I OH YOU adds management arm

I OH YOU began as an indie club night and have had great success in its incarnation as a label with a roster that includes Violent Soho, DMA’s, City Calm Down and DZ Deathrays. Now a new management arm for the company has been announced, continuing the IOY brand’s relationship with Mushroom Group.

Titled Converge Management, the offshoot begins its life with I OH YOU’s Johann Ponniah and Scott Armstrong at the helm, and bands Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever and The Belligerents under its wing, as well as producer Konstantin Kersting and songwriter Lewis Stephenson.

Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, who are signed to Sub Pop in the US and Ivy League in Australia and NZ, have already had an eventful 2017, scoring positive notices from major outlets for their debut EP French Press and for their live performances at SXSW (including the New York Times and Pitchfork). There’s still an Australian tour and then dates in the UK and Europe to come.

Kersting has worked with The Church, Big Scary, Mallrat and The Jungle Giants, among a slew of other acts. The Belligerents have signed a global deal with Sony and have an album out later this year; Stephenson is a member of the band, as well as breakout act Confidence Man.

“I OH YOU has been something that has consumed the majority of my adult life and has allowed me to work with artists in a way that my teenage self used to dream of,” Ponniah said in a statement. “I’m really psyched to see it now expand in a manner that will allow us to work with artists that we love in a way that we haven’t been able to thus far. I’m really excited about the artists we’re working with and what the future holds for them.”

“We plan to pair our previous experience from I OH YOU with a sense of innovation and enthusiasm towards each of the many roles which an artist management team takes on,” Armstrong said.

The move into management by I OH YOU has an interesting recent parallel: it comes a few weeks after Mirror Music Group, who manage Gang Of Youths and Middle Kids, announced that they were adding a label arm, Mirror Records, to the brand. (You can read our profile of Mirror boss Kurt Bailey here.)