The Deals: Round Hill Snags Pair of Rock Catalogs; Songfluencer Acquires Preffy
A roundup of notable music industry deals from the past two weeks.
Round Hill Music Royalty Fund Limited has acquired the master royalty income of British musician and artist Dennis Elliott, best known for being the original drummer in the rock band Foreigner.
Elliott’s catalog includes 71 original recordings from Foreigner’s first seven studio albums, including hits such as “I Want to Know What Love Is,” “Waiting For A Girl Like You,” “Juke Box Hero,” “Cold As Ice,” “Urgent” and “Feels Like The First Time.” The acquisition includes 100% of Elliott’s master royalty income from the catalog, which over the period spanning 2018-2020 had a revenue mix of 84% streaming, 6% download, 3% physical and 7% other. Thirty-six percent of the catalog’s revenue came from outside the U.S.
Additionally, the top three songs in the catalog make up 27% of its total revenue, the top five songs account for 40% and the top 10 songs account for 59%. The top songs ranked by revenue are “I Want to Know What Love Is” (1999 Remaster); “I Want to Know What Love Is,” “Waiting For A Girl Like You,” “Juke Box Hero,” “I Want to Know What Love Is” (2008 Remaster), “Cold As Ice” and “Hot Blooded.”
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Beginning in 1976, Elliott joined Foreigner and stayed with the band for 17 years before leaving the music industry. The group’s seven LPs released during his tenure include five multi-platinum albums (Foreigner, Double Vision, Head Games, 4, Agent Provocateur) and one platinum album (Inside Information).
“I am very pleased I have found the right home for all my catalogue,” said Elliott in a statement. “I am grateful to Josh Gruss, Robin Godfrey Cass in the UK, and especially Marvin Katz, my attorney, and Jerry Greenberg, for making this happen.”
Round Hill Music Royalty Fund Limited has also acquired recorded music income and publishing rights to 30 songs from British rock and alternative record producer, guitarist and songwriter Tim Palmer.
The acquisition covers tracks from Pearl Jam’s grunge breakthrough Ten, which Palmer mixed, and producer and publishing royalties for Ozzy Osbourne’s platinum-selling 2001 album Down to Earth, which Palmer produced and also co-wrote several tracks for. Palmer has also worked with such legendary acts as U2, Robert Plant, Tears for Fears and David Bowie.
Under the deal, Round Hill will receive 100% of the mixer royalty income from the master recording rights of Ten, 100% of the producer income from the master recording rights of Down to Earth and 100% of the publishing interest (including writer’s share) from six of the 11 tracks on Down to Earth.
A release notes that 27% of revenue derived from the publishing share of Palmer’s catalog in calendar year 2020 comes from outside the U.S., while revenue from master recording rights makes up 82% of the catalog’s earnings, with publishing earnings accounting for 3% and other sources accounting for 15%. Meanwhile, the top three songs in the catalog account for 45% of catalog revenues, the top 5 songs account for 66% and the top 10 songs account for 82%.
“This investment echoes our strategic objective of purchasing royalty rights to classic songs that have proven their ability to produce long-term, steady royalty revenues over the decades, while acquiring the catalogues at attractive valuations,” said Round Hill chairman and CEO Josh Gruss in a statement.
Nashville-based music marketing firm Songfluencer, which uses data-driven technology to drive success on TikTok, has acquired Preffy, a tech company that allows artists to host prize-based competitions with social media influencers to see who can draw the most likes to videos featuring the artists’ music. Preffy is the brainchild of Charlie Davis, the grandson of legendary music executive Clive Davis.
“Once we saw what Charlie [Davis] was accomplishing, we knew a partnership had to happen and quickly acquired his platform,” said Songfluencer co-founder Johnny Cloherty. “This acquisition is a testament to our company’s longstanding commitment to bring technology to the wild frontier of social media influencer marketing. Undoubtedly, this is one of the most game-changing products to enter our space in a long time.”
