The Deals
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Grammy-winning singer and actress Toni Braxton inked a new, all-encompassing production deal with Lifetime and A+E. Under the agreement, Braxton’s Braxtoni Production will oversee and executive produce multiple projects for the network. The production company will be based at Lifetime’s Los Angeles offices. Braxton has starred in and executive produced multiple movies for Lifetime over the last decade; in 2016, the network premiered Toni Braxton: Unbreak My Heart, a biopic about Braxton starring Lex Scott Davis as the singer.
Primary Wave Music partnered with Indian record label and music publisher Times Music. Under the deal, Primary Wave will invest “significant capital” in the company while providing resources for additional Indian catalog investments and helping accelerate the growth of its existing regional, film and non-film music catalogs by assisting the Times Music team in uncovering opportunities in the United States, Europe and other markets in A&R, branding, synch, film/TV and digital marketing, according to a press release. Times Music is looking to make further investments in Bollywood and South Indian cinema music as well as “iconic Indian catalogs,” the release states. Times Music is a subsidiary of The Times of India Group.
Warner Music Singapore and Cross Ratio Entertainment, a leading Singaporean independent record label, signed an exclusive global distribution agreement. Under the deal, Warner Music Singapore will work closely with Cross Ratio on new releases, catalogs, brand partnerships, synchronization deals and marketing events as well as on identifying and upstreaming artists. The Cross Ratio roster includes Akeem Jahat, Alfred Sim, Belinda Lee, and Derrick Hoh; the label also distributes over 200 additional artists.
Academy Award-winning composer Justin Hurwitz (Whiplash, La La Land) partnered with music-for-advertising and sonic branding company Score a Score to expand Hurwitz’s “creative energy to the world of advertising — applying his unique ability to create ‘earworm’ melodies on the big screen to short-form campaigns,” according to a press release. Hurwitz has previously worked with brands including De’Loghi, Heineken and Louis Vuitton.
Will Ward — head of the talent, music, production and incubator company, Fourward — launched Fourward Ventures, a $50 million, early-stage growth fund actively investing in sectors including health and wellness, sustainability and consumer packaged goods. The company has successfully closed half the fund and is on track to close the rest by September 15. “The company seeks brands that disrupt traditional consumer categories through innovation and aims to drive change in society through products or services,” according to a press release, and will help “to quickly scale cutting edge early-stage brands into world-class businesses.” The fund has already invested in nine companies: Audio Up, Goodles, Lomi by Pela, Mad Rabbit, Patrake, Samsara, Starface, Julie and Bryn Pharma. Ten percent of carry profits will be set aside for three different charities not named in the release.
Advertising, communications, technology and commerce holding company WPP has acquired sonic branding agency amp sound branding. Under the deal, amp will join WPP’s brand and design consultancy, Landor & Fitch, adding to the agency’s expertise in delivering immersive brand identities for companies. Amp has created sonic identities for brands including Mastercard, Mercedes-Benz, Kraft Heinz, Deloitte, Shell and General Motors.
The U.K. office of French music company Believe formed a partnership with underground dance music company Rinse to handle distribution and label services for its Rinse Recordings and Bad Music imprints. Under its new b:electronic global imprint, Believe will handle the global distribution for all Rinse and Bad Music frontline and catalog releases. Rinse will continue to handle day-to-day marketing for both imprints while benefitting from Believe’s audience development team across 50 countries, with a focus on audio and video plus editorial and marketing partnerships with digital service providers.
Warner Music UK and independent record label Brownswood Recordings formed a joint venture that will see WMUK “share its expertise in distribution, marketing, and promotion and give Brownswood Recordings access to a global network and a wealth of resources,” according to a press release. The first release under the deal will be Black Classical Music, the debut solo album from drummer/producer/artist Yussef Dayes, which is slated for release on September 8. Brownswood will continue to operate as an independent label, with its leadership team retaining creative control.
Credit Union 1 is the new name-in-title sponsor of the outdoor, 28,000-capacity venue formerly known as Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre at Tinley Park located in southwest Chicago. Now known as Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre, the Live Nation venue is described as the latest addition to Credit Union 1’s entertainment naming rights portfolio in the greater Chicago area.
Insomniac Music Group partnered with free creator-safe music platform Slip.stream to make its music catalog — which includes songs from over 120 artists — to be made available and claim-free via Slip.stream’s online subscription license. Through its integration with FUGA and its Licensease API technology, Slip.stream will protect Insomniac’s copyrights on YouTube while allowing creators to use the music and monetize their videos on all platforms. The Insomniac catalog is now available to Slip.stream’s Pro and Commercial subscribers, though creators can sign up free with access to the rest of the Slip.stream catalog.
ASM Global formed a partnership with London Stadium in the United Kingdom to create additional event content for the venue’s upcoming calendar while also developing new commercial opportunities. Originally built to host the London 2012 Olympic Games, London Stadium is home to the Premier League football club in West Ham United as well as U.K. Athletics. It’s the second-largest concert capacity stadium in London.
FIVE Hotels and Resorts has struck a joint venture with Warner Music Group for the Dubai-based luxury brand’s record label, FIVE Music. To kick off the partnership, FIVE Music — alongside Warner Music Central Europe, Dabruck Creative and FIVE Music’s exclusive music publishing partner, Warner Chappell Music — is in the midst of hosting a music writing camp from April 28 to May 14 at FIVE Palm Jumeirah in Dubai with artists including Robin Schulz, Space Motion, Franky Wah and Alle Farben and songwriters including KIDDO, Bully Songs and Gez O’Connell. Through the deal, FIVE Music has also committed to establishing a state-of-the-art music studio — dubbed FIVE Music Studio — at the FIVE Palm Jumeirah.
Dequency — described as “a web3-powered, decentralised marketplace for on-chain sync licensing” — partnered with artificial intelligence music tagging and recommendation engine Cyanite, which develops AI algorithms for music analysis, tagging, search and discovery to help clients including BMG, Nettwerk, UMPG Music Solutions and more unlock the full value of their repertoire. The new agreement with Cyanite “will make discovering new, original works on the Dequency platform for use in content easier than ever,” according to a press release.
