New Signings & Team-Ups: June 28
MANAGEMENT, AGENCY DEALS FOR WEST THEBARTON
Adelaide band West Thebarton (the artists previously known as West Thebarton Brothel Party) have upped the ante with new management and UK booking agent.
Management is with Sydney-based Fidelity Corp (home of Karnivool, Luca Brasi and Thelma Plum), and X Ray Touring, which indicates there’ll be a European tour down the track.
In addition to the name change, the band also announced Adelaide tattoo artist Caitlin Thomaswill replace drummer Hugh Black, who is departing to finish his fine arts degree; that they have an album out before the end of the year, and also that they’ll play a gig at the Lansdowne Hotel in Sydney on July 14.
UNFD LEARNS TO CURSE AND VERSE
UNFD’s latest signing is Perth metal band Cursed Earth for a worldwide deal.
Formed in 2013, their introduction to the rest of the world comes via the Cycles of Grief Volume 1: Growth EP, set for release on August 4.
“The story of Cycles of Grief documents the collision of nature and nurture” says guitarist Kieran Molloy. “It’s an unprejudiced look into the intergenerational nature of coldness, addiction and violence.”
This Friday they start a six-date run down the East Coast.
HARRISON STORMS INTO IE:MUSIC
Singer-songwriter Harrison Storm has signed a deal with UK label ie:music.
The Wollongong-based Storm, who has 10 million Spotify streams to his name, joins Robbie Williams, Passenger and Ladyhawke on their management roster, and has also signed with Nettwerk Records in a global deal.
BAD BOY DOCO GETS APPLE MUSIC EXCLUSIVE
The first of Apple Music’s music documentaries is Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop: A Bad Boy Story. It traces the journey of founder Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs, its chart and cultural impact during the ’90s, and efforts to put together 20th-anniversary shows in 2016.
Some early reviews suggested it a “vanity piece just for fans”.
Apple will have its exclusivity for 12 months.
Other upcoming Apple Music docos include those on Clive Davis and Cash Money Records.
DJ TOP 100 POLL TO BENEFIT UNICEF
This year’s DJ Mag’s Top 100 DJs poll has marked UNICEF as its beneficiary. Donations made during the vote, as well as proceeds from the awards ceremony, will go towards making the world a safer place for children.
DJ Mag Managing DirectorMartin Carvell said: “Both the Top 100 DJs and the dance music industry have grown immensely over the last 25 years.
“Over 1 million people voted in last year’s poll and with the continuing global expansion of electronic music, we feel that the time is right for us, as music fans, industry, and DJs, to give something back.”
NICHE WELCOMES LEWIS CANCUT
Niche hasadded prolific Australian producerLewis Cancut to its agency roster.
He’s been releasing his own music since 2010 on a number of labels, although his biggest commercial release has been his co-write of Jennifer Lopez’s single Booty featuring Iggy Azalea. Its video racked up170 million streams.
Currently signed to Nina Las Vegas’ NLV Records, his track Systems saw triple j traction and the newestrelease is Plastic Games.
SUMNEY TO JAGJAGUWAR
Ethereal future-soul vocalist Moses Sumney has signed to Jagjaguwar (through Inertia in Australia) ahead of a new full-length release later this year.The first single is ’Doomed’, with a videoreleased today.
Sumney was self-releasing his music before the deal.
WIKI UPSIZES TO XL
New York rapper Wiki, who’s also part of “left-field hip hop” duo Ratking, has signed to XL. Along with the announcement, he’s dropped his new single Pretty Bull, out through XL/Remote Control now.
The video, directed by Ben Solomon (who worked on Beyoncé’s No Angel video with LILINTERNET), is also out today.
EPITAPH ADDS CULTURE ABUSE
Epitaph’s latest roster addition is San Francisco Bay Area-band Culture Abuse.
Their new single So Busted is described by singer David Kelling as “all the stuff you are told you need in life but when it all boils down all you really want is to feel loved and cared for”.
Formed in 2013, the band released their debut album Peach in late 2016 on 6131 Records.