Over the past year, Songfluencer has spearheaded TikTok campaigns for artists on Atlantic Records, Epic Records, Interscope Records and more. Its most visible success was the viral campaign around Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams” on the video-sharing platform, which helped launched the legendary band’s 1977 album Rumours back onto the top 10 on the Billboard 200 chart last fall.
Atlantic Records UK has launched SIGNAL >> SUPPLY, a new imprint that will focus its efforts on discovering and nurturing emerging talent in dance music. Its first release is the track “Joy” from Manchester-based producer Salute, to be followed by new music from Ali Story, Chapter & Verse, James iD and Richie Blacker through the end of November.
Day-to-day operations of SIGNAL >> SUPPLY will be overseen by Tristan Parsons, who has been with Atlantic since 2015. As part of the announcement, it was revealed that Parsons was promoted from senior marketing manager to head of dance marketing. He will work alongside senior A&R managers Joe Barbe and Kevin Christian-Blair at the new label.
“The name SIGNAL >> SUPPLY is borne from the idea that the DJ reacts to their dancefloor – the crowd signals what they want, and the DJ supplies it,” reads a press release announcing the launch. The branding for the label was designed in tandem with design studio Koln.
During his time at Atlantic, Parsons has managed campaigns for Joel Corry, Nathan Dawe, Rudimental, HONNE and Fred Again as well as the soundtrack for The Greatest Showman. He will continue reporting to Atlantic Records UK general manager Liz Goodwin.
“This will be the first time ever that Atlantic Records UK has had a space solely focussed on finding and breaking emerging DJs and producers and I believe it’s a massively exciting prospect,” said Parsons in a statement
Ed Howard and Briony Turner, co-presidents at Atlantic Records UK, added, “This new imprint will be a breeding ground for Tristan, Kevin and Joe to create a truly subversive roster for a new generation of dance music fans. We’re very proud of all they have achieved and thrilled to start this new chapter with them.”
Live Nation Canada and The Feldman Agency (TFA) have partnered to form Ace Events, a new venture that will provide national full-service live entertainment talent programming and production for events, with a focus on corporate experiential activations, outdoor concerts, private galas and sporting events.
Ace Events will secure talent, manage critical aspects of event production — including operations, budgeting and day-of-show management — and provide greater access to opportunities for both existing and future clients. Its suite of services will include global and domestic talent sourcing at all levels and budgets; entertainment strategies and creative designs; and turnkey staffing and production coordination for everything from small private shows to large-scale events.
“Combining our roster of exceptional talent and existing corporate business with the know-how of Live Nation’s esteemed team deep with experience in production and promotion will create a vibrant business,” said Jeff Craib, president of The Feldman Agency.
“By combining our efforts, strengthening our relationship and adding these services we will help event producers, companies, sporting leagues and more incorporate the power and passion of live music into their next event,” added Riley O’Connor, chairman of Live Nation Canada.
Republic Records China has signed Chinese pop star Daisy Xue. Also known by her Mandarin name Daifei Xue, the singer has enjoyed several viral hits in her native country.
Xue’s first single for the label, “So Cool,” has been released, while the follow-up, “Shi Guang Lie Che,” is slated to drop on Sept. 22. Both tracks are from Xue’s upcoming five-track EP, which is being released globally on Oct. 13.
The first taste of fame for Xue came with her appearance on the Chinese talent show Super Girls in 2016. More recently, she released such hit songs as “Feiqiu,” “Insomnia Flight” and “The Love Party,” the latter of which has drawn over 4.5 billion video streams on the Chinese video-sharing platform Douyin, according to a press release.
“Republic Records China has worked closely with Daisy to develop a series of musical projects tailored to her unique talent and we look forward to introducing her music to a bigger audience, both domestically and internationally,” said Republic Records China managing director Tony Wen.
Republic Records China launched in August. It is the first international division spawned by the U.S.-based label.
Robyn has signed with Young Artists for management. The Swedish pop star will be represented by the company’s Caius Pawson and Hannah Partington.
