DEALS
🤝
Downtown-owned FUGA has announced new UK partnerships with One House, Critical Music and Berry’s Room. One House, home to platinum-selling DJ Eliza Rose, will utilise FUGA’s global distribution and marketing services. Napper Tandy, Founder of One House, says “FUGA gives us the support and flexibility we need, combined with cutting edge tools”. The deal with Critical Music, a leading drum and bass label founded by Kasra, covers global distribution and marketing services, while the partnership with Maleek Berry’s Berry's Room includes distribution and marketing for his forthcoming debut album. Lara Baker, FUGA's General Manager UK & IE, says, “We are excited to welcome some of the industry’s most valuable and forward-thinking labels to our client base”.
🖊️
Kashus Culpepper has signed a global publishing deal with Big Loud Publishing and Warner Chappell Music, expanding his relationship with Big Loud Records. Benji Amaefule, Manager Of A&R at Warner Chappell, praised Culpepper’s unique appeal, “He is one-of-one, and his stories have an ability to resonate with a wide demographic. His soulful take on country already is connecting with his audience and will continue to reach fans around the country and the world”. Culpepper also recently signed with booking agency CAA.
🇲🇽
Mexican-American DJ and producer Deorro has signed a joint deal with Prajin Parlay Inc and Double P Records for management and label services. The partnership is Double P’s first electronic artist signing, with CEO George Prajin praising Deorro as “the full package” who has been “successfully bridging the gap between his Latin culture and electronic music”. Deorro expressed his enthusiasm, stating, “I'm very proud of the team we’re building and I’m very excited to be working with Prajin and to form part of the Double P family”.
🎧
YG Plus, a subsidiary of YG Entertainment, has partnered with Africa-focused music streaming platform Boomplay to distribute its extensive K-pop catalogue, including artists like Blackpink and BabyMonster, to the platform’s reported 70 million monthly active users. Sung Jun Choi, CEO of YG Plus, says the deal is a “significant milestone”, adding, “It will enable our artists to expand their following in Africa, tapping into the vibrant music scene on the continent and allowing fans to access their favourite tracks with ease”. The partnership comes amid growing music industry development in Africa, with the IFPI reporting 24.7% year-over-year revenue growth in Sub-Saharan Africa for 2023.
💧
Former One Direction member Liam Payne has signed with booking agency CAA. Payne recently released ‘Teardrops’, his first single in three years, co-written with JC Chasez of *NSYNC.
APPOINTMENTS
📣
US indie label trade organisation A2IM has announced its board of directors for the coming year which includes new and returning members from various independent record labels. Steven Hill (Warp Records), Terry McBride (Nettwerk Music Group) and Louis Posen (Hopeless Records) join as newly elected board members. The Executive Committee will be led by Mary Jurey (Blue Élan Records) as chair, with Tony Alexander (Made in Memphis Entertainment) as treasurer and Nabil Ayers (Beggars Group) as secretary. Richard James Burgess, CEO of A2IM, says, “We are THRILLED to once again have an incredibly talented, diverse and dedicated group of individuals willing to serve on the board. Their expertise and passion for independent music will play a vital role in shaping the future of our organisation and the industry”.
🇦🇺
Australia’s MusicNSW, the state music body for New South Wales, has expanded its team, appointing Ricky Simandjuntak as Program Manager and adding coordinators for Newcastle, Wollongong and Western Sydney. Simandjuntak, known for managing OneFour and developing The Kid Laroi, will lead artist development programmes statewide. Joe Muller, MusicNSW Managing Director, says, “Growing from an existing team of regional coordinators, these new appointments will see MusicNSW further embed our statewide presence with boots on the ground”. The organisation also recently appointed new board members, including Mardi Caught and Rhoda Roberts.
💼
Alison Finley, former Executive Vice President of Universal Music Group, has joined law firm Pierson Ferdinand LLP as a Partner. With over 25 years of experience in the entertainment industry, Finley brings significant expertise to the firm’s Global Media, Entertainment & Sports practice. A Michael Pierson, Pierson Ferdinand’s Co-Chairman, says, “We could not be more excited about Alison’s decision to join PierFerd. She brings extraordinary industry experience and will have an indelible impact on our best-in-class entertainment practice”.
