Luke Steele Strikes Worldwide Deal With Warner Chappell Music
Empire of the Sun frontman Luke Steele signs a global administration deal with Warner Chappell Music, The Music Network can confirm.
WCM is now the exclusive administrator of Steele’s future works, which include songs released by Empire of the Sun, The Sleepy Jackson and solo material.
Steele, who covers the current Musicians on Musicians issue of Rolling Stone AU/NZ, along with Tones And I, “is an exceptional songwriter and artist”, comments Dan Rosen, president, Recording and Publishing, Australasia, WMG.
“He has been at the forefront of the Australian music scene for almost two decades and has had significant global impact with his music”, adds Rosen. “This is a super exciting signing for everyone at Warner Chappell Music and we’re honored to be a part of this next stage in Luke’s artistic journey”.
The worldwide arrangement is announced fewer than three months after Rosen’s promotion at Warner Music Australasian, adding responsibility for music publishing.
Empire of the Sun’s career has been out of this world.
Led by Steele (aka Emperor Steele) and Nick Littlemore (aka Lord Littlemore), the electronic pop act has collected eight ARIA Awards, two APRAs, and an APRA Billions Award for “Walking on a Dream,” awarded to APRA AMCOS songwriter members and their publishers for one billion streams of a song, taking into account streaming data from major services Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube.
“Walking on a Dream” cracked the ARIA Top 10, and, in the US had a second life when it was synced to a Honda Civic commercial in 2016, driving it to No. 65 on the Billboard Hot 100 and powering it to No. 1 on Billboard’s Dance Club Songs, their second leader on the tally after 2013’s “Alive”.
All told, their catalogue has shifted over 5.5 million albums worldwide, and clocked more than 7.6 billion streams.
Empire of the Sun next week kick off a world tour in support of Ask That God, their fourth and latest studio album, which gave the group a fourth consecutive ARIA Top 10.
Those dates run through May and will include additional dates yet to be announced, according to reps.
Steele’s releases include two albums and two EPs with The Sleepy Jackson, a solo album Listen To The Water, and songs with the likes of Jay-Z and Beyoncé.
“I’m a longtime fan of Luke”, says Guy Moot, co-chair and CEO, WCM. “As one of Australia’s most influential and successful musical talents, he’s consistently pushed boundaries and delivered groundbreaking work with every release. We’re proud to be supporting him at such a pivotal moment in his career and look forward to seeing where his vision takes electronic music next.”