Deals
Wise Music Group has signed an exclusive publishing agreement with Polish composer and cellist Dobrawa Czocher through its Berlin-based subsidiary Bosworth Music. Czocher, who previously collaborated with Wise-signed artist Hania Rani, says, “Becoming a member of the Wise Music family is a huge honour for me as well as great motivation to grow as an artist.” Michael Ohst, Managing Director of Bosworth, adds, “We firmly believe she is a highly talented artist with a bright future in multiple facets of the music industry.”
Secretly Canadian has signed US-based artist Brandon, who has announced his new EP, ‘Blush’, and released the first single, ‘Without You’. Brandon describes the EP as “an expression of love and a study in contrasts, most notably specificity and universality”, adding, “Love can be super deep and super focused, but blushing can happen to anyone, and can come from anyone”.
Rimas Publishing – home to artists like Bad Bunny and Cris MJ – has teamed up with Chile’s Wild Company to expand its talent scouting efforts. “This is an important step in our vision for the future of Rimas Publishing as we continue to enhance our services and pursue our mission of discovering and supporting new talent,” says Managing Director Emilio Morales.
Appointments
Sony Music Publishing has promoted Rob Stratton to Vice President, Visual + Media Rights for its UK division. Stratton will lead SMP’s Visual + Media efforts in the UK, fostering relationships with broadcasters and media production companies. Since joining the Visual + Media Rights team in 2019, he has spearheaded key deals with Hasbro, Mattel, All3Media and others.. “I am delighted to be stepping into the role of Vice President and leading the Visual + Media Rights team in the UK,” says Stratton. Co-Managing Director Tim Major adds, “We have been really impressed with the way that Rob has taken to leading the Visual + Media Rights team in the UK.”
Legal
Universal Music Group, Sony Music and Warner Music will meet with the Internet Archive for private mediation on 24 Sep 2024, to try to resolve their $400 million lawsuit over the Great 78 Project without going to trial. If mediation fails, both sides will spend about a year gathering evidence and interviewing witnesses. They’ll then bring in experts to analyze this information and write reports. The parties have proposed an extended timeline for the case, with fact discovery to be completed by July 25, 2025, and expert discovery by November 25, 2025. Affirmative expert reports are due September 5, 2025, with rebuttals by October 17, 2025. After all this preparation, likely in early 2026, they’ll ask the judge to decide some key issues without a full trial. If that doesn’t settle everything, the case will go before a jury for a 7-10 day trial.
Live Nation has informed a New York federal judge that it does not have any in-house lawyers who meet the criteria to be able to access highly confidential material in the US government’s’s antitrust lawsuit against the company. In a letter filed Tuesday, Live Nation says that it is “unable to designate any in-house counsel working on this case who can meet the criteria now set forth in the protective order”. US District Judge Arun Subramanian previously issued a protective order governing confidential discovery material, requiring Live Nation’s in-house counsel to abstain from any competitive decision-making matters in order to be allowed to access highly confidential information. Live Nation now awaits third-party documents before potentially requesting modifications to allow its in-house attorneys limited access to confidential material.
MegaUpload founder Kim Dotcom has had his attempt to appeal a privacy-related damages case rejected by the New Zealand Court of Appeal. The case stemmed from Dotcom’s 2015 requests for government information to aid his extradition defense. The court ruled that the requested information would not have affected his extradition proceedings, effectively removing a potential legal hurdle. “The Courts consistently held that the peripheral matters raised by Mr Dotcom were irrelevant to the extradition process,” the Court of Appeal stated.
Labels & Publishing
HYBE has announced a major restructuring initiative called HYBE 2.0, aimed at improving communication among its affiliates and expanding global operations. The plan, revealed in a letter to shareholders, comes three months after a legal dispute with the CEO of its subsidiary ADOR. “Following the recent events, we considered from the ground up whether HYBE’s multilabel system that helped grow the company needed ways of improvement,” the company stated. Key changes include the establishment of HYBE Music Group APAC, led by BigHit Music CEO Shin Young-jae, to oversee operations in Korea and Japan, and plans to debut new artists in the US and Latin America markets.
