Brothers (Tim McGraw’s “If You’re Reading This,” Toby Keith’s “Red Solo Cup”) did for him.
“I want to be a source for young writers who haven’t gotten a chance yet to play ball,” Ernest says. He recalls how The Warren Brothers became advocates for Ernest and Mitchell Tenpenny earlier in their careers. “That changed our lives because we were in [writing] rooms we had no business being in, but we were getting in them because the Warren Brothers vouched for us, and then we had to do the rest on our own. But getting that one person that could bridge the gap, that’s the hardest part in this town. I want to create an environment where more writers can get a break.”
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.
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Quentin Miller has opened up more about his time assisting Drake and the OVO camp with songwriting duties over the past year, doing so again in a new interview. In the chat, the Atlanta native revealed that his publishing deal made it so that he never received any checks for his work on Drake’s If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late project.
Quentin Miller sat down with VladTV to discuss the issue at hand and it appears to be just a portion of a more extended conversation. In one clip, Miller explains how OG Maco was the person who informed Meek Mill that Miller was the alleged ghostwriter in Drake’s camp, making for a number of uncomfortable situations for Miller going forward.
Beyond that, Miller shared that a lopsided publishing deal with Tricky Stewart didn’t work out in his favor and dropped the bombshell that he never received one bit of compensation for his work during his time with Drake.
“I had to feed my family off getting paid under the table in that situation,” Miller said. “Tricky wouldn’t let me go and it took me…I didn’t get out that deal until 2019, 2020 [and] I signed in 2011. I had to let go of a lot of sh*t just to get out.”
Last year, Miller sat down with the New Rory and Mal podcast sharing similar sentiments of his time in the music industry but maintained that he’s not at war with DJ Drama, Drake, OG Maco, and any of the aforementioned.
Check out Quentin Miller in the clip below.
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Photo: Theo Wargo / Getty
Stanley Mills, a former music publisher who served on the boards of the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) and the Harry Fox Agency, has died at the age of 91.
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Mills, the son of Mills Music Publishing Company founder Jack Mills, died on Thursday (Dec. 29) at the Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New Hyde Park, N.Y. A cause of death was not provided.
Mills was born on Feb. 18, 1931. He began his career by working for his father at Mills Music. He remained with the company after it was sold to EMI Music Publishing in 1964. Two years later, he joined E.B. Marks (now Carlin America). In 1968, with the urging of his songwriter friends, Mills founded September Music and Galahad Music, representing many influential songs at the time, including “Cara Mia,” “Hands Up,” “My Melody of Love,” and the “Chicken Dance.”
Mills sold both September Music and Galahad Music to Memory Lane Music in 2015.
He is survived by his sons, Kenneth Mills and Mitchell Mills; nephews, Joshua Mills and Peter Alpert; and five grandchildren. Services will be private.
Arriving just before New Years’ Eve, on Friday (Dec. 30), the Copyright Royalty Board judges issued their ruling on streaming royalty rates for songwriters for the period of January 2023 to December 2027, upholding a settlement proposed by the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA), Digital Media Association (DiMA), and Nashville Songwriters’ Association International (NSAI) in late August. This ruling sets the rates for Subpart C and D of the five year period known as Phonorecords IV (or “Phono IV” for short), and it represents a compromise between the music industry and the streaming services, creating certainty around the royalties owed to songwriters for U.S. mechanicals.
According to the settlement, which the NMPA touts as the “highest rates in the history of digital streaming,” the headline rate will increase from 15.1% of revenue in 2023 to 15.2% in 2024 and then up a half a percentage point in each of the remaining three years, peaking at 15.35% in 2027, the final year of the term.
For stand-alone portable subscription offerings — like Spotify — the total content cost (TCC) component of the rate formula will be set at 26.2% of what’s paid to labels for the entire term, or $1.10 per subscriber, whichever is lower. Previously, those numbers were 21% of revenue and 80 cents per subscriber.
This means that the resultant TCC pool is measured against the total service revenue. Whichever is larger is designated the “all-in” pool, including both performance and mechanical royalties. After this is established, performance royalties are subtracted out, leaving behind solely the mechanical royalties.
Finally, the resultant mechanicals are compared against a pool, calculated by multiplying a streaming service’s total subscribers by 60 cents per person. Whichever of these two totals is bigger becomes the final mechanical royalty pool paid out to publishers and songwriters. Previously, the multiplier for the last 10 years had been set at 50 cents per subscriber.
