Artist News Business News Deals Education & Events Industry People Labels & Publishers Live Business Management & Funding One Liners Releases

One Liners: The O2, Lil Durk, Mura Masa, more

By and | Published on Thursday 24 February 2022

The O2

DEALS

Sony Music has confirmed that it has received regulator approval in Brazil to acquire the country’s biggest independent record company Som Livre. The deal was initially announced last year but has now been approved by regulator CADE. The Brazilian firm also has publishing and live divisions. “Som Livre’s roster of artists and songwriters, as well as employees, will now benefit from Sony Music’s global network of resources and partnerships, offering greater worldwide reach for Brazil’s creative community”, the major said yesterday.

Beth Nielsen Chapman has signed to Cooking Vinyl and will release a new album, titled ‘CrazyTown’, later this year. “I’m THRILLED to announce that my new record ‘CrazyTown’ is coming out on Cooking Vinyl this fall”, she says. “It is a joy to be working with such a fantastic team at Cooking Vinyl and I’m looking forward to hitting the road with this new music finally seeing the light of day”.

Wise Music Group subsidiary G Schirmer has acquired the worldwide publishing rights of composer Franz Waxman. “We are extraordinarily honoured to be the worldwide publisher of Franz Waxman’s incredible film and concert oeuvre”, says G Schirmer President Robert Thompson. “Schirmer is deeply committed to fostering his legacy”.

Warner Music Group has announced a partnership with blockchain gaming developer Splinterlands. “I don’t think we can underestimate how massive the opportunity around [play to earn] gaming is”, says WMG Chief Digital Officer Oana Ruxandra. “Our partnership with Splinterlands pulls focus to our artists and their music as we all work together to develop and maintain tokenised games. As we build, we will be unlocking new revenue streams for our artists while further solidifying fans’ participation in value created”.

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APPOINTMENTS

Management firm YMU has promoted Anthony Rodol to the position of Managing Director, US Music. “It’s truly an honour to be able to lead our exceptional team to even greater success and work with such a talented client roster”, he says. “My goal for the division is for us to always be forward thinking with a focus on providing a first-class level of service, expertise and innovation for all our clients whether it be across streaming, touring, Web3, NFTs, IP opportunities, and more”.

Warner Music Latina has unveiled a new executive team, with Roberto Andrade Dirak joining as Managing Director, while Hector Rivera becomes SVP Head Of A&R, Latin Music and Ruben Abraham moves up to SVP Marketing And Artist Strategy. “I’m delighted that Roberto has joined us at Warner Music and that Hector and Ruben have stepped up into these expanded roles”, says Warner Music Latin America President Alejandro Duque. “With Roberto on board we can accelerate our vision to be a truly artist-first label with a globalised approach to artist development”.

Kabiru Bellohas has been promoted to the new post of VP Global A&R at Warner Recorded Music, and will continue to head up Asylum Records Nordics. “This role gives me the chance to push culture forward, creating and growing new collaborations across our global A&R network, and enabling our artists to connect with fans in places they’ve never previously reached”, he says.

Artist and label services company Empire has launched Empire Africa. Ezegozie Eze Jr has been appointed VP Market Development, Kareem Mobalaji is Regional Head West Africa, and Titilope Adesanya joins as Project Manager.

Universal Music Group has announced that Richard Cusick has been appointed to the role of Chief Product Officer, Global E-Commerce. “Music has the unique ability to cross borders, cultures and languages to build highly engaged global fan communities”, he says. “UMG is already a leader in creating exciting products and experiences for their artists to engage with their fans around the world and I look forward to working with [the major’s] team to help build on that track record of excellence and deliver growth”.

Sony Music Publishing has promoted Alison Hook to SVP Sampling And Copyright Infringement, UK & International. “Sampling is a staple tool in songwriting across many musical genres”, she says. ”I am excited to be working in this innovative role, in which our sampling strategy will be aligned globally, maximising our efficiency for both Sony’s songwriters and those seeking to sample our repertoire”.

Ellara Wakely has been appointed as a BBC Radio 3 Commissioning Executive, with a focus on diversity and inclusion. “At BBC Radio 3 we are committed to continually broadening the diversity of our output and the music and artists we share with our audiences”, says Radio 3 Controller Alan Davey. “Ellara’s fresh ideas, passion and experience in diversity and inclusion make her the ideal candidate for the role. We are delighted that she will be actively contributing to the future direction of Radio 3”.

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LABELS & PUBLISHERS

Universal Music Group has announced the launch of Def Jam India. “The launch of Def Jam India could not come at a better time for music in India”, says Devraj Sanyal, CEO of Universal Music India & South Asia. “Our domestic hip hop and rap artists are rapidly growing into some of the most exciting talents in the region, taking their rightful space alongside mainstream national and regional pop, and what better home for those artists than Def Jam, the pioneering global home of hip hop”.

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LIVE BUSINESS

The O2 in London has confirmed it will reopen tomorrow – 25 Feb – after it was forced to close for a few days following last week’s storms which damaged the dome that covers the venue complex. The Dave shows that had to be cancelled as a result have been rescheduled for next week on 28 Feb and 1 Mar.

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EDUCATION & EVENTS

Former Chief Economist of Spotify and PRS for Music, Will Page, has been announced as a keynote speaker at AIM Connected 2022. The event will take place at BAFTA 195 in London on 1 Mar. More info here.

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RELEASES

Lil Durk will released new album ‘7220’ on 11 Mar. Here’s new single ‘Ahhh Ha’.

Mura Masa has released new single ‘Bbycakes’, featuring Lil Uzi Vert, PinkPantheress and Shygirl.

Regina Spektor has announced that she will release ‘Home, Before And After’, her first album for six years, on 24 Jun. Its first single, ‘Becoming All Alone’, is out now.

Sasami has released new single ‘Make It Right’. Her new album, ‘Squeeze’, is out tomorrow.

Coheed & Cambria have released new single ‘The Liars Club’. New album ‘Vaxis II: A Window of The Waking Mind’ is out on 27 May.

Grizzly Bear’s Daniel Rossen has released new solo single ‘Unpeopled Space’. His new album, ‘You Belong There’, is out on 8 Apr.

!!! have announced that they will release new album ‘Let It Be Blue’ on 6 May. New single, ‘Storm Around The World’, is out now.

Hannah Diamond has released new single ‘Staring At The Ceiling’. And not a moment too soon.

Tom Rogerson has released new single ‘Chant’. His new solo album, ‘Retreat To Bliss’, is out on 25 Mar.

Elf Power have released their first new single for five years, ‘The Gas Inside The Tank’. An album is due later this year.

Alabaster DePlumbe has released new single ‘Mrs Calamari’.

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



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