LL Cool J‘s Rock the Bells hip-hop platform announced a $15 million Series B raise led by Raine Ventures, Irving Azoff of Iconic Artists Group and Paramount Global, with participation from Amex Ventures, Wildcat Capital Management and Capstar Ventures. Additional investment came from ASK Capital, North Island, AME Cloud Ventures and XO Capital. The funds will be used to scale the business, including by creating more long-form content projects, launching new retail projects, expanding to the European Union, growing the annual Rock the Bells Festival and launching new experiential events. Under the deal, Rock the Bells and Paramount Global have signed a multi-year first-look deal covering feature films and scripted and unscripted content as well as the opportunity to live-stream the 2023 Rock the Bells Festival. Additionally, they will partner on developing co-branded merchandise opportunities. Paramount Global will also provide marketing support for Rock The Bells content, experiences and activations.
ICM Crescendo Music Royalty Fund acquired the master royalty income of a catalog of songs owned by High Society Management, including several by Latin star Anuel AA such as “Sola (Remix)”, “Soldado Y Profeta (Remix)” and “Nacimos Pa Morir” featuring Jory Boy.
Snapchat struck new music licensing deals with UnitedMasters, BUMA/STEMRA, SUISA Digital Licensing AG — which includes the repertoire of SUISA (Switzerland), AKKA/LAA (Latvia), Albautor (Albania), Armauthor (Armenia), Autodia (Greece), COMP (Pakistan), EAÜ (Estonia), GCA (Georgia), LATGA (Lithuania), SOZA (Slovakia), Abramus Digital (Brazil), Soundreef (Italy) — and multiple direct-licensing publishers for its Snapchat Sounds library.
Independent Latin music label The Wave Music Group — founded in 2021 by Angelo Torres and Caleb Calloway — signed a long-term distribution agreement with Capitol Music Group (CMG). The first music to be released under the deal comes from Puerto Rican rapper and songwriter Young Miko, who dropped the first single under the agreement, “Lisa,” in March. CMG will provide The Wave Music Group with a number of services in support of its releases, supplementing the label’s in-house functions.
Reactional Music — which has developed a rules-based music engine that allows any music to be brought into a video game and interact in real time with the game’s visuals, sound and more — closed a pre-Series A funding round led by mobile music games publisher Amanotes and early-stage VC fund Butterfly Ventures. The round was also supported by several angel investors, including former Mediatonic chairman, Red Octane CEO and Take 2 Interactive CEO Kelly Sumner. The funds will be used to deliver the Reactional beta platform and SDK for developers, continue its music licensing operations and scale the Reactional team. Reactional is currently at work on several pilot projects, while the Reactional engine is now being used in a commercially-available game for the Playstation 5 and Playstation VR2; it has also struck multiple music rights agreements, including with Hipgnosis Song Management. The platform is expected to go live this year.
PRS for Music announced a partnership with music rights and metadata management software platform Orfium to expand PRS’s licensing coverage to music users in Africa. Under the deal, Orfium will license the PRS repertoire and provide the underlying technology infrastructure to serve African markets. Coverage provided by Orfium will extend to public performances, radio, cable TV and local and select multi-national online services. The deal will also expand the global reach of PRS’s Major Live Concert Service, a leading royalty collection service for large concerts, making it available for events held throughout Africa. The Orfium partnership will function alongside PRS’s existing agreement with South Africa collecting society SAMRO for its home territories.
SoundExchange announced a new data partnership with music metadata provider Music Story to improve SoundExchange’s creator metadata. The deal is designed to minimize the need for manual claiming and help ensure accuracy in monthly royalty payments. Music Story partner Muso.AI, a verified music credit platform, captures credits, correctly links music creators to their work and spots inconsistencies that impact their rights.
Live events company LiveCo struck a partnership with Park City, Utah-based boutique producing and presenting firm MagicSpace Entertainment to bring the company under the LiveCo umbrella. MagicSpace has launched tours including Simone Biles in the Gold Over America Tour, Rain – A Tribute to the Beatles, Mannheim Steamroller Christmas, A Magical Cirque Christmas and Alton Brown Live. LiveCo, which launched at the top of 2023, also boasts partnerships with Icon Concerts, Premier Productions, BASE Entertainment, Rush Concerts, Peachtree Entertainment and Transparent Productions; it also represents talent and productions including Jimmy O. Yang, Criss Angel, Cocomelon Live, Cody Johnson, Jo Koy, Dude Perfect, Zach Bryan, MercyMe, Elevation Worship and Gabriel Iglesias.
Enote, an app that provides a library of interactive sheet music to classical musicians, closed a 10 million euro ($10.97 million) pre-Series A funding round led by Dieter von Holzbrink Ventures (DvH Ventures), the EU’s European Innovation Council (EIC Fund) and the Rudolf Fuchs Family Office. The funds will go toward initiatives that introduce innovations to the app, empower educators and provide more musicians with the opportunity to access the Enote library. There remains an opportunity for angel investors, venture capital funds and family offices to participate in a second closing of the round, which the EIC fund has committed to matching euro for euro.
Web3 company OneOf acquired enterprise rewards and loyalty software company TAP Network, which has developed customized rewards and loyalty solutions for clients including Warner Music Group, Brave and Uber. The acquisition allows for the integration of TAP Network’s loyalty software IP with OneOf’s mass-consumer Web3 technology framework. The resulting Web3-powered tech stack, dubbed OnePlatform, will provide white-labeled turnkey loyalty, commerce and data solutions for enterprise clients in entertainment, media, finance, retail, travel, consumer packaged goods, telecom and more.
SoundCloud and Feature.fm formed a strategic partnership to provide exclusive resources and benefits related to Feature.fm’s marketing tools — including smartlinks and pre-saves — for SoundCloud artists. The benefits, which will become available next month, will include perks and discounts from Feature.fm and provide SoundCloud’s “Next Pro” tier of artists with a free plan and free ad credits, while providing artists in its “Next” tier with discounted pricing. As part of the deal, Feature.fm will introduce a new entry-level pricing plan that will be made available to all SoundCloud artists for the first 90 days.
Turntable LIVE acquired fellow music-centered social platform JQBX. The JQBX brand, domain and community will continue with special features at www.JQBX.fm. The acquisition follows the announcement of Turntable LIVE’s $7 million seed round.