Epitaph has its own Australian office and released locally through Cooking Vinyl.
GIN WIGMORE IS THE LEADER OF THE PACK
Gin Wigmore has launched Girl Gang, a collaborative project pairing art and music through Universal Music Australia.
It’s described as one that “focuses on female empowerment and partnership, raw social engagement and the progression of experiencing music through various artistic endeavours”.
Wigmore hand selected five artists to create exclusive and original pieces inspired by five songs from the new album.
The first Girl Gang project is a team-up with San Diego tattooist Briana Sargent, who created a tattoo inspired by Wigmore’s new single Hallow Fate. It was then tattooed on a lucky lady.
The entire campaign is being documented through film by Standard x Gentlemen Productions for a personal insight into what it takes to truly collaborate from scratch.
Wigmore, who revealed a few weeks backthat she’s having a baby in a couple of months, says that any art piece that yields a monetary profit will be donated between KidsCan Charitable Trust and The Sanctuary At Soledad Goats.
COPYRIGHT AGENCY, VISCOPY MERGE
After a five-year ‘Services Agreement’ between rights management organisations the Copyright Agency and Viscopy, the two organisations have agreed to merge.
Between them, the two organisations represent some 43,000 members, ranging from visual artists and illustrators to journalists, cartoonists, surveyors, educational authors and publishers.
PLANET/MGM IN LIVING COLOUR
New York rock, funk and psychedelia band Living Colour have their first album in eight years, Shade, released in Australia through Planet/MGM. It comes from a deal the band inked in America with Megaforce Records.
The initial spark for Shade came via the mojo spirit of blues’ pioneer Robert Johnson who apparently possessed Living Colour’s soul during a performance at Harlem’s famed Apollo Theatre.
Roaring through an electrically charged cover of Johnson’s classic Preachin’ Blues, Living Colour moved both the audience and themselves.
“That was really the beginning of us thinking of the direction we want to take for our next project,” says Living Colour guitarist Vernon Reid. “Hearing that blend of blues and metal was really what got the wheels turning.”
LISMORE DUO AT ISLAND/UNIVERSAL
Lismore duo No Frills Twins(aka real life twins Vanessa and Arna Rogers) are now with Island Records / Universal Music Australia.
They got their start uploading covers, which in turn led to 8 million YouTube views and 400,000 Facebook followers who are as turned on by the music as by their self-made clothes.
GAY NOMADS
A $100,000 initiatives called Love Bites is a team up by ABC TV and Screen Australia for LGBTQI filmmakers.
Ten directors or producers who identify as members of the LGBTQI community get $10,000 each to make a five-minute short on the loves and lives of LGBTQI folk.
Each short film’s content, tone and style is decided by its creator, with the selected films for the curated documentary series to premiere on the ABC Arts Channel on iView during the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras in March next year as part of its 40th celebrations.
SALAAM REMI SIGNS WITH PEERMUSIC
Highly successful producer Salaam Remi has shifted from EMI Music to being globally administrated by Peermusic.
His credits include Alicia Keys (Girl on Fire), Nas (I Can), The Fugees (Fu-Gee-La), Amy Winehouse (Stronger Than Me), Fergie (Labels of Love), Miguel (All I Want is You) and Jazmine Sullivan (Bust Your Windows).
GOODLUM HOODLUM
ABC Studios International and Brisbane production company Hoodlum Entertainment entered a worldwide first look deal, cementing their existing partnership and stepping up their international development and production efforts.
They will develop new content for the global international marketplace, including the US.
Disney Media Distribution has international rights across all media for productions resulting from this collaboration.
WARNER/CHAPPELL GETS FIRST ACCESS
Warner/Chappell now represents First Access Entertainment’s publishing globally for synchronisation in film, TV, advertising, and merchandising.
First Access was set up by its CEO Sarah Stennett with Len Blavatnik of Warner Music Group owner Access Industries.
She previously managed Jessie J, Ellie Goulding, Rita Ora, Iggy Azalea,and Zayn Malik.