This final ruling, reached two days before its rates are set to take effect, is a striking contrast from the lengthy proceedings to set streaming rates for Phonorecords III (2018-2022). Though that five year period is nearly over, its rates are still not finalized. In 2018, the music industry initially won the increase of the headline rate from 11.4% to 15.1% over the five year period, but the following year, Spotify, Amazon, Google and Pandora appealed, hoping to secure a lesser rate. This resulted in a legal back-and-forth that continues today, and although it is nearing its completion, it has created uncertainty surrounding what songwriters are owed for their work.
In hopes of streamlining the process and avoiding lengthy proceedings, the three settling parties worked together to propose a settlement for approval or denial by the CRB. Though other participants and interested parties outside of those who took part in the settlement were given the opportunity to explain their point-of-view during the month-long “comment period,” which ran from Nov. 7 to Dec. 7, the board explained in its ruling that its role is to either adopt or decline the settlement’s terms as presented, not to “modify” or add “requested adjustments.”
The ruling makes note of concerns provided by the 20 total commenters who weighed in on the settlement during the period, including that to some independent songwriters “the proposed rates might seem inadequate” and that several commenters prefer “alternative methods for inserting inflation adjustments.” “However,” the board states in the ruling, “the settlement is what is before the judges for consideration, not alternative rates or proposals for alternative procedures.”
In a statement Friday, NMPA president and CEO, David Israelite, celebrated the news. “Starting January 1, songwriters will enjoy the highest rates in the world and the highest rates in the history of digital streaming,” he said. “Thanks to the many songwriter advocates who worked hard to make this happen. There are still many challenges ahead to ensure that songs receive their proper value, but the future is bright.”
DiMA president and CEO, Garrett Levin, added, “We appreciate the Copyright Royalty Board for recognizing the benefits of this landmark agreement and the certainty it provides for streaming services, publishers, and songwriters alike. Thanks to the agreement, we can kick off 2023 focused on fans and continuing to grow streaming for the benefit of all stakeholders.”
Additional Reporting by Ed Christman
Songwriters have something to celebrate this holiday season. Though it seemed rulings on royalty rates for the period of 2018-2022 (Phonorecords III) and 2023-2027 (Phonorecords IV) would not receive final judgement by the Copyright Royalty Board in time for Christmas, there is finally clarity about at least one type of royalty. The board on Friday (Dec. 16) accepted a proposed settlement to hike the royalty rate for U.S. mechanicals for physical products (like vinyl records, CDs, cassettes), permanent downloads, ringtones and music bundles.
Taking effect on Jan. 1, 2023, as part of Phonorecords IV, songwriters will earn 12 cents per track or 2.31 cents per minute of playing time or fraction thereof, whichever amount is larger for physical products and permanent downloads. This will also include inflation-based adjustments for subsequent years of the rate period, a major change for composers who have historically been locked into stagnant penny rates for sales, despite the increasing cost of living. Ringtones will remain at the same rate as they were previously, and the money earned for each element of a music bundle will be decided according to the rates for that element.
The new ruling today approves what is known as “Settlement 2,” which was formed by the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA), Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI), as well as the major music companies: Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group earlier this year.
As the name of the settlement implies, there was one that preceded it. In 2021, the same parties proposed “Settlement 1” which would have upheld the long-standing 9.1 cent penny rate for physical goods and permanent downloads. That proposed settlement was sent to the Copyright Royalty Board judges for approval last year, but it triggered backlash among some in the independent writer community.
The 9.1 cent rate has been in effect since 2006 and has not risen with inflation. George Johnson, an independent songwriter who often pushes back against settlements at the Copyright Royalty Board in favor of higher rates, and other interested parties objected to continuing this 9.1 cent rate for another five year period. They also noted other issues with Settlement 1, like the lack of adjustments for inflation, and questioned a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the major labels and the NMPA, which could have provided waivers on late fees the U.S. Copyright law allows when payment deadlines are missed.
In response to concerns, The CRB judges concluded the proposed settlement did not provide a reasonable basis for setting statutory rates and terms as stated in proposed settlement 1.
For many years, the CRB rate proceedings have primarily focused on achieving fair compensation for streaming rates. In 2021, audio digital services paid out about $1.3 billion to publishers and songwriters, according to data from the Mechanical Licensing Collective.
While sales formats comprise roughly 15% of the recorded music market, the NMPA estimates those formats produce just 5% of U.S. publishing royalties. If streaming continues to grow at its current pace, some say that within three years these sales formats that are covered by the subpart B configurations might only account for 1% of publishing royalties.
The NMPA has also pointed out in the past that rate litigation is expensive — often in the tens of millions of dollars — as a reason why they have focused on fighting for high streaming rates rather than what formats are covered by subpart B, noting that the cost of litigation could end up equaling or outweighing whatever additional money a higher subpart B hike could achieve.