LEGAL
👑
Despite widespread speculation that today’s King’s Speech setting out the new UK government’s legislative agenda might include an AI Bill, this was not the case. The speech delivered this morning contained no detailed proposals for regulating AI. Instead we got a much more vague commitment to “establish the appropriate legislation to place requirements on those working to develop the most powerful artificial intelligence models”.
🗽
A judge in Virginia has ordered that the $150 million lawsuit filed by SoundExchange against Sirius XM should be moved to a court in New York. US collecting society SoundExchange claims that satellite radio company Sirius has incorrectly calculated and therefore underpaid royalties on subscriptions that bundle satellite radio and online services. Sirius denies those allegations, but also hit out at SoundExchange’s decision to file its lawsuit in Virginia. The judge overseeing the case agreed that the dispute would be better fought out in New York, where “the events and actions underlying the complaint took place”.
BRAND PARTNERSHIPS
💎
Leading purveyor of sparkles, spangles and glittery things Swarovski has announced Ariana Grande as its new Brand Ambassador, and everyone is THRILLED. Grande says “I am THRILLED to be Swarovski's Brand Ambassador. It's an honour to represent a house that shares my passion for creativity, pushes the boundaries beyond the world of jewelry, and promotes values of unapologetic self-expression”. Meanwhile Giovanna Engelbert, Swarovski’s Global Creative Director, says, “Ariana’s charisma and positive energy resonate with Swarovski’s essence of bringing joy to the world, and I am THRILLED that she is joining us as Brand Ambassador”.
DIGITAL
🤖
SOUNDRAW, an AI music generation platform used by over 800,000 creatives, has launched a B2B API for integration into other creative platforms. The API allows partners to offer SOUNDRAW's customisable, royalty-free music tools directly within their own services. Already adopted by companies like Canva, the API aims to make AI-generated music more accessible to creators. Daigo Kusunoki, SOUNDRAW's CEO, says “We are THRILLED by the number of content creators and artists who have joined SOUNDRAW’s platform, our ultimate goal is to meet creatives where they are with our tools for music creation”.
AWARDS
🏆
Jason Iley, CEO of Sony Music UK & Ireland, has been named the 2024 recipient of the Music Industry Trusts Award , recognising his three decade career and contributions to the British music industry. The award will be presented on 4 Novat The Grosvenor House Hotel, supporting The BRIT Trust and Nordoff & Robbins charities. Iley, who has been CEO of Sony Music UK for ten years, says, “I'm delighted to have the opportunity to highlight the important work of the BRIT Trust and Nordoff & Robbins. It's an honour to be the recipient of this year’s MITS Award, and credit to the talented artists I have been lucky enough to work with throughout my career”.
MANAGEMENT
🚀
Jesse Atwell has launched Atwell Management, a new artist management firm focused on developing talent across all genres. Drawing on his experience at Sony Music, Triple 8 Management, and SongVest, Atwell says he aims to bring a data-driven approach to artist development, explaining, “I look forward to serving talented artists who seek to make change and challenge the status quo. It’s more important than ever - in this rapidly changing landscape - to utilise all available tools, strategies and resources to break new artists and grow existing careers”.
🍄
Mushroom Group in Australia has launched Mushroom Connect, a new talent management and partnership agency focusing on digital-age talent and brand collaborations. Co-founded by Matt Gudinski and Kirsty Kassabis, the agency extends Mushroom’s reach beyond music. In an interview with Mumbrella, Kassabis explains, “We're entering a new era of Mushroom Group, where we are managing talent that sits outside of straight music. We're using the expertise that we already have in-house at Mushroom Group and just utilising them to propel the careers of influencer talent in the same way we've done with breaking artists”. The agency represents artists and digital talent for commercial partnerships, executes influencer marketing campaigns, and leverages Mushroom’s existing music roster.
