Perfect Pitch and Lab Six strike global publishing deal

Perth based publishing company Perfect Pitch has partnered with DJ school-turned-label Lab Six Australia in a global and exclusive publishing agreement.

Lab Six Music Publishing will represent writers, and promote them internationally.

“Very early in our discussions, we talked about the agreement being more than just representation,” Perfect Pitch founder and managing director Clive Hodson told TMN.

“We felt it important to establish a dedicated EDM publishing presence in WA for its writers and also to further develop the knowledge and skills, learned through Lab Six DJ training, to include an understanding of copyright and value it can have in their career.”

When Jeremy Smith set up Lab Six in 2013, he had a definite vision.

“It has always been to become Perth’s home of electronic and dance music,” Smith said.

“We want to be a one-stop hub – where people can learn how to play and make music, polish it to a professional standard, collaborate with others in our community and learn how to showcase their art to the rest of the world effectively through performance, marketing and distribution.”

He cites the success of Shockone, Slumberjack, Pendulum, HWLS, Zeke Beats, Kito and FNZ as evidence of the strength of WA’s EDM scene.

“We’ve got the talent, they are just often forced to move east or overseas in search of better opportunities than the ones available here in Perth.

“Being a smaller city we may not have the demand for dedicated record labels, publishing companies, booking agencies and management companies, which is motivation to change the known model here at Lab Six and achieve our core goal.

“That is encouraging people to unlock their creative potential through making music and enable them to showcase their music to the world.

“It’s probably my naivety, but I’m excited!”

Lab Six helped launch the careers of Reija Lee, Sydnee Carter, White Pepper and TWERL.

Past and present instructors at the academy include Slumberjack, Boston Switch, Pendulum’s El Hornet and co-founders Zeke Beats and Chang.

Last July TMN reported that Smith had set up Lab Six Records.

The label released eight tracks in 2021, most of which received WA and national airplay.

It created a distribution platform for its artists and students by partnering with Distro Direct and collaborating with festivals Pineapple Club and Block Party.

“In 2022 we are curating a stage at Roam Festival, growing the record label and publishing arm and we are looking at launching a booking agency for our artists,” Smith revealed.

He hints a venue could also be in the pipeline.

The new Perfect Pitch team-up is the next step.

“Perfect Pitch will be looking at co-writing opportunities through its network of like-minded publishes nationally and globally,” Hodson said.

“Perfect Pitch has also had success, in the past, in obtaining representation with both record companies and tour promoters O/S for their writers.

“When the world opens up for touring, those connections will further enhance the opportunities for Lab Six writers.”

The Lab Six and two overseas catalogues are Perfect Pitch’s only new deals.

During the current downturn, it is focussed on global breaks for its roster and set up a second office on the Gold Coast to tap the large songwriting pool and buoyancy in Queensland’s scene.