Snoop Dogg has elected Kat MacLean Daley as the first vice president and head of publishing of Death Row Records.
After acquiring Death Row Records in 2022, Snoop appointed Daley to manage the company’s day-to-day operations in music, with her primary focus being on their newly established publishing business. She is expanding their already existing catalog and roster, as well as building on Death Row’s existing relationships with writers, producers, and estates. She will report directly to Snoop.
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“Kat’s already a legend in the world of clearances and publishing, and her drive and discipline was what I wanted to bring to Death Row,” said Snoop. “The talent that has been a part of Death Row for over 30 years deserves to have their songs heard, but also to be properly licensed and paid as songwriters and producers. I know that Kat is the right person to take care of our history, while also helping us write the story for the chapters to come. There’s a Kat in the Dogg house now.”
Prior to joining Death Row, Daley had been at Universal Music Group, starting as a college marketing rep in 2016 during her time at Berklee College of Music. She was hired by Universal Music Publishing Group full-time, eventually working her way up to director, music sampling and business development. During her time at UMPG, Daley created and implemented processes and data tracking standards, clearing samples for over 1,300 released songs for artists including Drake, Jack Harlow, Doja Cat, Lil Nas X, Beyoncé, Cole Swindell, songs for the “Barbie” soundtrack, and more.
“I am beyond hype to be joining Death Row! I’m extremely grateful for my time at UMPG – I felt like I completed what I set out to do there, so it was time for the next challenge, the next mission,” said Daley. “Deborah Mannis-Gardner connected me with Snoop and his team and after hearing his plans for the company, it was a no-brainer. I am working closely with Snoop to modernize the already existing deals, find new and exciting ways to leverage and license the legendary catalog, and bring Death Row to the top of people’s minds and playlists.”
+ Warner Chappell Music (WCM) has signed a global publishing deal with Jay Versace, the producer behind a string of singles for SZA, along with Doja Cat and Summer Walker.
Based in Los Angeles, Jahlil Gunter, known professionally as Jay Versace, started his career in entertainment as an internet personality and comedian. Since 2018, he’s worked with top artists and helped produce award-winning and culture-defining songs like “Safari” from Tyler, the Creator’s Grammy Award-winning album “Call Me When You Get Lost,” “Lil Diamond Boy” by Lil Yachty, and “Versace” by Westside Gunn – which also marked Gunter’s first official producer credit.
“Huge thank you to Cate, Ryan, and the entire Warner Chappell team! I’m excited to start this new journey with such a wholesome team of people,” said Gunter. “And big thank you to Motisola and everyone who helped me get settled with the Warner team! Very honored to create amongst such talented and inspiring creatives.”
+ Helix, PayDay Records and SoundCloud have announced a new partnership to offer expanded global artist services to discover, nurture, and invest in emerging electronic and hip-hop music artists. SoundCloud will identify and refer promising artists on the platform for potential signing with Helix or PayDay Records.
“The A&R alliance between Helix and PayDay with SoundCloud is very exciting. Between us we’re uniquely positioned to give emerging artists global reach through expert marketing, promotion and A&R support,” shares Patrick Moxey, president and founder of Helix and PayDay Records. “SoundCloud has always incubated new talent and shares our artist-friendly ethos. I’m delighted to work with SoundCloud, Eliah Seton, Jessica Rivera with partnerships, and emerging talent with our new association.”
Added SoundCloud CEO Eliah Seton, “Hip-hop and electronic music are core to SoundCloud’s identity, and in Patrick Moxey, there is no better partner with whom to give artists the opportunity to build their careers. I’ve known Patrick for years – as we all know, he’s paved the way for some of the biggest names in the industry, and this partnership exemplifies our commitment to identifying and nurturing what’s next in music.”
+ Pulse Music Group co-CEOs Scott Cutler and Josh Abraham, along with president/head of creative, Ashley Calhoun, have formed a music publishing creative joint venture with Dan Wilson.
Through the deal, Wilson establishes his own publishing company, Supermoon Songs (a joint venture with PULSE Music Group) and will sign and develop his roster of artists, writers and producers. Wilson’s manager Jim Grant (JGM Management) and business partner Rick Markowitz (Fast Casual) are also co-founders in the new Supermoon Songs venture.
Wilson’s songwriting resume includes “Closing Time”, which he wrote for his band, Semisonic, “Not Ready to Make Nice” (co-written with the Chicks), and “Someone Like You” (co-written with Adele and Wilson also produced the track), among many others.
“For a long time, I’ve been acting as a mentor to young writers and artists, being as helpful as I can purely as an advisor,” said Wilson. “But I’ve wanted to find a way to take that mentorship and build it into something that can provide even more partnership and leverage along the way. I’ve wanted to be able to offer more than good advice – to help young, brilliant artists expand their opportunities, their interconnection, their network of collaborators. That’s the vision for Supermoon Songs, my joint venture with Pulse Music Group. We’ve made our first signing to the company, a brilliant songwriter and singer named Paul Dally.”
+ DistroKid, the world’s largest distributor of independent music, unveiled today a mobile app for Android. Like its iOS predecessor, the new Android app puts DistroKid’s suite of tools directly in the hands of artists, enabling them to upload new releases, receive instant payment alerts, access stats from Apple and Spotify, edit metadata, and more.
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