New Signings & Team Ups: October 20

Detail Records to release Marcus Marr / Chet Faker EP

Chet Faker’s Detail Records has set December 4 as the release date for the Work EP, his new collaboration with South London-based DJ Marcus Marr who’s been releasing tracks via DFA Records. Lead off track, the intergalactic funk-tinged The Trouble With Us is out now digitally.

The relationship began when Chet posed a Marr track on Twitter, and they began exchanging song ideas in voice memos. They met up at Marr’s London studio and, after realising how his dance production worked with Chet’s soulful vocals, penned four songs together.

UNFD takes on Hands Like Houses

UNFD, which has a deal with America’s Rise Records to release and market its catalogue in North America, has extended it with Hands Like Houses. The seven-year-old Canberra band signed with Rise in 2012, getting college radio airplay and seeing their 2013 album, Unimagine debut at #37 on Billboard’s Top 200. UNFD will now release the act’s material in ANZ. The band last week released New Romantics as the first single from the forthcoming album.

UNFD's Luke Logemann says label staff are long-time fans of the band musically and personally. “These guys are one of the hardest working bands in the country, and they’ve won over fans all across the world for a reason. Also, I Am and New Romantics are already two of the best songs of 2015. This album is going to be huge!"

Ivy League opens door to Tiny Little Houses

Ivy League signed Tiny Little Houses to its roster, adding them to Cloud Control, Alpine, The Rubens, Bad Dreems, Palms, Steve Smyth, SURES and The Rolling Blackouts. The band formed in Melbourne last year through a shared love of 90s folk/rock and were instantly picked up by triple j.

Their debut EP You Tore Out My Heart is out on October 30 and includes their two singles Easy and Soon We Won’t Exist. They’re currently on the road setting up the EP’s release.

APRA AMCOS, LPA, launching music event licence

APRA AMCOS and Live Performance Australia jointly launch a new Promoted Music Event licence on January 1. The new negotiated terms will mean all live and recorded box-office-driven music performances (for both headline and support acts) fall under the same licence.

The new deal defines a festival as an event held in a day (eight hours), in an outdoor space where a stage or performance area had to be created, has at least six stages and advertises itself as a festival.

At present, only multi-day regional festivals are eligible for the Festival Licence. From January 1, it will include all music festivals that meet the above requirements. The tariff rate for the Festival Licence is lower than that for concerts (now covered under the Promoted Music Event Licence).

Nuclear Blast rusts up with Corrosion of Conformity

Nuclear Blast Entertainment finalised a global agreement with metal band Corrosion of Conformity. The band heads into the studios shortly to mark its recording reunion with vocalist/guitarist Pepper Keenan. Label President Monte Conner said, “I love all the incarnations of C.O.C. over the years but the Pepper-fronted version has always been the definitive line-up of the band for me.”

The album, to be helmed by longtime producer John Custer, is the band’s first album since 2005. Its 1994 debut album Deliverance was an instant classic.

7digital plugs in Electric Jukebox Company

7digital is the supplier to Electric Jukebox Company for its new plug and play music streaming service. It will licence EJC for the UK and US, providing technology, infrastructure, music catalogue and human curatorial expertise.

Electric Jukebox is part of the ‘Third Wave’ of digital music – targeting the 90% of people who consume music at home but who do not use the current generation of streaming services.

Its CEO Rob Lewis says, “We want to bring music back into people’s living rooms, so we’ve created a music device that is simple and easy to use and which works straight out of the box. Mass market streaming has finally become a reality.”

Australia’s Fanfare signs Canada’s Charlie A’Court

Robert Rigby’s Fanfare Records signed Canadian soul singer Charlie A’Court. He cut his new album Come On Over in Sydney at Blackfoot Sound System with Mark Lizotte (Diesel) producing and Mahalia Barnes lending vocals.

MTV’s Beats & Eats gets Destination NSW support

Destination NSW has come on board to make MTV’s new Sydney music and food festival, MTV Beats & Eats a free event. Kicking off ARIA Week, it is at The Crescent, Parramatta Park on Saturday November 21. It will host 7,500 guests, six main-stage performances, 15 food outlets, a licensed VIP bar courtesy Carlton Dry with the first round of acts Havana Brown, Savage and Sydney-based DJJesabel.