Revelator, which provides digital IP infrastructure to music companies including royalty accounting, distribution and analysis, announced an expansion to Japan under a new partnership with Japanese music tech agency PRTL. Under the deal, Revelator will leverage PRTL head Taishi Fukuyama‘s “expertise to bring its innovative Web2 and Web3 solutions to a market that is experiencing rapid streaming growth and is wildly enthusiastic about NFTs,” according to a press release.
EVEN, a blockchain-enabled platform that allows artists to sell their music directly to fans in exchange for exclusive perks before uploading the music to streaming platforms, announced a $2.2 million funding round led by CSA Partners with participation from gener8tor, VC414, gAngels, Daniel Rotman, Adie Akuffo-Afful, Donte Murry and Ogo.
Financing and investment company Cutting Edge Media Music acquired the full music catalog of United Kingdom-based media company First Score Music. The acquisition gives Cutting Edge complete master and publishing rights to over 75 film scores, including original music rights to films from Andy Serkis and Jonathan Cavendish‘s Imaginarium Productions. This includes Imaginarium’s upcoming animated version of George Orwell’s Animal Farm as well as its Taika Waititi-directed film Next Goal Wins with a score by Michael Giacchino. The catalog also includes scores by composers such as Carter Burwell, Christophe Beck, Hildur Guðnadóttir, David Newman and Rachel Portman for films including Sicario: Day of the Soldado, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri, Midway and Greenland.
Atlantic Records formed a joint venture with TAG Music, a new record label founded by artist-turned-executive Gabe Saporta (Cobra Starship, Midtown). The first releases under the deal include the singles “Nosebleed” from Los Angeles-based singer Sophie Powers (released March 31) and “Red Is My Favorite Color” from emo alt-rock artist Jules Is Dead in April.
China-based streaming service NetEase Cloud Music renewed its deal with independent Asian “Mandopop” label Rock Records to distribute both its back catalog and upcoming releases in China. Under the agreement, NetEase and Rock Records will continue collaborating to promote Rock Records artists and content; the new deal also “extends the strategic cooperation towards more in-depth initiatives on copyright cooperation between the two parties,” according to a press release, including the rights to sublicense Rock Records music for various uses including third-party applications, website background music and smart devices. Founded in 1980, Rock Records is home to popular artists including Tayu Lo, Jonathan Lee and Wakin Chau.
Symphonic announced a partnership with Boston-based music technology company Formless that will see Symphonic integrate Formless’ SHARE Protocol for blockchain technology. The protocol will roll out to a select group of Symphonic clients who express an interest in Web3. Artists using the technology will be able to control access terms to their music, including streaming price, and receive payments instantly while splitting royalties with collaborators and fans.
PayPal and Live Nation unveiled a multi-year partnership naming PayPal as the “preferred payments partner” of Ticketmaster, according to a press release. Under the deal, fans will be able to pay with PayPal, PayPal Pay Later products and Venmo across the Ticketmaster platform. PayPal Braintree will also become Ticketmaster’s primary global payment processor, speeding up the checkout process while giving fans access to event add-ons like merchandise and parking for purchase. The partnership also entails an “expanded global marketing program to drive broad engagement and fan loyalty through experiences and offers,” including by rewarding a limited number of fans who use PayPal and Venmo to pay for festivals like Bonnaroo, BottleRock and Lollapalooza with ticket discounts and “Cashless credits” to those events.
Multimedia Music secured a $100 million investment “uplift” from its group of investors and lenders, including Metropolitan Partners Group, Bardin Hill, Pinnacle Bank and Regions Bank, according to a press release. That grows the company’s total funds raised to $200 million. Multimedia Music also announced a deal to acquire the catalog and income streams of Emmy-winning composer Sean Callery (Homeland, 24, Bones). Launched in 2022 and led by music industry veterans Phil Hope and James Gibb, Multimedia Music with the goal of acquiring catalogs of film and TV music rights from production companies, composers and other rights holders. The company says it has so far spent over $120 million on acquisitions, including the catalog of film composer James Newton Howard and the film music library of STX Entertainment, which it purchased in February.
Reactional Music, a startup specializing in music personalization for video games, licensed the catalog of Merck Mercuriadis‘ Hipgnosis Song Management. Reactional owns patented technology that allows any music to be brought into a video game, where it reacts live to various elements in the game, including visuals and sounds — thereby creating a “personalized” experience for gamers. Reactional tracks all music use across the platform, while its Reactional Engine does not alter, mix or edit the music master. It previously partnered with Tuned Global, Musiio and Blokur for music delivery, consistent tagging and rights management of all music and sounds. “The intersection of games and music is incredibly exciting,” said Reactional Music president David Knox in a statement on the Hipgnosis deal. “Commercially it presents opportunities for both industries with in-game purchases; creatively it is compelling for artists, composers, and games developers to work more closely. And it’s not just new game releases. Reactional’s platform enables curation and personalisation of music in existing games franchises as part of a seasonal refresh.”
Chrysalis Records signed a global agreement with Secretly Distribution that covers all physical and digital distribution for the label’s frontline releases moving forward, including new projects from Laura Marling, Emeli Sandé, Ben Harper, William The Conqueror, The Wandering Hearts and more. The first release under the deal is The Endless Coloured Ways – The Songs of Nick Drake.
Digital electronic music store Beatport struck a partnership with blockchain network Polkadot to launch Beatport.io, a digital collectible marketplace that will bring “electronic music culture to Web3,” according to a press release. Developed and designed in collaboration with Define Creative, Beatport.io will launch on Aventus, a Web3 solutions provider in the Polkadot ecosystem. The new platform will allow record labels and artists to create and sell digital assets and engage with fans. In addition to the launch, Beatport and Polkadot will collaborate on 10 events over the next 18 months, each held to celebrate the launch of a new NFT collection accessible via Polkadot-integrated wallets. The events will be produced by Beatport and “take place alongside major music and Web3 events,” according to the release.
The Orchard acquired Above Board, a dance and electronic music distribution and artist/label services company. Under the deal, Above Board’s roster will have access to The Orchard’s full suite of distribution and artist and label services. Above Board founder/managing director Dan Hill will report to The Orchard managing director Ian Dutt as he continues signing and developing global dance/electronic talent for the label. The Above Board team is now based in The Orchard’s U.K. headquarters. The Orchard’s roster of dance labels also includes Liquid State/Dimitri Vegas, Amtrac, TMRW Music Group and Rose Avenue.