Reservoir Media has reported revenues of $34.3 million for the last quarter, an 8% year-over-year increase including acquisitions. Publishing revenue grew 15% to $24.0 million, while recorded music revenue declined 7% to $9.6 million. The company’s total debt stands at $324.1 million against $16.4 million in cash and cash equivalents. Despite revenue growth, Reservoir recorded a $0.5 million net loss, compared to a $0.2 million profit in the same quarter last year. CEO Golnar Khosrowshahi states, “The music industry has enjoyed an unprecedented return to growth, which experts predict will continue for the next decade. We are well-positioned to capture additional organic growth, while continuing to pursue accretive opportunities.”
Welsh record label Sain has begun digitising its 3000-album catalogue spanning 55 years of Welsh-language music. Kev Tame, who is running the project, says: “It’s quite a job. They are in all kinds of different formats – CD, vinyl, original tape.” The digitisation, which began in January and will last a year, aims to preserve over 26,000 tracks for future generations and make them available on commercial streaming platforms and a digital repository at the National Library of Wales. Dafydd Iwan, co-founder of Sain, notes: “This project will allow us to ensure that the musical output of the last half century will be available and accessible for future generations.”
Live
Live music company Broadwick has launched 9.8, a charity aimed at enhancing community engagement and accessibility at its venues, including the 15,000-capacity Drumsheds in North London. Since September 2023, the charity has distributed 5,000 free event tickets and partnered with local organisations to offer subsidised space. “Through 9.8 we will work to remove barriers and provide resources for communities and charities to use our spaces,” says Elisa Chiodi, director at 9.8, adding, “By 2027 we aim to have worked with 100 charities, community groups and artists.”
Artist News
Killer Mike has surprise-released a new album, ‘Michael And The Mighty Midnight Revival – Songs For Sinners & Saints’, available for free download for 48 hours. The 10-track record, featuring The Mighty Midnight Revival and guest appearances from Offset, Key Glock, and Project Pat, serves as an epilogue to his 2023 album ‘MICHAEL’. “I wanted to do something with the people who have been bringing it to life every night performing it with me,” Mike explains in a Run The Jewels newsletter. The album will see an official release on 2 August.
Frank Carter and the Sex Pistols have sold out three shows at London’s Bush Hall, helping secure the venue’s future. The bands will perform ‘Never Mind The Bollocks’ in its entirety on August 13, 14, and 15 to raise funds for the historic Shepherd’s Bush venue, which recently faced closure due to financial difficulties, after a 24.5 per cent decrease in live music bookings last year. “We couldn’t be happier that Bush Hall is able to continue its legacy as a much-loved venue for live music and events,” says Charlie Raworth, managing director and co-owner of Bush Hall.
Releases & Tours
Confidence Man have released their new single ‘SO WHAT’. Their new album ‘3AM (LA LA LA)’ is out 18 Oct.
JPEGMAFIA has released his new album ‘I LAY DOWN MY LIFE FOR YOU’.
Soccer Mommy has released her new single ‘M’. Her new album ‘Evergreen’ is out 25 Oct.
Crows have released their new single ‘Vision Of Me’. Their new album ‘Reason Enough’ is out 27 Sep. Tickets for their UK/EU headline tour are available here.
Brandon has released his new single ‘Without You’. His new EP ‘Blush’ is out 13 Sep.
Boston Manor have released their new single ‘Horses In A Dream’. Their new album ‘Sundiver’ is out 6 Sep. Tickets for their UK headline tour in Sep are available here.
ARCH ENEMY have released their new single ‘Dream Stealer’.
Tycho has released two new singles ‘Devices’ and ‘Green’. His new album ‘Infinite Health’ is out 30 Aug.
Soft Launch have released their new single ‘In My Bed’. They’ve also announced a UK tour in October, concluding at The Garage in London on 15 Oct. Tickets go on sale tomorrow here.
Muscadine Bloodline have released their new single ‘Good In This World’. Their new album ‘The Coastal Plain’ is out 16 Aug.
Jaz Karis has released her new single ‘SUNSET BLVD’. Her debut album ‘SAFE FLIGHT’ is out 20 Sep.