In Friday’s ruling, however, the court notes that the royalties generated by vinyl, CDs, downloads and other formats covered in subpart B “should not be treated as de minimis, or as a ‘throw away’ negotiating chip to encourage better terms for streaming configurations.” They also noted the improvements to Settlement 2 as “distinguishable” from the first proposed settlement.
The event marks the biggest rate increase for songwriters for physical goods and permanent downloads in almost two decades.
Now, just one final step remains: the register of copyrights has to check and make sure this is compliant with the copyright statute, and if approved — which is typical — this will go into effect at the top of the year. However, participating parties also have 30 days to file an appeal to the CRB’s determination.
Nearly a year after Ultra Records founder Patrick Moxey sold his 50% share of the lauded dance imprint to Sony Music, the executive is being sued by the major label over his continued use of the “Ultra” trademark.
When Moxey sold his remaining stake in Ultra Records this past January, it marked a turning point in dance music history — giving Sony full control of the label it had previously held a 50% stake in. While Moxey parted ways with the imprint he founded in 1995, he held on to his other company, Ultra International Music Publishing, LLC. But in a complaint filed last month in New York, Sony Music argues he has no legal rights to use the “Ultra” name following the sale.
“Notwithstanding that Moxey received a substantial payment as part of the buyout, after which he ceased to have any involvement in the business of Ultra Records, he has sought to perpetuate the falsehood that he remains involved with Ultra Records by wrongfully continuing to use Ultra Records’ ULTRA trademark as part of his music publishing business,” reads the complaint, which was filed Nov. 11.
The complaint continues that under the terms of a 2012 agreement that marked Sony’s acquisition of 50% of Ultra Records, “Ultra International Music Publishing and its affiliates were only permitted to use the word ‘Ultra; under license from Ultra Records. That license was terminated by Ultra Records following the buyout, effective March 29, 2022.”
The complaint goes on to state that Ultra Publishing’s continued use of the name is in violation of the Ultra Records trademark, noting that “No written license agreement was ever executed between Ultra Records and Ultra International Music Publishing concerning the latter’s use of the ULTRA trademark.”
In a statement provided to Billboard, Sony Music states that “Patrick Moxey sold Ultra Records and the Ultra brand to Sony Music Entertainment in exchange for a substantial buyout payment, and now is perpetuating the falsehood that he remains affiliated with his former company by continuing to use the Ultra name in connection with the publishing operations he controls. These actions knowingly misrepresent his involvement with Ultra and are in clear violation of the trademark rights SME acquired in a mutually agreed upon transaction.”
While a representative for Moxey did not immediately return a request for comment, in a statement given to Music Business Worldwide, he claimed that Sony has “done nothing but bully me from the day I sold them my record company. Ultra International Music Publishing has been an independent standalone business for over 20 years, which publishes songs co-written with Drake, Post Malone, Ed Sheeran, 21 Savage, Rihanna, Future, Kygo and many more.
“The vast majority of our songs are not on Ultra Records or Sony [Music],” Moxey continued. “I have made it abundantly clear on numerous occasions in media interviews that Ultra International Music Publishing is completely separate from Ultra Records, and always has been. I have every right to use the name ‘Ultra’ in connection with Ultra International Music Publishing, and won’t be intimidated by a massive global corporation.”
After leaving Ultra Records, Moxey announced a new dance label venture, Helix Records, which has since released music from Snakehips, Willy William and Two Friends. The imprint is a division of Moxey’s longstanding hip-hop label, Payday Records. Both labels are distributed by Warner Recorded Music’s indie services arm ADA Worldwide.
Keith Urban has sold his master recordings to Litmus Music.
The acquisition marks the first deal for the Carlyle Global Credit-backed Litmus since the company’s founding earlier this year. The purchase, for an undisclosed sum, includes 10 studio albums and a greatest hits compilation from the multiple-Grammy winner, as well as a collaboration agreement on future recordings.
Urban’s most recent full-length set, 2020’s The Speed of Now, Part 1, was his seventh No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart, where he’s notched 10 top 10s. He’s also landed 21 No. 1s on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart, including “Somebody Like You,” “Days Go By” and “Long Hot Summer,” as well as 16 No. 1s on the Hot Country Songs chart. On the all-genre Billboard 200 albums chart, Urban has logged eight top 10-charting sets, including two No. 1s.
Urban has earned 20.7 million equivalent album units for his catalog of albums in the U.S., according to Luminate. Of that sum, 14.9 million are in traditional album sales. His songs — those billed to him as the primary artist in Luminate’s database — have sold 26.1 million downloads in the U.S. and have generated 4.76 billion on-demand official streams in the U.S.