Recently-launched live events company LiveCo acquired faith-based concert promoter Transparent Productions, which works with Christian and gospel music artists including Phil Wickham, CeCe Winans, Casting Crowns and For King & Country.
The Warner Music Group/ Blavatnik Family Foundation Social Justice Fund bestowed a $150,000 grant to Janelle Monáe‘s nonprofit, Fem the Future, which has a mission to create opportunities for under-resourced girls and non-binary youth of color in music, the arts and education. The grant will serve as a pilot for a longer-term collaboration between the two organizations. “This grant will enable Fem the Future to scale up its programming; elevate the power and brilliance of Black girls and non-binary youth; and ensure greater access to life-changing opportunities,” said Warner Music Group/ Blavatnik Family Foundation Social Justice Fund executive director Lorelei Williams in a statement.
Universal Music Central Europe partnered with Web3 music company Centaurify. Under the deal, Universal Music Central Europe will release a series of exclusive, limited-edition collectibles celebrating its artists’ achievements. As streaming numbers grow for artists included in the collection, the collectibles will “evolve,” according to a press release. The collectibles will also grant pre-sale access to future collectibles in the series as well as access to exclusive releases from artists. The first wave of collectibles will be available this year in Norway and Sweden, with more countries to be announced soon.
The U.K. office of digital music company Believe signed a long-term label solutions partnership with drum and bass label Hospital Records for Believe’s new b:electronic imprint. Believe will distribute Hospital’s entire catalog of more than 5,300 tracks to its global network of DSPs while offering audience development services to support growing Hospital’s international reach, including video channel management and strategic support from dedicated genre specialists on Believe’s label management and DSP editorial and marketing partnerships teams. Upcoming releases to be distributed under the deal include albums from P Money x Whiney, Metrik, Hugh Hardie and Flava D. Believe also boasts partnerships with other electronic labels including Metalheadz, Shogun Audio, Cr2 Records, Greco-Roman, Knee Deep in Sound and Southern Fried Records.
Warner Music Czech Republic renewed its partnership with and invested in local hip-hop label Mike Roft to help expand its roster’s global reach. Under the deal, Warner Music will become the sole distributor for Mike Roft’s roster, including Czech superstar Calin — also a shareholder in the company alongside fellow Czech artist D-Kop and video director/graphic designer Radim Zboril. All three will continue to lead Mike Roft as an independent label. Mike Roft is also home to artists including Conspira, KOJO, Indigo and STEIN27.
Voyage, a talent consultancy founded by music executive Spencer Moya, has been acquired by digital-focused talent management firm Select Management Group. In partnership with Select, Voyage will now expand its offerings to encompass artist management services across music, TV/film, creative and fashion. The Los Angeles-based Moya will continue running Voyage as a standalone enterprise within Select.
ASM Global and Frost Bank struck a multiyear deal that names Frost as a founding partner for San Antonio Boeing Center at Tech Port. As part of the agreement, Frost is now the official commercial banking partner for the 130,000-square-foot convention center, which has renamed the premium lux level at the arena as Frost Club.
Independent sales, marketing and distribution company Republic of Music signed a global delivery services deal with distribution management platform Labelcamp. Republic of Music’s label partners — including City Slang, Full Time Hobby and Ghostly — can now upload new releases, manage their catalogs and access daily trend analytics from Labelcamp’s white-label dashboard, while the company’s operations and marketing teams are using Labelcamp to manage release submission from partners and ensure their delivery to DSPs. Labelcamp’s other partners include [PIAS], Because Music, Concord Music Group and Ditto Music.
Snoop Dogg teamed up with U.K. tech entrepreneur Sam Jones on Shiller, a live broadcast platform set to launch in April that will offer content creators a suite of tools to monetize their content, including the ability to token-gate their video and audio, share products from commerce sites and promote NFTs. According to a press release, the app “combines best of web3 technology with live, interactive video and audio streaming, to provide a one-stop-shop for creators, including NFT projects, artists, brands, and key opinion leaders, to monetize their following and connect with their audiences.”
B2B streaming technology company Tuned Global acquired Swedish music technology company Pacemaker, which holds several patents for its AI-driven DJ applications. “Thanks to Pacemaker, Tuned Global extends its B2B streaming technology dominance by now offering enhanced AI tools that will hook and excite users as part of our white-label music apps, as well as in a standalone product for companies who aren’t yet our customers,” said Tuned Global MD/founder Con Raso in a statement. Pacemaker’s AI DJ is capable of weaving together tracks and other audio, while a “match machine “can help curators instantly dig up great tracks in a massive catalog and keep the groove going for workouts, therapeutic sessions, or other playlist-driven moments,” according to a press release.
DJ/producer Steve Aoki launched Audio Media Grading in partnership with Collector Archive Services. The new company will provide grading, preservation and authentication services for grading vinyl records, cassettes, CDs and 8-track.
Cutting Edge Media Music (CEMM), a division of Cutting Edge Group, formed a strategic venture with Village Roadshow Entertainment Group that will encompass all of Village Roadshow’s past and future music publishing assets, soundtrack album releases and music supervision services for film and TV. The venture will be overseen by Brian McNelis, who heads CEMM division Lakeshore Records, along with Lakeshore’s Eric Craig, who will provide music supervision and music department support across the Village Roadshow slate. Village Roadshow COO Louis Santor will take the lead in implementing all aspects of the deal.
B2B distributor FUGA expanded its global user-generated content and rights management offering by completely integrating rights management company Adrev. Both are owned by Downtown Music. The integration formalizes months of collaboration between FUGA and Adrev, according to a press release, which states that with the integration, “both FUGA and Adrev clients will now be provided with an extended service aimed at amplifying and simplifying UGC and premium video content monetization into one, seamless environment.”
BMG partnered with Stockholm-based artist management company Scandinavian Talent Management (STM), which also specializes in music supervision, music publishing and live events. “We are delighted with BMG’s trust and are confident that we can create many synergies with their global resources and networks,” said STM founder/MD Henrik Johansson in a statement. STM clients include Swedish rock-pop singer-songwriter and BMG artist Kristofer Greczula; British guitarist, songwriter and producer Chad Neale; and Mando Diao bassist Carl-Johan “CeeJay” Fogelklou.
