DEALS
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Reservoir Media has announced a publishing deal with Nashville-based Katie Pruitt via its joint venture with One Riot, ahead of the release of her new album ‘Mantras’. Says she: “I’m so excited to be signing with One Riot/Reservoir. What sets them apart from other publishers for me was their passion to put artistry first. In an industry that typically capitalises on artists having to shrink their creativity to fit the mould of a catchy jingle, they are outliers that encourage artists to dig deep and mine for meaningful songs that will stand the test of time”.
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Wise Music Group has signed a publishing deal with Swedish composer Jacob Mühlrad via its Berlin-based Bosworth Music company. Says Bosworth MD Michael Ohst, “We’re elated to announce our collaboration with Jacob Mühlrad, an artist whose talent and vision have captivated us immensely. Jacob’s contributions to the world of contemporary music are both profound and inspiring. His compositions resonate with a unique blend of emotion, tradition and innovation, offering a musical tapestry that speaks to the core of human experience”.
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ECR Music Group - the company run by musician and producer Blake Morgan - has announced an alliance with Sony Music Publishing which will support his songs business, ECR Music Publishing. He already works with Sony’s The Orchard on the label side of his company. He has also announced the launch of a new artist services division called Meridian. “I produce the records of artists who sign directly to ECR”, Morgan says. “Meridian is an opportunity for me to work with artists whose records I haven’t made, but who want access to our infrastructure, our relationships, our reach, our distribution, our marketing and our advertising”.
APPOINTMENTS
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Spotify has appointed its new Chief Financial Officer, Christian Luiga, who will be bringing to the streaming service all his experience in money, missiles and mobile phones - as well as electronic warfare and steering his last but one employer, Telia, through a corruption scandal. Hopefully all of that means he’ll be a solid proposition to help Spotify as it tries to become a profitable company. Luiga joins from Swedish defence business Saab, where he’d been since 2020 after he left Telia, a Swedish telco. He’ll be taking over from Paul Vogel, who stood down as Spotify CFO last month. However, Luiga won’t actually take on his new role until Q3 this year, with the company’s VP Of Financial Planning And Analysis, Ben Kung, taking responsibility for all the spreadsheets and debts in the meantime.
DIGITAL
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TikTok has been announced as the ‘official entertainment partner’ of the Eurovision Song Contest again this year. Given all the political controversies currently surrounding both Eurovision and TikTok, albeit for very different reasons, that seems like a good alliance. Although it potentially creates some challenges for any Eurovision entrants who are signed to TikTok-boycotting Universal Music, like, for example, a certain Olly Alexander.
ARTIST NEWS
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Frightened Rabbit have announced that they are working on a documentary about the band, returning to a project that was originally discussed prior to the death of lead singer Scott Hutchison in 2018. “As with most things we try to do”, an Instagram post explains, “we want this story to be told from as many perspectives as possible and are keen to create something that feels like it’s from the FR community as much as it is for it. So we are asking you to share your cherished videos and photos with us to create something truly special together”. Information on how to contribute material to the documentary is included on the Instagram post.
RELEASES
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Peggy Gou has announced that her debut album ‘I Hear You’ will be released via XL Recordings on 7 Jun. Here is new single ‘1+1=11’, which also comes with a video directed by and starring Olafur Eliasson.
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Having signed to Ninja Tune imprint label Technicolour, Jasper Tygner has released new single ‘Before Me’.
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Lil Wayne has released a new track that features the currently incarcerated Young Thug - ‘Bless’ - which comes from Wayne and WheezyOuttaHere’s new collaborative mixtape, ‘Weezy vs Wheezy’.
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Empire Of The Sun have released new track ‘Changes’. The track, says one half of the duo, Lord Littlemore, “represents the shifting sands of time, empires rise and fall but the sun shall shine on. Come once more into the world we’ve created, delve deeper within and be rewarded with its ever-expanding story, each and every one is invited to explore the new era”.