“I have the deepest respect for Keith, his incredible talent and his passion for making great music. He’s a musically insatiable musician, record maker, performer and songwriter,” Dan McCarroll, co-founder and chief creative officer of Litmus Music, said in a statement.
“It is an honor to partner with Keith and represent songs that reflect his integrity, character and musicianship,” added Litmus’ co-founder/CEO Hank Forsyth. “Dan and I and the entire Litmus team are so grateful Keith has trusted us to care for what he has given so much to create.”
Urban, who is managed by Borman Entertainment, said, “What makes this such a great fit for me is the genuine passion and respect Dan, Hank and the team at Litmus have for this music. In working with them, I feel that same collaborative spirit that’s always inspired me as an artist.”
Litmus launched in August with a $500 million backing from Carlyle Global Credit, with plans to rely on Forsyth and McCarroll’s deep industry ties after decades in the music business. Forsyth previously held positions as executive vp at Warner Chappell and GM of Blue Note, while McCarroll served as president of both Warner Brothers Records and Capitol Records.
Urban is the latest country superstar to sell his master recordings this year. In January, Hipgnosis Song Management acquired 80% of Kenny Chesney’s recorded music catalog spanning from 1994-2017. In October, Blake Shelton sold ownership of his master recordings released from 2001-2019 to Influence Media Partners, though that deal includes a joint venture whereby the singer will earn a share of the profit generated by his catalog going forward.
Set to kick off a residency at Las Vegas’ Planet Hollywood next year, Urban told Billboard in November that he and producer Dann Huff were “feverishly working away to try and finish [the new album], which I hope will come out early mid next year.”
LONDON — Hipgnosis Songs Funds reported a 7.5% year-on-year rise in gross revenue to $91.7 million for the six months ended Sept. 30, up from $85.3 million in the same period the previous year, at the company’s bi-annual presentation to investors, held in London Thursday (Dec. 8).
Net revenue — gross revenue minus royalties paid to songwriters under contract and administered catalogs — grew 5.8% to $78.4 million during the same period, while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) increased 16.9% year-on-year to $63.8 million.
Hipgnosis’ portfolio of over 65,000 songs, which includes hits by Dave Stewart, Timbaland, Journey, Mark Ronson and Barry Manilow, and includes the writer’s and/or publisher’s share of 13 of YouTube’s top 30 most viewed videos, has a net asset value (NAV) of $1.52 billion, down from $1.58 billion on March 31, according to the company’s mid-year financial results.
They report its “operative” net asset value as $2.22 billion, down from $2.24 billion six months prior. The aggregate fair value of Hipgnosis’ extensive portfolio was calculated by independent valuer Citrin Cooperman at $2.67 billion.
Speaking at the investor presentation, held at London’s Savoy Place, Hipgnosis’ founder and chief executive Merck Mercuriadis said he shared investors’ concern over the Guernsey-registered company’s share price, which has fallen by nearly 30% on the London Stock Exchange over the past six months as investor interest in music stocks has cooled. The share price at the close of trading on Monday was £0.81.5, down from £1.26.0 at the start of the year.
“I’m not going to pretend that the current share price is anything other than disappointing,” said Mercuriadis at the start of an almost three-hour presentation, which also included talks by Hipgnosis Songs Fund chief financial officer Chris Helm, Hipgnosis Song Management president and COO Ben Katovsky and chief music officer Ted Cockle, as well as a brief live music performance by rock guitarist Richie Sambora.
(Hipgnosis Songs Fund is the acquirer of music publishing and recording rights, while Hipgnosis Songs Management manages the publicly traded company’s catalog. There is also Hipgnosis Songs Capital ICAV, an investment vehicle established in partnership with Blackstone that earlier this year acquired Justin Timberlake’s back catalog, but is separate from the London-listed Hipgnosis Songs Fund.)
Mercuriadis said that Hipgnosis’ current share price “fundamentally undervalues the company” and he was confident the company’s extensive portfolio and proactive drive to grow revenues from its 146 catalogs, coupled with the continued growth of the global music industry, “supports our longer-term expectations for substantial revenue growth” and “will deliver superior shareholder returns over the medium term.”
Despite what Mercuriadis said was a “very challenging environment,” Hipgnosis operative net asset value per share remained steady at $1.8312 in the six months ended Sept. 30, which, when translated into pound sterling (at a sterling to dollar exchange rate of $1.2223), gave an equivalent net asset value of 149.82p as of Dec. 6.
Like-for-like pro forma (PFAR) revenues in the first half of the calendar year was $58.5 million, a 7.8% increase on the comparative period in 2021.
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.