Chordal partnered with AI developer AudioShake to launch Auto-Instrumental, described as an “on-demand instrumental solution” for music supervisors that’s designed to streamline synch placement. “Auto-Instrumental reduces the time of obtaining an instrumental from days or weeks (if it even exists!) to a matter of seconds, making it immediately possible to trial music to picture,” said Chordal co-founder Grayson Sanders in a statement.
Film and TV company Gunpowder & Sky signed a multi-year, multi-project development and production deal with Audible. Under the deal, Gunpowder & Sky will provide Audible with an exclusive first look at the studio’s slate of audio initiatives covering music, pop culture and more. In February, Audible released In the Cut with Ghetto Gastro, an eight-episode Audible Original podcast executive produced by Gunpowder & Sky. Two upcoming music-oriented podcasts from the companies — Lighters in the Sky and Shelved — “will reveal iconic, often undercover, music stories to the masses,” according to a press release. The first-look deal builds on an existing collaboration that has spawned multiple installments in Audible’s Words + Music franchise.
Multimedia Music acquired the music publishing and music master rights for the entire film music library of STX Entertainment, which encompasses titles such as Bad Moms, The Gentlemen and Den of Thieves and music from composers such as Hans Zimmer, Cliff Martinez and Nicholas Britell. The eight-figure deal does not include rights in any of STX’s current or future films.
Deezer struck a long-term partnership with Sonos to power Sonos Radio and the subscription service Sonos Radio HD. Starting in April, Deezer will provide Sonos with a catalog of 90 million tracks, metadata, licensing, reporting & royalty management, business intelligence & data and strategic collaboration for growth and monetization of the service. Deezer and Sonos will deliver services to 16 countries, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France and Germany.
Yusuf/Cat Stevens signed to Dark Horse Records, which will release the singer-songwriter’s forthcoming album as well as seven legacy albums from his catalog, which are owned by Yusuf’s Cat-O-Log Records. Dark Horse’s merchandising arm, DH Merchandise, will operate the official Yusuf/Cat Stevens store.
ClicknClear, a music tech company that provides access to officially licensed music for performance sports and fitness, signed a multi-year agreement with the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), a leading sports organization in the United States. The NFHS promotes amateur sports participation throughout all 50 states and Washington, D.C., serving 19,500 high schools and an estimated 12 million young people across the country. It also administers high school athletics and activities and establishes regulations for the sanctioning of events. Through the deal, ClicknClear will license the catalogs of its more than 800 label and publisher partners to NFHS’s performance sports participants, with the NFHS also using ClicknClear’s license verifications system to enforce that licensing. Performance sports include cheerleading, dance, gymnastics, figure skating, marching band and show choir. ClicknClear’s music catalog currently includes 5 million tracks and more than 15 million publishing rights from Sony Music, Warner Music, Universal Music Publishing Group, BMG, Kobalt, Concord and Downtown, among many others.
Cutting Edge Media Music (CEMM) secured $100 million in new financing from a consortium of banks led by Pinnacle Financial Partners. CEMM — a financing and investment company with expertise in music for film, TV, video games and more — is supported by other businesses under its parent company, the Cutting Edge Group (CEG), including Cutting Edge Music Publishing, Lakeshore Records, Broadway Records, Music.Film and White Stork. “I look forward to our partnership with Pinnacle to help give the next wave of film and TV composers the opportunity to monetize their catalogues,” said Cutting Edge Group founder/CEO Philip Moross in a statement. CEG’s head of mergers and acquisitions, Tim Hegarty, represented Cutting Edge in the deal.
Triller acquired Julius, a software solution for influencer marketing. “We are delighted to integrate the industry-leading technology from Julius into Triller’s Creator Platform,” said Triller CEO Mahi de Silva in a statement, adding that with the acquisition, “Our unique AI-powered platform now delivers an end-to-end solution for the creator economy from brand storytelling to driving e-commerce.”
Music credits database Jaxsta executed a heads of agreement (a.k.a. letter of intent) to acquire Vampr, a music industry social networking platform. The acquisition increases Jaxsta’s footprint in the creator community by 1.3 million creators. According to a press release, Vampr’s freemium business model successfully converts 4% of the app’s weekly active users into paying subscribers — a number that’s expected to increase when Vampr Pro is bundled with the Jaxsta Creator subscription. Vampr founder/CEO Josh Simons will join Jaxsta as chief strategy officer.
GreenCity Partners and ASM Global struck a deal to develop and operate the proposed 17,000-seat GreenCity Arena in Henrico County, Va., which is part of a planned $2.3 billion mixed-use/net-zero energy GreenCity development. The agreement allows ASM Global to partner in other aspects of the development, including its main street retail and hospitality uses. Construction is slated to begin in early 2024, with completion expected in 2026.
In more ASM Global news, the company struck a long-term lease agreement and $40 million renovation plan with the City of Glendale, Ariz., for the Desert Diamond Arena as part of a strategy to increase the venue’s returns and prominence as a key component in the city’s growth as an entertainment hub. ASM Global has operated the city-owned venue for the past six-and-a-half years. The firm HOK has been selected to help with the venue’s renovation and design.
ASM Global also signed with the city of Fishers, Ind., to provide pre-opening services and professional management for the city’s new $170 million sports and entertainment center, which is set to open in Dec. 2024. In addition to hosting concerts and other events, the forthcoming 7,500-seat venue will be home to the East Coast Hockey League’s Indy Fuel. Expected to break ground in March, the venue is part of the city’s $1.1 billion in economic and entertainment investments announced in September.
Los Angeles-based rock duo Loveless signed with BMG worldwide. The duo, which released their debut self-produced EP, End of an Era, last year, is slated to embark on a headline tour this spring in North America and Europe, in addition to festival dates.
Amazon Music is the new title sponsor of The Ivors, under a global deal that will see the company showcase the Ivors’ commitment to supporting songwriters via exclusive content offerings and live performances as well as an “immersive” red carpet and backstage interviews that will be livestreamed on the Amazon Music UK Twitch channel for the 2023 ceremony. Additionally, the company will integrate the Ivors’ 2023 “Rising Star” nominees into its global developing artist program, Breakthrough.