LIVE
💚
We Out Here Festival has launched Future Foundations, a new incubator programme aimed at supporting the next generation of grassroots music promoters. The initiative, founded by Gilles Peterson and Noah Ball, will select fifteen participants for a six-month developmental programme starting at We Out Here Festival 2024 (15-18 Aug). The Arts Council England-supported project will provide mentorship and training opportunities, with a focus on underrepresented promoters. Announcing the initiative, We Out Here’s organisers say, “Grassroots promoters are at the foundation of the scene: often taking personal and financial risks to platform future talent pipelines, many of which end up on festival stages such as ours”.
🎹
Resident Advisor has partnered with Croatia’s Dimensions Festival to deliver three specialised workshops in East London this summer. DjRUM will lead a music production workshop on 23 Jul focusing on his approach to production and creating a space for producers to share their projects. On 6 Aug James Andrew will conduct a production workshop titled ‘Unlocking Creativity In Music Production’. The session will cover overcoming creative blocks, and creative techniques in Ableton, including drums, synths, sampling and arrangement. Saoirse will host a DJ workshop on 20 Aug, aimed at intermediate DJs.
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The Boardmasters Foundation has announced £115,000 in donations to 40 local organisations in Cornwall, continuing its mission to support community and cultural initiatives. Since its establishment in 2017, the Foundation has raised nearly half a million pounds through the annual Boardmasters surf and music festival. Andrew Topham, CEO and Founder of the festival, says, “We're proud to call Cornwall our home, and we’re just as proud to be able to donate to charities, schools, businesses, and support incredible and often vital local causes”. Recipients include The Schools Consent Project, which has expanded its workshops to reach 210 students across multiple schools.
🤠
Country music promoter, venue operator and media owner Opry Entertainment Group has expanded its artist relations team with the addition of Samantha Kane as Artist Relations Manager and Ariana Cubillos Voegler as Artist Relations Coordinator. Kane brings experience from the Country Music Association and Big Machine Label Group, where she most recently served as Marketing & Events Manager. Voegler joins OEG following internships at Round Hill Music and Starstruck Studios, and roles at TAXI and Neal & Harwell. Both will report to Director Of Artist Relations & Programming Strategy Jordan Pettit.
ARTIST NEWS
❌
Jack Black has cancelled the rest of the current Tenacious D tour after his bandmate Kyle Gass joked on-stage about the attempted assassination of Donald Trump this weekend. The duo were performing in Sydney on Sunday, which was Gass’s birthday. Black presented him with a birthday cake and suggested he “make a wish”. Gass responded “Don’t miss Trump next time”. Black says he was “blindsided” by the remark and that all Tenacious D activity was now on hold. Gass himself has admitted the joke was “highly inappropriate, dangerous and a terrible mistake", adding “I'm incredibly sorry for my severe lack of judgement”. Agent Michael Greene has also announced that he has dropped Gass as a client.
RELEASES
🛰️
Sampha has collaborated with Little Simz on new single ‘Satellite Business 2.0’.
🔥
Denzel Curry has released his new single ‘HOODLUMZ’, featuring A$AP Rocky and PlayThatBoiZay. His new album ‘King Of The Mischievous South Vol 2’ is out this Friday.
🤢
A Place To Bury Strangers have released their new single ‘Disgust’. Their new album ‘Synthesizer’ is out 4 Oct.
🏁
TSHA has released her new single ‘Drive’, featuring Ingrid Witt. Her new album ‘Sad Girl’ is out 27 Sep.
🩵
Nick Lowe has released a reworked version of his single ‘Different Kind of Blue’. His new album ‘Indoor Safari’ is out 13 Sep.
🔫
She Drew The Gun has released their new single ‘Nothing Lasts’.
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shiv has released her new single ‘cherry pie’, featuring Kojaque. Her new album ‘the defiance of a sad girl’ is out 12 Sep.
TOURS
🎤
Paul Heaton has added extra dates to his UK tour, with it now concluding at Manchester’s Co-Op Live on 16 Dec. Tickets are available here.
🦌
Heilung have now announced a full European headline tour for 2025. UK shows include the Brixton Brixton on 15 Apr and Edinburgh’s O2 Academy on 19 Apr. Tickets are available here.
🎶
Jamie Webster has announced a UK and Ireland headline tour, including a show at the O2 Forum Kentish Town on 27 Nov. Tickets go on general sale at 10am this Friday here.