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One Liners: Kendrick Lamar, Jess Glynne, Jimmy Eat World, more

By Andy Malt and Chris Cooke | Published on Wednesday 19 October 2022

DEALS

Jess Glynne has signed to booking agency UTA for worldwide representation.

Sony Music Middle East and Kuwait-based music company Ghmza have announced a new partnership to produce music and promote emerging Khaleeji pop artists across the Middle East. “We are incredibly excited to partner with the talented team at Ghmza”, says Mike Fairburn, General Manager at Sony Music Middle East. “The Middle East and North Africa are a dynamic hotbed for talent and music innovation, where a young population continues to drive new waves of sounds and collaborations, reaching an ever-growing audience of Arabic listeners around the world”.

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APPOINTMENTS

Bryan Thoensen has joined Spotify as Head Of Content Partnerships & Community on the podcasts side of the operation. He was previously Head Of Content Partnerships at TikTok. “Bryan’s knowledge of the creator landscape will be critical as we build out our platform strategy with the goal of becoming a true platform beyond distribution, and reinforce our mission of building trust with creators”, says Max Cutler, Spotify’s VP Of Talk Creator Content.

Warner Music’s Atlantic Records in the US has promoted Brandon Davis and Jeff Levin to Co-Heads Of Pop A&R. “At Atlantic, we pride ourselves as much in executive development as we do in artist development”, says President Of A&R Pete Ganbarg. “Both Brandon and Jeff have worked at Atlantic their entire professional lives, rising from entry level intern and assistant positions to become an integral part of the leadership of our A&R team”.

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LABELS & PUBLISHERS

Three divisions of Universal Music – Decca Records, Verve Label Group and Globe Soundtrack & Score – have announced they are collaborating on a new venture called Mercury Classics Soundtrack & Score which will “support today’s leading score composers and artists as they undertake major audio-visual projects globally”. Its first releases are the soundtracks to the films ‘Till’ and ‘Women Talking’, composed by Abel Korzeniowski and Hildur Guðnadóttir respectively.

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EDUCATION & EVENTS

Next year’s ILMC live music conference will move to a new venue within London, shifting from the Royal Garden Hotel to the Royal Lancaster Hotel. So things will still be royal. “We’re introducing a raft of new elements in 2023, including a series of roundtable working lunches, additional conference sessions, and some very special new features we’ll be announcing in the coming weeks that will be a first for ILMC”, says conference head Greg Parmley.

This year’s Ultimate Seminar will take place at in London on 19 Nov, with speakers including Amy Thomson, Jacqueline Eyewe, Mark Mitchell, David Dollimore and Dani Sawyerr. The event is free, but registration is required here.

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RELEASES

Jimmy Eat World have released new single ‘Place Your Debts’. “The ‘debt’ you rack up is the time you spend avoiding doing the work to know yourself”, says frontman Jim Adkins. “You buy an ending every time you start something, and the cost is determined by how closely you pay attention to your personal condition”.

Teleman have released ‘Short Life’, the first single from their new album ‘Good Time/Hard Time’, which is out on 7 Apr. “This song is an affirmation that life is priceless and precious even though things can seem heavy”, says frontman Tom Sanders. “I often get lost for days and weeks in a really low place where I’m just waiting to come out the other side. In these depressive moments it helps to remind myself that it’s a short life – days are limited so let’s snap out of it!”

Ahead of the release of their new album, ‘Inner World Peace’, this week, Frankie Cosmos have released new single ‘Empty Head’. “It’s about self-control, and the fear of unlocking myself and overflowing”, says frontwoman Greta Kline. “It’s also about finding joy in small moments – walking in circles, hoping to see the neighbour’s dog”.

Jaxn has released new single ‘Freakshow’. “I wanted to write a song which would unearth a darker energy, touch upon a part of me and my relationships I have kept a secret up until now”, he says. “’Freakshow’ is a song I can’t wait to perform live, I envisage everyone jumping around in unison losing their inhibitions completely”.

Mörmaid has released new single ‘The Longest Day’. She’s also announced that she will play her debut London headline show at Peckham Audio on 23 Nov. Her new EP, ‘Push Pull’, is out on 18 Nov.

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GIGS & TOURS

Kendrick Lamar has announced that he will livestream his upcoming Paris show marking the tenth anniversary of his debut album, ‘Good Kid, Maad City’, on Amazon Music, Twitch and Prime Video. The show at Accor Arena will take place on 22 Oct. Support sets from Tanna Leone and Baby Keem will also be streamed.

David Gray will perform his ‘Skellig’ album in full at five shows in London and Ireland in February and March next year. He’ll kick things off at Union Chapel in London on 27 Feb and finish with two nights at Dublin’s National Concert Hall on 4-5 Mar. Tickets go on sale on Friday.

Babymetal have announced UK tour dates in April next year, including a show at Wembley Arena on 15 Apr. The band’s new album, ‘The Other One’, will be out on 24 Mar.

Check out our weekly Spotify playlist of new music featured in the CMU Daily – updated every Friday.