Micro-licensing and music solutions company Lickd struck a deal with EMPIRE and Kobalt Music Group to license their music catalogs to Lickd’s Chorus music player for use in the metaverse world of Decentraland’s Vegas City.
SESAC Digital Licensing and Wise Music Australia partnered on an exclusive digital licensing deal for the Wise Music catalog in Asia (excluding Japan, South Korea and China) for rights including performance, mechanicals, grand rights, hire materials and synchronization. SESAC Digital will negotiate agreements with online service providers on behalf of Wise Music in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Timor Leste and Vietnam. The partnership will be administered by Mint Digital Services, an alliance between SESAC-US and Swiss authors’ rights society SUISA.
Singer-songwriter Susan Tedeschi signed with Brian Greenbaum at CAA. The signing coincides with the 25th-anniversary reissue of Tedeschi’s 1998 album, Just Won’t Burn. Tedeschi and her husband, musician Derek Truck, are with Full Stop Management for their solo work.
Memphis-based music credit and information services provider Sound Credit partnered with PPL for neighboring rights collections in North America. Via its sister brand Soundways, Sound Credit’s North American artist community will now be able to take advantage of PPL’s international collections service.
Live Nation will serve as the exclusive promoter for BECU Live and the Pepsi Outdoor Summer Concert series under a new deal with Northern Quest Resort & Casino and the Kalispel Tribe of Indians in Washington state.
Grammy-nominated songwriter and artist Delacey signed to Photo Finish Records, which released her new single, “Man on the Moon,” on Friday (Feb. 17).
Underoath signed to MNRK Heavy on a global basis. The label released the rock band’s latest single, “Let Go,” on Feb. 15.
Virgin Music UK reached a sales and distribution deal with Liverpool-based independent label Modern Sky UK (Jamie Webster, Leah Weller, Red Rum Club).
Pop duo Crash Adams signed to Warner Music Canada/Warner Records, which released their latest single, “California Girl.”
British DJ/producer Riton signed with Atlantic Records/Big Beat, which released his first-ever solo single, “Sugar,” on Friday (Feb. 17).
Sony Classical signed organist Anna Lapwood and will release a five-track EP of film transcriptions in April, with an album to come later in the year.
Tuned Global singed a deal with Lululemon Studio to provide their B2B white-label playlist app for Lululemon’s in-person and virtual workouts.
Chicago trio Lifeguard signed with Matador Records. New music from the band — which previously released an album and two EPs — is expected in the spring.
Primary Wave Music struck a multimillion-dollar deal with Stevie Van Zandt through which Primary Wave will manage Van Zandt’s music publishing and recorded music catalogs, as well as a portion of his name and likeness rights. The agreement includes a stake in producer royalties from Van Zandt’s work with Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes as well as band member and producer royalties from his longtime collaboration with Bruce Springsteen. Encompassed by the deal are some of Van Zandt’s biggest songs, including Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes’ “I Don’t Want To Go Home” and “This Time It’s For Real”; his protest anthem “I Am A Patriot” (covered by artists including Jackson Browne and Pearl Jam); the theme song for his Netflix series, Lilyhammer; and Darlene Love’s “All Alone On Christmas.” Van Zandt will have access to Primary Wave’s marketing team and publishing infrastructure, including digital strategy, licensing, synch opportunities and film & TV production.
BandLab Technologies — parent company of social music creation platform BandLab, digital audio workstation Cakewalk and artist services platform ReverbNation — acquired beat marketplace Airbit. The acquisition expands BandLab’s creator toolset, which also includes DAW and AI musical idea generator SongStarter. According to a release, artists have earned over $50 million on Airbit, with more than 2 million beats sold. Airbit CEO Wasim Khamlichi will step down from the role after a transition period, though all current Airbit employees will be retained under the deal.
Utopia Music is selling ROSTR, a free-to-use music industry directory and data platform, back to ROSTR founders Mark Williamson and Adam Watson. Utopia purchased the company in December 2021 with the intention of strengthening its direct offerings for creators, but, following a recent strategic reorganization, it has since refocused its efforts on serving creators through third parties via its B2B offerings, according to a press release. “Utopia and ROSTR came together with a shared mission of making a better world for music, although we’ll be pursuing this mission on separate paths, we know ROSTR is an invaluable resource for the music industry and we wish Mark, Adam, and the whole ROSTR team the best of luck,” said Utopia Music executive chairman and founder Mattias Hjelmstedt in a statement.
Codiciado signed an exclusive distribution deal with Virgin Music U.S. Latin via Golden Ink Entertainment. The signing comes shortly after the trap corridos singer, born Erick Aragon, launched his solo career independent from his longtime band Grupo Codiciado. As a soloist, he’s released a handful of singles, including “La Que Se Fue” and “Ando Enfocado.” About the deal, Frank Medina, executive producer and chairman at Golden Ink, said, “We are very excited for everything that is coming with Codiciado, Golden Ink and Virgin Music. We remain focused on producing quality music for our audience and carrying the Mexican flag high.” – Griselda Flores
Web3 record label and in-house entertainment studio Hume signed with CAA. The agency will help the company “identify and create opportunities across a variety of areas, including licensing and merchandising, brand partnerships, live events, film, and television and more,” according to a press release. “Working with CAA presents an opportunity to bridge the gap between traditional media and Web3 to bring metastars into the mainstream,” added Hume chief artist officer and co-founder Jay Stolar in a statement. Hume “metastars” include Angelbaby and the recently-launched Clio.
Warner Music India acquired a majority stake in Divo, a digital media and music company in India with a presence across all four South Indian language music markets. Divo works with labels, artists and musicians to help distribute and monetize their content across digital platforms, radio and TV stations. It released more than 30,000 songs last year in the Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Telegu music industries. “This move will strengthen our presence in the south of the country, enabling us to have a truly strong Pan-India presence,” said Warner Music India managing director Jay Mehta in a statement.
“Astronaut in the Ocean” rapper Masked Wolf reunited with Australian indie label Teamwrk under a new global distribution partnership with Ingrooves Music Group, which will now distribute releases for all Teamwrk artists. Masked Wolf’s first single under the partnership, “Never the Same,” drops on Friday (Feb. 10).
