DEALS
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Bella Figura has announced that it’s going to slurp up RAK Publishing, home to an “extensive and varied” catalogue including works by Hot Chocolate, Joan Jett, Kim Wilde and “many others”. Nathalie Hayes - current MD of the RAK group of companies, and daughter of legendary producer Mickie Most and his wife Christina Hayes, who founded the company - says that after her parents launched the business “55 years ago” she “grew up knowing so many of the RAK writers as they were often on holiday with us!” Of the Bella Figura Music deal, she adds, “they share the ethos of being boutique and I know that they will take great care of such wonderful songs”. BFM’s CEO and co-founder Alexi Cory-Smith says, “I have loved these songs and artists since I was a kid. I was mesmerized by Errol Brown when I watched Hot Chocolate on ‘Top Of The Pops’ as a young girl”, adding that Bella Figura “will work our socks off to look after and promote” the “amazing legacy” of the writers.
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Deezer - which is due to report Q1 revenue figures on 29 Apr - has appointed radio and outdoor advertising behemoth Global to become its exclusive ad sales partner for the UK, via Global’s DAX advertising exchange. Mazen Abdallah - Deezer’s VP for brand partnerships and ad sales - is “THRILLED” to announce the partnership, and says that the deal is not only a “strategic alignment” that is “leveraging” the DAX network but is actually a “shared commitment to delivering value to advertising partners” as well as “enriching the experience” of Deezer listeners. Who can ask for more? Global’s Tom Streetly, DAX’s commercial top dog, says he’s particularly excited about the “valuable 18 to 34” audience and “vast database of first-party data” that Deezer will bring to DAX. Champagne for everyone!
APPOINTMENTS
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Reservoir Media - the owner of Big Life Management - has announced a raft of promotions at the management company. Kat Kennedy, Colin Roberts and Claire Kilcourse have been promoted to partners, with Kennedy also taking on the role of Managing Director, having most recently been General Manager. Kennedy says that it’s an “honour” to take the company into its “next phase alongside two of my best friends, Colin and Claire”, adding that she’s also “excited to see our young managers Natalie Meadham and Dana Landman continue to grow with the company”. Big Life was founded by Tim Parry and the late Jazz Summers in 1986. Parry says, “I’m really proud to see how Kat, Claire and Colin have developed their skills through the years they have been at Big Life, and they’ve all shown incredible loyalty to the company. The longstanding relationships they have built with their clients are testament to their dedication, thoughtfulness and expertise as managers”.
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If you thought three people in one announcement was a lot, then brace yourself. The Featured Artists Coalition has appointed not three but twenty new Artist Ambassadors “to help amplify” the organisation’s “collective voice”. Bringing the total number of FAC Artist Ambassadors to 142, the 20-strong cohort join existing ambassadors including Annie Lennox, Johnny Marr, Carl Cox and comprises, in full: Duran Duran, Nia Archives, Becky Hill, Murray Matravers, Baby Queen, Girli, Cherise, Elkka, Friedberg, Joel Culpepper, Sam Duckworth, English Teacher, Richard Hughes, Eckoes, Guvna B, OneDa, CJ Pandit, SOAK, Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, Gus Unger-Hamilton. Phew. Guvna B says “Music transformed my life completely and as an artist the main thing I want to do is focus on the art. Thankful that the FAC are there to cover my blind spots and think about my rights and interests. Buzzing to be able to contribute to this collective voice”.
INDUSTRY PEOPLE
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UK Parliament’s Women And Equalities Committee is holding an ‘Evidence Session’ tomorrow 24 Apr, part of the follow-up to its groundbreaking ‘Misogyny In Music’ report. The session will include Jen Smith and Andrew Medlock - interim CEO and COO of the new Creative Industries Independent Standard Authority, or CIISA. They will be joined by David Smy, Deputy Director Of Enabling Regulation at the Office For Students. MPs on the committee will have the opportunity to examine the ongoing development of CIISA as a watchdog for the creative industries, as well as discussing an earlier report - ‘Attitudes To Women And Girls In Educational Settings’ - which highlighted the need for better mechanisms to tackle sexual misconduct and harassment in higher education. The Musicians Union this week criticised the UK government’s response to the ‘Misogyny In Music’ report.
GIGS & FESTIVALS
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The Great Escape has announced full details of its conference programme, which kicks off in just over three weeks from today.
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Pitchfork have announced the return of Pitchfork Music Festival London, taking place 5-10 Nov. The festival also released the first wave of artists set to perform throughout the week, including Tierra Whack, CASISDEAD, Sega Bodega, Kae Tempest, Empress Of, Marika Hackman + more.
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American Express presents BST Hyde Park have announced Brandi Carlile, Anna Calvi and Paris Paloma as guests for Stevie Nick’s headline show on Friday 12 July.
RELEASES
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Lambrini Girls have released new single ‘Body Of Mine’.
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mui zyu has released new single ‘the rules of what an earthling can be’. Her album ‘nothing or something to die for’ is out 24 May via Father/Daughter Records.
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LYLO have released new single ‘We Move Again’. Their new album ‘Thoughts Of Never’ is out on 10 May via El Rancho Records