Sony Music Masterworks

Sony Music Masterworks acquired a majority stake in Black Sky Creative, a company that produces immersive entertainment, experiential retail and live experiences for IP and brands. Black Sky will become part of Masterworks’ live division and focus on creating scalable experiential properties across music, film/TV, gaming and more. Black Sky founder Jeff Delson will continue leading the company’s day-to-day operations, while his partners Lee Rosen and Shannon Ramirez will work to develop new projects for Masterworks in close collaboration with Masterworks president Mark Cavell.
Independent label Oh Boy Records inked a worldwide distribution deal with Secretly Distribution. Oh Boy Records was founded in 1981 by singer-songwriter John Prine and continues to be run by the late artist’s family. Oh Boy’s catalog includes albums from Prine, Kelsey Waldon, Swamp Dogg, Alice Randall and Arlo McKinley. Oh Boy artist Dan Reeder’s album Smithereens and music from folk trio Palmyra will be among the first new Oh Boy titles to be handled by Secretly Distribution’s global team and distribution network. – Jessica Nicholson

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Audio Chateau Records, the new label launched by Audio Up Media, raised $4.5 million in funding from investors including Glen Barros, Gillian Hormel and Jonathan Schulman. The label also announced part of its leadership team, with Baros (a managing partner at Exceleration Music) and Schulman acting as Audio Chateau’s first appointed board members. Elsewhere, Grayson Flatness (formerly of Sounds Good) joins Audio Chateau as an A&R consultant and Kate London has been named head of legal & business affairs, a role she also serves at Audio Up Media. Audio Chateau’s artist roster includes Grupo Linea, Uncle Drank, Randy Savvy of the Compton Cowboys and Maejor Audio Sunshine, described in a press release as a “health and wellness supergroup” that features Audio Up founder Jared Gudstadt along with artists Maejor and Bipolar Sunshine.

ADA partnered with former Hall of Fame athlete and banker Travis Wilson‘s FTS Global Management to provide global distribution for FTS’ artists, including The Game, Eric Bellinger and Konshens.

Resale marketplace Tixel partnered with Stuart Galbraith‘s U.K. concert and festival promoter Kilimanjaro Live. Through the deal, Tixel will provide Kilimanjaro with tools that enhance transparency and fairness, including dynamic pricing and secure resale options for fans, while offering insights into Kilimanjaro’s customer base. “We are thrilled to announce Tixel as our partner on a number of KMJ shows,” said KMJ Entertainment head of partnerships Elliott Brough in a statement. “This collaboration marks our first steps towards offering safe ticket resale for fans who can’t attend and ensuring that live music enthusiasts are not exploited by touts. Partnering with Tixel not only provides us with valuable data but also opens up opportunities to develop unique strategies for our future events. “

Spotify partnered with anime brand Crunchyroll, which will now have custom “Curated by Crunchyroll” playlists within Spotify’s Anime hub as well as a “dedicated shelf of content” within the hub, including Crunchyroll podcast Crunchyroll Presents: The Anime Effect. The hub will also boast an editorially curated lineup of playlists including Anime Now, Anime on Replay and Women of Anime. “We are thrilled to partner with Crunchyroll to bring listeners a new curation of anime music to explore,” said Kyota Onishi, Spotify’s head of music in Japan, in a statement. “On Spotify, global streams of anime have surged over the past few years, and we hope the Anime hub will become an indispensable part of anime culture.”

French streamer Deezer signed a multi-year joint distribution partnership with global sports streaming service DAZN. Starting in France, Deezer users will be offered premium access to DAZN, with DAZN offering similar access to Deezer users later in the year. Through the agreement, both companies will collaborate through marketing initiatives and create co-branded sports and music experiences. A global expansion is planned down the road, starting with Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Synchtank, which provides asset, rights and royalty software for the music business, struck a partnership with AI-based stem separation and lyric transcription company AudioShake. Through the deal, Synchtank users will be able to create AudioShake stems directly within their workflows that can then be used for remixes, immersive mixing, fan engagement and more. “Sync deals move fast, and in this industry it’s critical for artists and labels to act quickly,” said AudioShake co-founder/CEO Jessica Powell in a statement. “AI stems help prevent rightsholders from missing out on opportunities and revenue in sync, marketing, or fan engagement. Partnering with Synchtank allows us to bring high-quality sound separation directly into the workflow of rightsholders globally.”

Virgin Music Group partnered with Riot Games to release the soundtrack album for season 2 of the Riot Games animated series Arcane on Netflix. Virgin will distribute the album globally with the exception of China, where Tencent will distribute. The Emmy-winning Arcane, whose first season debuted on Netflix in November 2021, centers on two champions from Riot’s League of Legends game. Season 1 featured Imagine Dragons’ “Enemy” as its theme song, with the overall soundtrack racking up more than 5.6 billion global streams, according to a press release. Season 2 is set to debut in November, with the soundtrack album dropping sometime this fall.