Tim Rogers among six new David Jones ambassadors

You Am I’s Tim Rogers is one of six brand ambassadors for retailer David Jones’ latest campaign It’s In You. The others are retired AFL footballer Adam Goodes, model Jessica Gomes, Sydney Dance Company dancer Juliette Barton, champion high jumper and model Amy Pejkovic, model Tahnee Atkinson and actor Alex Russell.

Soundtrack to the campaign is Kanye West’s Power from his 2010 album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.

Six signings puts cherry on top

UK indie Cherry Red picked up six new signings. They are ‘60s band The Zombies (She’s Not There) for Europe and Kraftwerk’s Wolfgang Flür for the UK, Europe and Japan. World deals are for British funk band Cymande’s first album in four decades, The Auteurs’ songwriter Luke Haines, ska revivalist Rhoda Dakar (singer of ‘70s band The Bodysnatchers and co-writer of The Special AKA’s Free Nelson Mandela) and jazz act James Taylor Quartet.

Jason Derulo donating to Challenge organisation

Jason Derulo is raising money during his three November Australian arena dates for the Challenge organisation to support children and families living with cancer. His tour promoter Rubystone Entertainment aims to raise $100,000 by donating $10 from each ticket to Kids With Cancer with no cost to purchaser.

Live Nation in driving seat with Toyota for North America

A tie-up between Live Nation and Toyota will create original content highlighting emerging musicians at Toyota-sponsored music festivals across North America. Toyota is also sponsoring Rising, a new channel on Yahoo Music dedicated to new acts in addition to other live-streamed concerts on the Live Nation channel.

Tech philanthropist presenting partner for WOMADelaide

Technology entrepreneur Simon Hackett’s family charity foundation is the presenting partner of WOMADelaide 2016 after writing out a six-figure cheque. It replaces Internode, which Hackett founded, as the festival's largest sponsor between 2012 and 2015. Internode was sold to iiNet in 2011, which itself was taken over this year by TPG Telcom which is reviewing all commitments.

Two new signings for Sony/ATV

Sony/ATV signed two acts to worldwide deals. Norwegian DJ, songwriter and producer Kygo sold 5 million singles in the last 12 months through Ultra/Sony, has had 715 million Spotify streams and will top 1 billion streams by December.

Grammy-winning vocal group Pentatonix release a self-titled album on RCA Records. The deal also includes their successful EPs and holiday albums.

CNN International digital assets get Aussie rep

CNN’s digital portfolio – CNN.com, CNN Money and mobile apps – will be represented in Australia by Multi Channel Network. The agreement covers video, display, integrated partnerships and programmatic sales. Key verticals include entertainment, technology, sport, travel, money, world and style.

Pitchfork acquired by Conde Nast …

US taste making digital-native music publisher Pitchfork has been bought out by blue-chip publisher Conde Nast. Its 18 titles include Vanity Fair, The New Yorker and Wired. Pitchfork, founded in 1996, claims 6 million unique visitors per month and produces festivals in Chicago and Paris.

…and new owner for Village Voice

The 60-year-old Village Voice, which articulates changes in pop music through the eyes of New York, was sold by Voice Media Group. Its new owner is Peter D. Barbey, a multi-millionaire Pennsylvania-based publisher and CEO of Reading Eagle Company.

Blue Mask burning

New LA label Blue Mask advised TMN it signed LA electro-pop duo Rome Will Burn. It consists of DJ/ violinist Manifesto and singer/guitarist Alyssa Suede.

Sing For Good fundraiser

Veteran singer Marty Rhone, ambassador for Sing For Good, has an initiative to make $50,000 for its good work. It encourages people to submit a video of them singing Legends of Southern Land. Winners will feature in a video alongside Rhone, John Swan, Ray Burgess, Tommy Emmanuel and John St. Peeters. Full details at www.singforgood.org/legends. Deadline is October 31.