New Signings & Team-Ups: May 3

UNIVERSAL MUSIC PUBL GROUP SIGNS JACK WHITE…

Universal Music Publishing Group signed Jack White to his first single global publishing deal. The agreementcovers the 12-time Grammy winner’s entire catalogue – which includes The White Stripes, The Raconteurs, The Dead Weather, solo albums Blunderbuss and Lazaretto and collaborations and future projects.

UMPG will work with White and his publishing companies, Third String Tunes and Peppermint Stripe Music, to “develop creative and commercial outlets for his new projects and existing songs.”

Over 20 years, White has generated 170 songwriting credits, including credits with Beyoncé and Alicia Keys.

…AND MADMUSICK

Another UMPG signing is Florida-based writing/production duo MadMusick. Brothers Giencarlos and Jonathan Rivera (aka Yan and Yon MadMusick) have worked with Daddy Yankee, Yandel and Wisin and enjoyed great success in the Latin markets.

Their collab with Daddy Yankee, Limbo, won Latin Song Of The Year at the 2014 ASCAP Awards and spent 22 weeks at #1 on Billboard’s Latin Chart.

LUKE MILLIONS IN RHYTHM WITH KITSUNÉ

Australian producer Luke Millions has his new single Back To The Rhythm, featuring Sam Sparro, out on French tastemaker label Kitsuné through a deal with his local label etcetc. Kitsuné launched the careers of Digitalism, La Roux and Two Door Cinema Club.

The track comes with a video created by Australian production house Made In Katana which features Millions wiping out a keytar solo. After hard touring through North America and Australia, Millions unveils a new live set at Splendour In The Grass with a number of surprise guests including an international name.

RAND WITH CHUGG

Melbourne based singer-songwriter Rand, aka Juke Kartel’s Toby Rand, has signed a record deal with Michael Chugg’s Chugg Music. He commented, “Been working toward this for a long time. Stoked with this partnership. Lots of music to come!”

A debut album set for Sept/Oct is previewed with new track Cellophane World (with video directed by Philippa Pomeranz Whitfield and starring ballerina Brooke Lockett) with plans for a soon-to-be-announced live tour in June.

FACEBOOK LAUNCHES TICKET BUYING FACILITY

Facebook’s US partnership with ticketing agency Eventbrite for its customers to buy concert tickets directly from the social media’s pages, has now extended to the UK. The WOMAD festival is already using the new service.

AS PARADISE FALLS LAND GLOBAL RELEASE

Brisbane metal outfit As Paradise Falls has finalised a worldwide deal with Eclipse Records. The band suffered tragedy when guitarist Glen Barrie died while they were in the studio in 2015. Now they’re returning with new album Digital Ritual produced by Shane Edwards (Northlane, Trophy Eyes, Hellions) set for release in the next few months.

Guitarist Danny Kenneally says that on the day they released their lead-off single Starblind independently, they got an email from Eclipse’s owner Chris Poland, who’d been following them on Spotify, He asked if they had any more new material, and within weeks the deal was struck for the album.

TWITTER CONTENT DEALS COVER MUSIC

A dozen content deals that Twitter unveiled at a digital music conference this week included two for music lovers. A concert streaming series tie-up with Live Nation launches globally and in Australia on Saturday May 13 with a show by recent tourists Zac Brown Band.

Coming to Australia later in the year is daily, entertainment-driven, primetime show #WhatsHappening which covers music, pop culture and celeb tweets.

The other content partnerships covered sports, technology and news.

123 AGENCY DOES TANGO WITH SLOWDANCER

Melbourne-based booking and tour agency 123 has signed Slowdancer aka singer, songwriter and multi- instrumentalist Simon Okely.

He’s about to hit the road behind his June 9-due In A Mood album through Pieater/ATO Records. The tour is July 6 in Melbourne, July 7 in Brisbane and July 14 in Sydney before 14 club shows through North America June 6 to 28.

Slow Dancer also dropped the video for his single It Goes On, the treatment which he wrote with “my ex lover of 14 years. We wanted to explore what the things we choose say, say about us.

“I have a theory about writing love songs; they are a curse; they inadvertently herald the end of the very relationship they here intended to praise. In this instance, I was painfully correct.”

SCA CUTS IT WITH OVO MOBILE

A deal that Southern Cross Austereo cut with OVO Mobile will give its customers unlimited and data-free access to the 58 stations on its Hit Network and Triple M via the OVO app.

SCA’s Head of Revenue Strategy and Operations, Ivan Curic, said: “Signing this deal with OVO Mobile is a wonderful opportunity for our listeners to stay connected with their favourite radio shows, personalities and music, all data-free.”

JAMILA WOODS TO INERTIA VIA JAGJAGUWAR

Chicago poet, activist and singer-songwriter Jamila Woods has signed to Jagjaguwar in the US, and is distributed in Australia via Inertia. The announcement was celebrated with a “gravity-defying” new video for single Holy – check it out below.

SONY/ATV LANDS BECKY HILL

Sony/ATV signed UK songwriter Becky Hill to a global deal, Music Week reported overnight. Aside from writing for the likes of Rudimental, Wilkinson, MNEK and Oliver Heldens, Hill is also a solo artist with an album due in 2017.

ARTISTS FUNDRAISING FOR GOOD CAUSES

• 70s bands No Fixed Address and Madder Lake play a show on May 27 at Melbourne’s MEMO Music Hall in St Kilda to raise awareness and funds for the not-for-profit organisation St. Kilda Arts Community Inc.
• All proceeds from the sale of a new T-shirt from Wollongong’s Totally Unicorn are going to mental health charity beyondblue. It’s from the theme in their new track April 29 Brothers when singer Drew Gardner’s partner left him and former member Michael Bennett discovered his mother was losing her battle with cancer, and they spent the day trying to cope with their own, and the other’s pain.
• Caravãna Sun’s current Whale Song Tour through Australia and New Zealand is presented by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. It is donating $5 per merchandise item during the tour, “marking the beginning of an ongoing relationship between Caravãna Sun and the not-for-profit organisation.” The tour follows the release of third album Guerrilla Club, featuring the track Whale Song, which is generating hot spins on Spotify.

BOOKING AGENCY FOR JADE IMAGINE

New World Artists is now booking Melbourne band Jade Imagine, which is built around singer, songwriter and bassist Jade McInally– currently on the road this month along the East Coast behind Milk! Records released EP What The Fuck Was I Thinking.

NWA’s Dom Miller is repping.

TWO DEALS FOR BORNEO

Sydney modern rock band Borneo have assigned their recording to Habit Music Company and publishing to Gaga Music Publishing. They drop their debut EP Alert on May 12, along with single Boyfriend, about having your parents split up and start dating again

They kick off a seven date run of three states, starting on May 26 at Brisbane’s Black Bear Lodge and winding up on June 10 at Captain Cook Hotel in Sydney.

FIRST SIGNING FOR DECCA PUBLISHING

The first signing to Universal Music Group’s newly launched Decca Publishing is composer Max Richter who is also signed to UMPG’s Deutsche Grammophon imprint. Richter, who is in high demand for his soundtrack work as well as works such a recomposed Four Seasons, is spearheading a neo-classical style that is gaining momentum worldwide.

HI-5 BACK ON NINE

Children’s group Hi-5 re-ignite their relationship with Nine Network, with a new lineup and a new TV series in May as part of the Go Kids program on 9Go! The five were chosen from 450 applicants.