Young Artists is a part of Young (formerly Young Turks), the London-based company that houses record label Young (FKA twigs, The xx, Kamasi Washington) and music publishing company Young Songs (Arlo Parks, Sampha).
“I’m excited and truly delighted to start working with such a visionary company as Young Artists,” said Robyn in a statement. “I can’t think of a more inspiring way to make my next album than with Caius, Hannah and the brilliant team they work with.”
Warner Music Central Europe has signed Berlin-based DJ and producer Alle Farben, who will put out his next single, “Alright” feat. KIDDO, on the label on Sept. 17.
Farben’s hits include “She Moves,” “Supergirl,” “Bad Ideas,” “Please Tell Rosie,” “Fading,” “Only Thing We Know,” “Little Hollywood,” and the collaboration “Somewhere Over The Rainbow/What A Wonderful World” with Robin Schulz. A press release announcing the signing boasts that Farben’s music has drawn 2 billion streams to date and received 32 Diamond, Platinum and Gold certification awards across Europe and Asia.
“Over the course of a decade, Frans has evolved from the heart of the Berlin house scene to the artist we all know and love today,” said Warner Music Central Europe managing director, domestic and A&R Andreas Weitkämper in a statement. “His six-hour sets are legendary and his hits of recent years have already become classics of the genre.”
ATO Records has signed Birmingham, Alabama-based soul band St. Paul & The Broken Bones, which will release their next album on the label in 2022.
The band is comprised of vocalist Paul Janeway, bassist Jesse Phillips, guitarist Browan Lollar, drummer Kevin Leon, keyboardist Al Gamble, trumpet player Allen Branstetter, trombonist Chad Fisher and saxophonist Amari Ansari.
St. Paul & The Broken Bones has released three studio albums: 2014’s Half the City, 2016’s Sea of Noise and 2018’s Young Sick Camellia. They have embarked on several global tours and are slated to tour the U.S. through October.
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Haley Dahl, who records as Sloppy Jane, has signed to Phoebe Bridgers’ Saddest Factory Records – a name inspired by a joke Dahl herself made on Twitter. The label recently released her new single, “Party Anthem,” and will put out her next album, Madison – which was recorded entirely inside West Virginia’s Lost World Caverns – on Nov. 5.
Sloppy Jane began as a three-piece punk band, which featured Bridgers on bass, when Dahl was just a teenager. Now a chamber pop project, Sloppy Jane currently has over a dozen members.
“Phoebe and I made friends in high school when I was goth and didn’t bathe and she wore dresses with little bicycles on them – we mistook each other for cool then, and it lasted,” said Dahl in a statement. “Phoebe is one of my closest friends, and is also someone who has always seen that the things that make my work different are what make it valuable. She played bass in Sloppy Jane. When I was moving to New York I talked about how I wanted to make the band bigger and incorporate chamber instruments, and a lot of people didn’t get what I meant, but Phoebe said, ‘Go get your orchestra.’”
Of crafting the album, Dahl added, “When I started talking about recording in caves, she was one of the few people to really get it immediately and thought it was the coolest thing. To work with someone who has so much personal context and enthusiasm was kind of a no-brainer. The label name ‘Saddest Factory Records’ came from a joke I made on twitter, and I kind of think that’s representative of what my ideal professional trajectory looks like- me and my same friends who understand each other making the same jokes over and over again while our platforms expand.”
Sloppy Jane will celebrate the release of Madison with a headline show at Baby’s Alright in New York City on Nov. 7. She’s also slated to open for Iceage on tour in February.
Triple Tigers Records has signed emerging singer-songwriter Jordan Fletcher, whose new song “Rather Be Broke” (released Sept. 10) was his first release under the label.
Fletcher moved to Nashville in 2016, when he began writing songs and performing at small music venues throughout the Southeast. He is signed to a global publishing deal with Sea Gayle Music and managed by Triple 8 Management.
“I write my own life into every song I sing, so it means the world to have this platform to share those personal stories with even more fans,” said Fletcher in a statement.
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