New Signings & Team-Ups: September 20

JOEL MADDEN TO RUN VFILES RECORD LABEL

Joel Madden, Good Charlotte member and The Voice Australia judge, has teamed with VFILES, the online and app platform for emerging fashion designers, to set up a record label. It is called VFILES LOUD! and Madden will run it. It is not the first music initiative for VFILES. It runs live music events and uses musicians for its runway happenings.

ROSS McHENRY SIGNS EUROPEAN AGENCY DEAL

Adelaide-based bassist, composer and The Shaolin Afronauts leader, Ross McHenry, has become the first Australian to sign with new Holland-based Good Music Agency. He’s expected to be touring Europe shortly behind his sophomore solo album Child of Somebody, which was released in the region last month by UK-based First Word Records. “For me personally it’s an important album and the opportunity to reach new audiences is very exciting,” he said.

WORLDWIDE MANAGEMENT FOR EVOL WALKS

Gold Coast hard rock band Evol Walks assigned their worldwide management to Los Angeles based Rick Sales and Adam Mott of Rick Sales Entertainment. This comes after the band spent the last 12 months playing up and down the US West Coast. Fronted by Leah Martin-Brown, the band is currently in the studios cutting an EP. Sales Entertainment also looks after Slayer, Mastodon, Ghost, Gojira and We Came as Romans.

KOBALT LS SIGNS YOUTUBE’S JACK & JACK

On the eve of the release of their debut album, YouTube hip hop acts Jack & Jack signed with Kobalt Label Services for digital distribution, physical distribution, marketing, international marketing, radio promotion and synch licensing. The digital content producers have notched up 110 million views on their YouTube channel and 26 million followers across their various social media channels. This month they release their book You Don’t Know Jacks (HarperCollins) about how the Nebraska duo met up.

EXPAT DJ ANNA LUNOE SECURES AUSSIE DEAL

Aussie expatriate DJ/producer and presenter of Beats 1’ Hyperhouse, Anna Lunoe, signed a deal with local indie Sweat It Out as she releases new single Radioactive. From October 13, Lunoe kicks off a month-long North American run, taking her to Seattle, Vancouver, Washington, Boston, Toronto, Denver, Santa Ana Pueblo, Phoenix, Austin, Houston and Dallas.

REALLY USEFUL, CONCORD BICYCLE, SET UP THE MUSICAL COMPANY

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful Group (RUG) and US independent Concord Bicycle Music have joined forces to set up The Musical Company. Operating from RUG offices in London and CBM offices in New York, it will manage the assets of creators of musical theatre works.

HARBOUR AGENCY SOCIALISE WITH KING SOCIAL

In one of the immediate aftermaths of BIGSOUND, Sydney based Harbour Agency has added Townsville country-rock hip hop band King Social. The act was runner up on Australia’s Got Talent, and currently crowd-funding on PledgeMusic to finish off an album. Singer Angus Milne says they’ve also received a number of festival offers from the Brisbane showcase.

NICHE GETS YOUNG WITH RETIREE

Niche Production’s latest addition to its artist agency roster is Sydney tropical pop-hop band Retiree. The act has a new single Continental, the first release from a lengthy writing session in a beach house on the East Coast. Their 2015 single This Place got attention in UK and European clubland circles.

DEAL FOR TROY MILLER

Songwriter and producer Troy Miller who worked on albums by Laura Mvula and Gregory Porter, and the upcoming platter by Rebecca Ferguson, has signed a worldwide publishing deal with Bucks Music Group.

IMAGEM TURNS VOLUME UP FOR NICOLA ROBERTS

Former Girls Aloud member Nicola Roberts signed a worldwide publishing deal with Imagem Music UK. Aside from her own solo records, including Cinderella’s Eyes which included collaborations with Metronomy and Diplo, Roberts also has written for ex-Girls Aloud member Cheryl (Cheryl Ann Fernandez-Versini) and Little Mix. “For over a decade she has made a significant contribution to pop culture in the UK,” said Imagem MD Kim Frankiewicz.

QUEEN CREATE “GROUNDBREAKING” VR APP

British rock band Queen, in partnership with Google Play, have released in the UK a virtual reality app called The Bohemian Rhapsody Experience, on Android. Developed by Enosis VR, it recreates “the sensation of being on stage with the band” with visual and audio elements that respond to the user’s movements. The interactive and animated initiative, with the soundtrack of the band’s best-known song, includes archival footage donated by the band. Guitarist Brian May calls the app “a new ground-breaker – perhaps the first great work of art in stereoscopic VR animation” and “a new kind of 3D experience!”

RED BULL SHAZAM IT FOR NEW NZ PRODUCT

Energy drink powerhouse Red Bull has brought in music identification app Shazam for the New Zealand launch of its new kiwi-apple flavour. Shazam’s first major visual campaign in NZ, users can visually Shazam 1,500 kiwi-apple decals placed across four cities, and win everything from Red Bull to a pair of VIP tickets to the NYE festival Rhythm and Vines.

NEW WORLD STRIKES GOLD

Sydney-based New World Artists has inked Brisbane producer Golden Vessel (Max Byrne) whose debut EP Before Sleep from earlier this year was triple j playlisted and lead to 1 million Spotify streams. He took his live act on the road in June to three cities, and won triple j’s comp to open their sold out BIGSOUND showcase. Golden Vessel is back in the studio and, NWA tells us, has exciting news coming.

ISLAND ENTERS GAMING SPACE

A three-year deal between Universal Music’s Island UK imprint and gaming company Multiplay will see live acts perform at sold-out gaming conventions and festivals.

CAROLINE AUST INTRODUCES FRANK GAMBLE

Caroline Australia has the rights to this territory for the highly acclaimed Frank Gamble (aka Canberra-born jazz fusion guitarist Frank Gambale), through his deal with PMR. Gamble counts among his fans Annie Mac and DJ Semtex who actively play his music on their radio shows. The 57-year-old has released 20 albums over three decades.

BILLBOARD LAUNCHES IN CHINA

US-based Billboard Magazine continues its move into the Asian territories. After setting up in the Philippines and Thailand, it’s partnered with Vision Music Ltd., a Chinese media company focusing on entertainment, fashion, lifestyle and sports sectors. The two will set up several new music content channels across various platforms, including print, online and mobile.

B&O PICKS AGENCY FOR NZ EXPANSION

Audio vendor Bang & Olufsen Group’s B&O Play, a range of headphones, speakers and accessories, has signed with Brightpoint agency to distribute in New Zealand. Karen Powell, A&O Play’s ANZ Sales and Marketing Manager said her firm “will thrive on Brightpoint’s long-established relationships with major retailers and help us create a premium audio footprint in New Zealand.”

ABBA’S BJORN LEADS NEW MUSIC RIGHTS GROUP

ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus, hit writer and producer Max Martin and pop songwriter Niclas Molinder have formed an organisation Music Rights Awareness. It will educate musician and songwriters globally about their rights. It will work with local agencies in three African countries, and also educate more women to become producers. The three earlier invested in Molinder’s Stockholm start-up Auddly which makes software to track song authorship and publishing rights.