Warner Music Central Europe and Stefan Dabruck Management (SDM) extended and expanded their partnership. Under the new deal, the two companies “will build on their joint success and focus on taking European Dance music to a new global audience by marrying up Warner Recorded Music’s powerful global network and SDM’s second-to-none creative talent,” according to a press release. The new chapter of the partnership will kick off with a series of songwriting camps and releases in 2023.
Secretly Distribution reached a strategic partnership with independent royalty accounting platform Infinite Catalog. According to a press release, the partnership will make it easier for Secretly labels including Dead Oceans, Jagjaguwar, Saddest Factory Records and Secretly Canadian to pay their artists “more often.” Infinite Catalog is already in use by more than 20 Secretly Distribution labels. “Like us, Infinite Catalog is committed to bringing scale advantage to small and medium-sized labels, so that at a relatively low cost they can have the same caliber of royalty processing capabilities as the biggest music companies,” said Secretly Distribution co-CEO Darius Van Arman in a statement.
Electro-pop trio ARIZONA signed with Fueled By Ramen and will release a forthcoming project on the label. Their new single, “Moving On,” is the band’s first new music release in four years.
Singer-songwriter Dylan Marlowe signed with Sony Music Nashville in conjunction with Play It Again Entertainment, with whom Marlowe signed a publishing and artist development deal in 2020. He recently released the track “Record High” and was named one of Spotify’s 2023 country artists to watch.
SoundCloud and Pandora renewed their advertising sales agreement. Pandora parent company SiriusXM’s combined sales group, SXM Media, will continue to serve as the exclusive ad representative for SoundCloud into 2024. SoundCloud’s ad inventory will now be available through AudioGO, the new self-serve advertising platform owned by SiriusXM subsidiary AdsWizz.
Decca Classics signed composer and conductor Tan Dan, who in 2000 won an Oscar for his score to the blockbuster action film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The label will release several Dun projects this year, including Five Souls (Mar. 3), Buddha Passion (Apr. 7) and The Tears of Nature (September). It will also release five of his previously unavailable catalog albums.
Warner Music Asia signed Singaporean singer-songwriter Gentle Bones. The label will work to grow his fan base in key markets outside Singapore. Gentle Bones’ debut release on Warner Music Asia, “The Right Words,” is slated for release on Friday (Feb. 10) as the first single from his forthcoming EP.
ASM Global has assumed the management and operation of Wake Forest University‘s Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem, N.C. The company’s purview will include facility operations, staffing, event-booking and production services for Truist Field, LJVM Coliseum and David F. Couch Ballpark. ASM Global’s Wake Forest team is led by GM Brandon Berry, who assumed the role in September; a total of seven ASM Global employees work at the venue, with two additional full-time positions due to be added this year. Wake Forest will sunset its formal booking collaboration with Greensboro Coliseum, which has been in place since 2013.
SaveLive announced two new venue partners: Eagles Entertainment, which boasts a network that includes Eagles Ballroom, Rave and the Rave II in Milwaukee; and The Fremont Theater in San Luis Obispo, Calif.
The Red Clay Strays signed with WME for global representation in all areas. The group will be represented by Jay Williams, co-head of WME’s Nashville office, as well as Aaron Tannenbaum, Alex Collignon and Kanan Vitolo. They’re slated to play 28 dates opening for Elle King this spring, as well as four dates opening for Eric Church this summer, in addition to various festival dates. The group, which released their debut album, Moment of Truth, last year, is managed by Cody Payne of Conway Entertainment Group.
Nettwerk signed Florida band The Haunt and alt-pop artist Kevitch. The first Haunt release by the label is the group’s new single, “Shake.” Nettwerk will also release Kevitch’s single, “Secrets,” on Friday (Feb. 10).
Country singer Aaron Watson signed with Roundhouse Entertainment for management. On Feb. 2, Watson embarked on a headlining tour, Roughstock Road Show, to support his current album, Unwanted Man.
Penske Media Corporation — the parent company of Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Rolling Stone and other publications — has made a strategic investment in Vox Media, it was announced Monday (Feb. 6). Vox Media owns brands including Vox, New York Magazine, The Verge, The Cut, Eater, Vulture, The Strategist, Polygon, SB Nation, Intelligencer, Curbed, Grub Street, Recode, Thrillist, Popsugar, The Dodo and NowThis.
With the investment, Penske Media is now Vox Media’s largest shareholder and Penske CEO/founder Jay Penske will join Vox’s board of directors. The two companies will continue to operate independently.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“I have long admired Vox Media’s world-class editorial teams and brands,” said Penske in a statement. “We deeply respect the track record of both Jim Bankoff and the senior leadership team at Vox Media, and the company’s remarkable growth over the last decade. The Penske Media and Vox Media alliance will further cement both companies as leaders in modern media and take advantage of new opportunities at scale. Our two companies share a similar history of organic and acquisitive growth over time, and it made sense to invest for the future.”
“We couldn’t ask for a better partner than Jay and Penske Media to invest in our company’s future success, and help us build on and accelerate the leading creative and business strength across our organization,” added Vox Media co-founder/CEO/chair Jim Bankoff. “In addition, this investment by Penske Media will allow Vox Media to continue scaling its existing brands and operations, while providing resources for future acquisitions, and is another step forward in the ongoing ascent of Vox Media.”
LionTree acted as a financial advisor to Vox Media, while White & Case served as its outside legal advisor. Morgan Lewis was Penske Media’s legal advisor, in addition to Panarae Group, which acted as a corporate advisor.
Grouplove signed with Glassnote Records ahead of their sixth album, which is due out this year. “We just made the best album of our career and on our first call with Daniel, we could immediately tell that he agreed,” said the band in a statement. “Glassnote has so many amazing artists we respect and admire and we are so proud to call it our new home.”
B2B distributor FUGA, a division of Downtown Music, struck a distribution deal with Marathon Music Group that will see Marathon utilizing FUGA’s global digital and physical distribution offering for its own roster and all labels under the group’s umbrella, including Moves Recordings, New Soil, Mahogany and DMY. Marathon will also have access to other FUGA services including marketing, enhanced trends and analytics, synch and brand partnerships, YouTube services and audience strategy.
Spotify added over 10,000 Arabic songs to its platform via a new licensing deal with Rotana Music for the label’s full catalog. The songs will be available to Spotify users in Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Chad, Comoros, Cyprus, Djibouti, Egypt, Georgia, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Oman, Pakistan Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. Spotify will provide on-platform support by introducing “This is Rotana,” a destination that will serve as the home for some of the label’s most popular songs.
