DEALS
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Reservoir Media has signed a new publishing deal with Kings Of Leon. “Expanding our catalogue with new music from Kings Of Leon is a golden opportunity for Reservoir to work alongside one of the greatest rock bands of recent times”, says President Rell Lafargue. “We look forward to working with the band through the rollout of [upcoming album] ‘Can We Please Have Fun’ and as they embark on their international tour to bring this excellent rock record to their fanbase worldwide”.
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Warner Music South East Europe has acquired a minority stake in Slovenian independent label NIKA. The major has had a long-standing relationship with the indie, which has been its licensee in Slovenia since 1995, and which utilises the services of Warner's ADA distribution division. NIKA co-founders Darjo Rot and Marko Stopar say, “We’ve worked with Warner Music for almost three decades, and that’s because it puts its trust in us and enables us to do what we do best in Slovenia. And now with this deal we’ll be working even closer to ensure we’re bringing our artists to the world stage".
APPOINTMENTS
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Universal Music’s Interscope Capitol Labels Group - the new name for the merged Interscope Geffen A&M and Capitol Music Group - has promoted Steve Berman to Vice Chair and Annie Lee to Chief Operating Officer. “Steve and Annie are both highly accomplished executives who have been critical to our company’s growth and success for more than two decades”, says CEO John Janick.
INDUSTRY PEOPLE
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Senior executives from record industry trade group BPI and ERA, the organisation for entertainment retailers and digital platforms, have been included in the 2024 Women In Trade Associations Powerlist. Among those included are ERA CEO Kim Bayley; BPI CEO Jo Twist; and BPI Chief Strategy Officer Sophie Jones. The Powerlist is compiled by the Trade Association Forum, Confederation Of British Industry and the Federation Of Small Businesses, who say "TAF, FSB and CBI are proud to be led by strong female champions and to be supported in our respective organisations by brilliant women at all stages of their careers. It is our shared ambition to support our own staff and other inspirational women in trade associations to be powerful advocates for diversity and inclusion in their sectors and more widely to support and encourage female business leaders and entrepreneurs".
LABELS
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Creation Records founder Alan McGee and producer Youth have announced new label Creation Youth. “We are excited and psyched to execute this ambitious and visionary artistic venture”, says Youth. “Working with Alan for decades has always been a great experience. He is unmatched, with a passion and genius for music and bands, management, labels and publishing”. Releases are in the pipeline from artists including Jamie Reid, Brix Smith and Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry.
LIVE BUSINESS
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Live Nation's Festival Republic has relaunched its ReBalance initiative, which supports female and gender-expansive artists on stage and in the studio. Six acts will participate in a revamped programme, getting five days of studio time and a guaranteed slot at one of the company's festivals, plus educational days and mentoring. The artists are: Mary O’Donnell, Sprout, Bebeluna, Samxemma, Cruush and Red Ivory.
MEDIA
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A new UK Country Radio Airplay Chart has been announced, to be compiled by airplay monitoring company Radiomonitor and the Country Music Association’s UK Task Force. It will include data from Absolute Radio Country, CountryLine: The Big 615, Downtown Country Radio and Smooth Country Radio, plus Radio 2's 'The Country Show with Bob Harris'.
RELEASES
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Lauren Mayberry from Chvrches has released her latest solo single, ‘Change Shapes’.
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Girl In Red has released new single ‘Doing It Again Baby’.
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Twin Atlantic have announced that they will release new album ‘Meltdown’ on 9 Aug. Out now is new single ‘World Class Entertainment’. UK tour dates are also set for November.
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Yaya Bey has released new single ‘Sir Princess Bad Bitch’. Her new album ‘Ten Fold’ is out on 10 May.