Features December 7, 2017

Native Tongue’s Jaime Gough on what the Ultra Music deal means for business in 2018

Features Editor

Earlier this week leading independent music publisher Native Tongue announced a sub-publishing agreement with Ultra Music Publishing in Australia and New Zealand.

We chatted to Managing Director of Native Tongue Jaime Gough about the deal, and what the standout moment for the business has been this year, and what this new deal means for 2018.

How did the deal with Ultra come about?

We have kept in touch for a few years and finally had a chance to meet at MIDEM this year. Ultra were looking for a new partner that could deliver a hands on creative service coupled with strong administration. These are the cornerstones of our business, so it was a natural fit.

Ultra writers have had some big cuts recently. Tell us about those.

Neil Ormandy (James Arthur, Barns Courtney, Ricki-Lee, Eric Prydz) is having a great run, Maaly Raw (Lil Uzi Vert) has had a big year, plusXavier Dotson (Drake, Future, Gucci Mane), Carlton Mays (Travis Scott, A$AP Rocky), Jenson Vaughan (Kygo, OMI,Madonna), Deorro, Era Istrefi.

Are there any plans to bring Ultra writers to the Aus/NZ territory to collaborate with local songwriters and acts?

Yes, a few Ultra writers have already made it out to Auckland, Sydney and Melbourne. More activity is being discussed for 2018 at our Melbourne and Sydney writing rooms, and songwriting camps.

We’re getting to the pointy end of the year, what have been the standout moments in 2017 for Native Tongue?

It’s been an exciting year and its hard to single out moments. We really enjoyed partnering with MusicNT for the NT Song of the Year competition, andwith MusicNSW for their Women In Electronic Music Masterclasses. Marlon Williams and Aldous Harding continue to win fans all over the world.

Alex Lahey,Ali Barter, Jen Cloher and The Smith Street Band were just nominated for J Awards. Our writer/producer Stu Crichton has two songs on the Kesha album, and co-wrote the latest Kygo single ‘Stargazing’. Andy Mak produced and co-wrote (along with his brother Thom) most of the Vera Blue album.

Apple Music and Spotify don’t list songwriter credits, whereas Tidal do. What’s your take on this, and do you think this will be something addressed in the future?

This is a great initiative and something I am aware the other streaming services are looking to implement. There are some complexities involved securing the correct information, however there are companies out there working to gather the data to on-sell to the streaming services.

UMPG has been actively submitting takedown requests to Facebook for copyright violation. What’s been Native Tongue’s position on this while the platform catches up, following a bigger push into video?

As a rights owner, we want any platform using music as part of their business to have the correct licenses in place. We have complete faith in organisations such as AMCOS who are constantly liaising with a range of businesses, from start ups to established ones moving into new areas, to ensure licenses are in place and income can flow back to the rights owners, namely songwriters and publishers.