Music strategy and supervision agency Premier Music Group closed its second round of financing led by MEP Capital, which will join Premier’s board of directors. The investment will power Premier’s ongoing acquisitions, including, most recently, sonic identity and sound design firm We Are Listen. Premier, which did not disclose the dollar amount of the current round, was advised by Arnaud Levy at Qualia Legacy Advisors.
ASM Global‘s Tech Port Center + Arena in San Antonio has been renamed Boeing Center at Tech Port. Additionally, Boeing entered a seven-year partnership with the Kelly Heritage Foundation — an educational nonprofit affiliated with Port San Antonio, on whose behalf ASM Global manages the arena — to expand STEM learning and workforce development in South Texas via a $2.3 million investment from the aerospace company.
Music technology platform Orfium — which provides software, data and licensing solutions to the entertainment industry — acquired music cue sheet reporting and audio recognition company Soundmouse. “Over the past 20 years, Soundmouse has been building and setting the standard in cue sheet management and monitoring for the broadcast and entertainment production space,” said Soundmouse co-CEO Charles Hodgkinson in a statement. “Combine that with Orfium’s expertise in UGC tracking and claiming for publishers, labels and production music companies and we bring the worlds of digital and broadcast together in an integrated way.”
RECORDS Nashville, Barry Weiss‘ joint venture with Sony Music Entertainment, signed the James Barker Band. The group’s first single under the label, “Meet Your Mama,” drops Friday (Jan. 27). Comprised of James Barker, Taylor Abram, Connor Stephen and Bobby Martin, the band is signed with BOOM Music Group for publishing and Starseed Entertainment for management.
Live entertainment and concert production company Décibels Productions has acquired a majority stake in Olivier Gluzman‘s French talent agency Les Visiteurs du Soir (Rufus Wainwright, Angélique Kidjo, Pink Martini). The deal will allow Les Visiteurs du Soir artists to “tap into [Décibels’] production skills and global network,” said Gluzman in a statement. Morgan Production, the audiovisual company and festival organizer that first invested in Les Visiteurs du Soir in 2011, will remain a key stakeholder in the agency.
Sony Music and Todd Moscowitz‘s new artist and label services company Santa Anna signed a distribution agreement with indie label Listen to the Kids (Yeat, Alexander 23, Ericdo, Sally Bossa). Under the deal, Listen to the Kids’ roster will have access to Santa Anna’s marketing, distribution, legal and promotional support, among other services.
Big Loud Records artist Mackenzie Porter (“Thinking ‘Bout You,” “Pickup”) signed with CAA. She will be represented by the agency’s Bennett Beckner and Jeff Krones.
Riser House Records artist Meghan Patrick signed with WME for global representation and Make Wake Artists — where she will work with Chris Kappy and Randi McFadden — for management. Patrick released her new song “She’s No Good For Me” on Friday (Jan. 20).
Compass Records Group signed alt-country artist Robbie Fulks, who will release a new studio project on the label this spring. Fulks is ramping up for a U.S. tour that kicks off in April.
Kelsey Hart signed with Curb Records; he previously signed to Curb | Word Music Publishing as a songwriter for artists including Jake Owen, Dylan Scott and Trace Adkins. The label recently released two songs from Hart: “Forget to Remember You” and “My Daddy’s Fault.”
Nettwerk signed producer Donovan’s Playground, a new project from Fallen Roses member Donovan Ferra; Smile High, the solo project of Ben “Smiley” Silverstein of The Main Squeeze; and Malaysian alt-pop artist A Kid Named Rufus. The label will soon release Donovan’s Playground’s debut album To My Past Self, Smile High’s EP Snack Pack and Rufus’ single “Eighteen” featuring Cole Bauer.
Matador Records signed Brooklyn duo Water From Your Eyes and will release their new album in the first half of the year. Water From Your Eyes will host a weekly live residency in New York throughout the month of March leading up to the release.
Independent label +1 Records has signed a strategic global partnership with Exceleration Music, the companies announced Wednesday (Jan. 25).
Under the terms of the deal, Exceleration has made an investment in the +1 catalog and will provide support in distribution, marketing, operations, administrative services and more to power the label’s past and future releases. Jonny Kaps, +1 ‘s co-founder and CEO, will continue to lead the label while co-founder Nat Hays Boas is stepping down to pursue other opportunities.
The first new music under the partnership will include releases from Rejjie Snow, Nate Husser, Lo Village and Anna Shoemaker. Additional artists on the +1 roster include Anna of the North, Argonaut & Wasp, DavidTheTragic, Geordie Kieffer, is0kenny and Japan, Man. The label was established in 2008 by Kaps, Boas and Josh Swade; past releases include music by The Heavy and The Kooks.
Launched in January of 2021 by industry veterans Glen Barros, John Burk, Charles Caldas, Amy Dietz and Dave Hansen, Exceleration Music has made a number of big moves in the indie label space over the past two years. Among other deals, the company has invested in labels including Alligator Records, Mom + Pop and SideOneDummy and acquired Bloodshot Records, Kill Rock Stars, Heroic Music Group and jazz label Candid Records. Exceleration also has an agreement with the Ray Charles Foundation for special releases from the music legend’s vault.
Said Kaps in a statement, “+1 Records has always been different. We are an independent record label that comes from a management perspective, specializing in artist development. Our A&R prioritizes music and artists over data. I am so happy to partner with an independent company whose values, philosophies, strategies, and resourcefulness mirror our own. Together we will be an even great resource for independent artists.”
Added Dietz, “Jonny and the +1 team have built a vibrant and impactful label by focusing on artist development and being agile and innovative. From my first meeting with Jonny it was clear his passion, vision, and artist-first ethos, completely aligned with our mission at Exceleration Music. I know that by combining the talented +1 team, with the expertise and resources of the growing and talented Exceleration team, we will together take +1 and its artists into a bright future.”
“Our investment in +1 underscores one primary way in which Exceleration serves the independent music community,” said Barros. “Jonny has done a remarkable job of creating a cutting-edge label. We believe that, with our added human and financial resources, he will have the ability to take the label to the next level and beyond – way beyond! We can’t wait to see what the future holds for this partnership.”