Deals
Warner Chappell Music has signed DJ and broadcaster Will Manning to a publishing deal. Manning has worked at several radio stations including BBC 1xtra, KISS FM and Capital FM, where he currently hosts the Drivetime Show and the UK’s biggest chart show. Manning recently landed a record deal with Sony Music’s RCA and released his first commercial single ‘Don’t’ last year. He is also a co-writer on the dance track ‘Kisses’ by Bl3ss, Camrinwatsin and bbyclose, which has spent five weeks in the UK top ten and received over 100 million global streams. “I literally cannot believe I’ve just signed with one of the world’s biggest music publishers”, says Manning. Emily Green, Senior International A&R & Catalogue Manager at Warner Chappell Music UK, adds, “He’s got some brilliant new music of his own to follow up on the success of co-writing ‘Kisses’, and we’re looking forward to opening doors for him to work with more top level producers and writers from around the world”.
Believe UK has signed Craig David in a worldwide artist services deal. The agreement covers a new album set for release in 2025, with singles scheduled for this autumn. Believe will execute a full artist services campaign, including global distribution, marketing, promotions and DSP partnerships. David says, “They’ve got a really cool team at Believe and are as passionate and excited about releasing my new music as I am.” David’s manager Colin Lester, CEO of JEM Music Group, adds, “I’m THRILLED to have found a modern progressive company that has a real passion for music and takes the business of selling and streaming it very seriously.”
Frontiers Label Group has launched a new imprint called FLG, focusing on rock and alternative acts, and signed Skunk Anansie as its first artist. The iconic British rock band, formed in 1994, has sold over five million records worldwide and is known for addressing political and social issues through their music. Serafino Perugino, CEO of Frontiers Label Group, says, “We are incredibly excited to launch FLG and to welcome Skunk Anansie to the family. The signing of Skunk Anansie is a meaningful moment in the history of Frontiers, an important landmark in our trajectory towards becoming the leading international rock and metal label”. Skunk Anansie comments, “We are deeply excited to be working with them. We are thankful that FLG has decided to join us in creating a fresh vision and new musical direction as well as celebrating our many musical achievements”.
Artone has acquired UK-based global D2C e-commerce music retailer and distributor Townsend Music. The acquisition creates a comprehensive end-to-end solution for physical products in the music industry, with Townsend Music joining Artone’s portfolio of companies and labels. Jan Willem Kaasschieter, CEO of Artone, says, “The acquisition is another welcome step for Artone’s continued expansion of its service portfolio and gives us presence in the UK market”. Townsend Music founder Steve Bamber adds, “The partnership with Artone offers Townsend a clear opportunity to push its European expansion strategy forward quickly, with Artone’s well established sales, distribution and manufacturing facilities already in place”. According to figures from the UK’s Entertainment Retailers’ Association, sales of physical music and merchandise grew by 7.9% in the first half of 2024, with vinyl up 13.5% year-on-year to £86.3m.
Appointments
Warner Music has announced further departures as part of its ongoing reorganisation. Kevin Liles, CEO of 300 Entertainment, and Kaz Kobayashi, President and CEO of Warner Music Japan, are both stepping down. Liles, who will depart shortly after 300 Entertainment’s tenth anniversary, plans to focus on campaigning against the criminalisation of hip hop lyrics in the US and supporting Kamala Harris in the upcoming presidential election. Kobayashi, who has led Warner Music Japan for a decade, says, “All good things come to an end and I’ve decided it’s the right moment for me to move on”.
peermusic has appointed Samantha Schilling Robinson as Vice President Of peermusic Neighbouring Rights. Robinson, previously Vice President Of Neighbouring Rights at Songtradr, will be based in peermusic’s Los Angeles office, reporting to Erik Veerman and Paul Smelt, managing directors of peermusic Neighbouring Rights. Mary Megan Peer, CEO of peermusic, says, “We welcome Samantha to the peermusic Neighbouring Rights team, and will benefit from her deep expertise in audio visual neighbouring rights and Latin American experience”. Robinson brings over seventeen years of experience in creative and rights management, with a focus on maximising royalties for artists, composers and performers worldwide.
