Music Deals -- Week 18 2021

One Media iP Group has acquired for an undisclosed amount the writer’s share to the royalties of over 250 tracks of Kid Creole and the Coconuts, including such hits as 'Annie I’m Not Your Daddy' and 'I’m a Wonderful Thing Baby'. The acquisition has been funded through the existing cash resources of the digital music rights acquirer, publisher and distributor. The company said the acquisition "adds to One Media’s recurring income model and has been completed through One Media’s Harmony iP asset release programme." Harmony iP allows music rights holders advanced access to the future earnings of their intellectual property by purchasing a portion of their rights upfront. “Acquisitions such as these continue to add value to our business through a recurring revenue model and as such, we have a strong pipeline of future acquisition targets for 2021," said Michael Infante, CEO of One Media iP. Kid Creole and the Coconuts founder August Darnell added: "I started Kid Creole and the Coconuts in 1979 I had no idea then that I was destined to enjoy success around the world for the next 40 years. With the team at One Media iP and their Harmony iP initiative I have now ensured my musical legend will continue for another 40 years."

British independent music company Beggars Group has sealed a partnership with new music supervision, licensing and composition company Colourbox Music, specialising in music for film, TV, advertising and gaming. Colourbox Music, founded by Ben Turner and Simon Astall, is based in London and Los Angeles. It will work with Beggars Group (4AD, Matador, RoughTrade, XL Recordings and Young), its licensing teams and publishing unit Beggars Music to provide a range of services based around music creation. Said Beggars Group CEO Paul Redding: "When Ben and Simon approached us to develop a new company that was much more than a traditional supervision company, it was an easy decision. They have a proven track record and it became immediately clear that their talent would integrate brilliantly with our record and publishing companies to deliver new opportunities for our artists and writers alongside developing an exciting new part to our global business.”

Music streaming service Deezer has invested an undisclosed amount in livestreaming start-up Dreamstage, co-founded by former Sony Music's President of Global Digital Business Thomas Hesse, alongside cellist Jan Vogler and CTO Scott Chasin. Dreamstage has organised and produced over 50 livestreamed concerts since its launch in August 2020. Dreamstage said that the new funding will enable to “significantly speed up growth and expand its operations."

US rapper Jay-Z has reportedly finalised the sale of music streaming service TIDAL to Square, the digital payment company owned by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey. According to MBW, Square paid $302 million for 80% of the shares, valu the service at  $377.5m. The remaining 20% are owned by the artists who joined Jay-Z at the launch of TIDAL, after he acquired Norwegian streaming service Aspiro in 2015 for €50 million. TMZ suggested that both Jay-Z and Roc Nation CEO Desiree Perez will continue to sit on the board of TIDAL. The platform posted an operating loss in 2019 of $55.3m.

Music streaming service and discovery platform SoundCloud has signed a partnership with short-form video service Triller that will provide SoundCloud's artists additional exposure through curated playlists featured on the Triller app Music Discovery page. SoundCloud users will be able link their profile to Triller. “With a shared goal of showcasing established and emerging talent, this partnership puts artists first – just like Triller does,” said Triller CEO Mahide Silva. “In front of a global audience, emerging artists will now have the opportunity to develop a Triller fan base that is empowered to create, share and connect.” 

Primary Wave Music has acquired the publishing catalogue of songwriters and producers Carl Sturken and Evan Rogers, including a share in the duo’s master royalty income stream across Rihanna’s first seven albums. The deal also includes works penned for Kelly Clarkson, N’Sync and 5 Seconds of Summer.

Publicly listed music investment company Hipgnosis Songs Fund Limited has acquired a catalogue of works from Andrew Wotman, better known as Andrew Watt. He has produced works and/or co-written tracks for the likes of Miley Cyrus, Dua Lipa, Post Malone, Ozzy Osbourne, Camila Cabello, Justin Bieber and 5 Seconds of Summer, among others. Watt was represented by manager Scooter Braun at SB Projects and attorney Doug Mark.

Independent music company Reservoir has signed writer-producer Marcus Lomax, a.k.a. “MarcLo,” to a worldwide publishing deal. Lomax is a member of writing and production group The Monsters & Strangerz, known for the hit 'The Middle', by Zedd, Maren Morris, and Grey. Los Angeles-based Lomax has also worked with Maroon 5, 5 Seconds of Summer, Kelsea Ballerini, Maren Morris, Jason Derulo and Chris Brown, among others. Said Lomax, “I am very excited to be starting this new chapter with Reservoir alongside [EVP, Global Creative Director] Donna Caseine and the entire company globally. Bringing music to the world is such a huge collaborative process, and I could not be more thrilled about the talent, creativity, and expertise on my team.” 

Qwest TV, the music TV platform co-founded by Quincy Jones, has partnered with TV and sound bar manufacturer VIZIO in the US to provide to the users of VIZIO's SmartCast devices access to three linear channels: Qwest TV Classical, Qwest TV Mix, and Qwest TV Jazz & Beyond. It’s wonderful to finally get to offer our flagship linear channels to an American audience thanks to VIZIO,” says Reza Ackbaraly, co-founder and CEO of Qwest TV. “This U.S. viewership will join more than eight million unique monthly viewers across Europe and East Asia who have already gained access to what we feel are some of the most compelling artists and musical moments out there.”

Warner Chappell has extended its existing publishing agreement with rapper and produce Belly by acquiring 50% of his songwriting catalogue. “Warner Chappell was my first home, a place I was able to build lasting relationships and build myself into the writer I am today," said Belly. "I’m excited to continue this partnership and make more history together."