Hipgnosis has promoted Sara Lord to Chief Creative Officer, leading the company’s engagement with creative industries to enhance collaboration with its catalogue. Lord, who joined Hipgnosis as EVP Content in spring 2023, will now oversee the sync and audience development teams, and manage songwriter and artist engagement alongside CEO Ben Katovsky. Katovsky says, “Sara has an outstanding track record and incredible knowledge of the creative industries. Hipgnosis owns many of the world’s most iconic songs and, as we seek to bring them to even wider audiences, building partnerships across these creative industries is a key part of our strategy”. Lord adds, “Starting each working day knowing that it is going to be soundtracked by some of my all-time favourite songs is truly a joy, to then be able to contribute to the legacy of those songs is a huge privilege”.
Nettwerk Music Group has appointed Katie Graham as Director Of Catalogue Marketing and Development and Ruth Wyatt as Director Of Sync for UK & Europe. Graham, formerly of Warner Music, will lead global catalogue marketing strategies from the UK, having previously managed campaigns for artists such as Ed Sheeran and Coldplay. Wyatt also joins from Warner, where she worked on sync placements across various media and markets. The appointments come as Nettwerk prepares to celebrate its 40th anniversary. Graham says, “I’m incredibly excited by the opportunity to join Nettwerk Music Group and work with the team to develop its rich catalogue, especially in its 40th anniversary year!”
Maik Pallasch has announced his departure as Managing Director for Central and Eastern Europe at Sony Music’s The Orchard, effective at the end of September. Pallasch, who joined the company in 2021, will remain in an advisory capacity. “After three great years at The Orchard, I will be stepping down from my position as Managing Director for Central and Eastern Europe at the end of this month to take on new challenges,” Pallasch says in a statement on LinkedIn. He adds, “Over the past few years, we have built a strong, interdisciplinary team at our locations in Germany and Eastern Europe that can look back on countless successes”.
Spotify‘s VP and Head Of Podcast Business, Sahar Elhabashi, will depart the streaming company at the end of 2024 after a six year tenure. Elhabashi’s exit was announced in memos to Spotify’s podcast division, with the company launching an internal and external search for her replacement. During her time at Spotify, Elhabashi oversaw significant growth in podcast listening, increasing the audience from less than 10 million to over 150 million. Spotify says podcasts remain on track for full-year profitability in 2024, with podcast ad revenue growing faster than music in Q1, driven by “significant growth in impressions sold” across original and licensed podcasts.
Sony Music Publishing has promoted Antoine Dathanat to Managing Director of France, succeeding Nicolas Galibert, who will retire at the end of September. Dathanat, who joined the company in 2018 as Head Of A&R, brings over two decades of industry experience, having started his career in 2002 with the original BMG music publishing company as a Junior A&R before moving to Barclay/Universal in 2007. In his new role, Dathanat will oversee Sony Music Publishing’s creative and business operations in France, focusing on strengthening relationships with clients and industry partners. Guy Henderson, Sony Music Publishing’s President Of International, says, “Antoine has spearheaded the most successful A&R team in France, and I know that he will bring those leadership qualities to his new role”.
Soundstripe has appointed Angela Abbott as Global Head Of Music Partnerships. Abbott, who previously worked at TIDAL and Pandora, brings over a decade of experience in business development and strategic partnerships to the music licensing company. In her new role, Abbott will lead strategic relationships with industry stakeholders and expand music offerings for content creators, enterprises and music rightsholders. “My goal is to forge innovative partnerships that deliver value across the entire music ecosystem, from creators to major brands, while expanding the availability of high-quality music for licensing”, says Abbott. Soundstripe Co-Founder & CEO Travis Terrell adds, “With Angela’s proven track record and expertise in negotiating complex licensing deals with the world’s leading music companies, we are excited to accelerate our trajectory and provide top-tier music solutions for both creators and global brands”.
Streaming, Digital, Broadcast & Retail
SoundCloud has introduced new release notifications to help users stay updated on the latest music from artists they follow. The feature, launched today, instantly notifies fans when an artist they follow releases a track or album, prioritising notifications from artists with whom users engage most frequently. SoundCloud says the platform hosts over 400 million tracks from more than 40 million creators, making it challenging for users to keep track of new releases. Users can customise their notification preferences, choosing to receive all notifications, mute specific artists, or opt for a personalised selection based on their engagement patterns.
TikTok has released data showing that 27% of songs in Germany’s top 100 singles chart for 2023 first appeared on its ‘Hot 50’ rankings. The social media platform says these tracks were listed on its chart an average of twelve days before entering the official German charts. TikTok cites German artists including Luciano, Ski Aggu, Nina Chuba and Kontra K as benefiting from exposure on its app, while German TikTokers also helped propel Alphaville’s 40-year-old track ‘Forever Young’ back into the main German charts.
Other Industry News & Events
CISAC, IFPI and various organisations representing music publishers have upgraded the Global Cue Sheet Standard to include recording metadata for audiovisual productions. The Global Cue Sheet Standard 2.0, developed for use by all parties creating and using cue sheets for music in AV productions, now incorporates recording metadata elements to support the collection and distribution of royalties on both songs and recordings. The project, an extension of work begun in 2020, aims to streamline the identification of musical works and sound recordings, as well as improve the processing of payments to creators and rightsholders. “This extended collaboration to include recording metadata elements means that the cue sheets standard will support not only authors’ rights collections but neighbouring rights as well”, CISAC says.
Talent development organisation UD has announced the full line-up for its 2024 Industry Takeover event, taking place from 25-28 Sep at the Talent House in Stratford. The four-day programme features collaborations with BBC Music and V&A East, including an in-conversation with Mercury Prize nominee BERWYN and the first live recording of Ben Wynter’s Be Unstoppable podcast. BBC Music will bring its Radio 1Xtra and Asian Network brands to educate delegates on getting their music heard, while V&A East curator Jacqueline Springer will lead discussions on music and culture. UD founder and CEO Pamela McCormick says, “This year’s programme is one of the boldest yet, providing a platform for frank discussions that will educate, engage and empower the next generation of executives and artists, whilst connecting them with today’s business leaders to ensure their voices and ideas are heard.”
War Child UK has announced details of its Women In Music And Creative Industries Panel Day event, set to take place at Google Digital Studios in London on 9 Oct. The event, part of the charity’s ‘Day Of The Girl’ campaign with YouTube Music, will feature panel discussions on topics including women’s success in creative industries and advocacy through music. British pop artist Caity Baser will be the keynote interviewee at the event, which aims to inspire the next generation of female-identifying leaders in the music and creative sectors. Clare Sanders-Wright, Live Music Lead at War Child, says of the day, “Artists, experts and content creators will be there to engage with fans and those already working within the creative industries alike, to help inspire and support the next generation of women within the music and wider industries succeed”.
Artist News
Jeremy Dutcher has won the 2024 Polaris Music Prize for his album ‘Motewolonuwok’, becoming the first artist to win the award twice. Dutcher, an Indigenous singer and classical composer, released ‘Motewolonuwok’ on Secret City last autumn. The New Brunswick native, who previously won in 2018 for his debut album ‘Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa’, received the award for best Canadian album of the year at a ceremony in Toronto’s Massey Hall. The prize, determined by a jury of music industry professionals, includes a cash award of $50,000 from the Slaight Family Foundation. Dutcher says, “Six years ago, this award changed my life. I have to give unending gratitude to this music community, please keep your hands going for all of these nominees.”
Zumba has partnered with Mel B to launch a new class called ‘Spice Up Your Moves’ on the Zumba App. The global dance-fitness company says the class, which blends Zumba steps with Mel B’s style, will be available for free for a limited time. “Being able to do something with movement that you enjoy, with music that you enjoy, with people you enjoy… best remedy ever!” says Mel B. Carolina Moraes, Chief Marketing Officer of Zumba, adds, “Mel B embodies the spirit of empowerment and energy that Zumba is all about”.