Sony/ATV signs The Weeknd, Slash and Amy Winehouse for Neighbouring Rights

PRESS RELEASE:

Sony/ATV Music Publishing has added a wealth of new names to its Neighbouring Rights division, including The Weeknd, guitar legend Slash, Oscar, Golden Globe and Grammy-winning film composer Hans Zimmer and the late Amy Winehouse.

Songwriter and producer Jake Gosling, who has worked with acts including Ed Sheeran and One Direction, Queen producer Roy Thomas Baker and DJs, producers and hit artists Philip George, Adam Beyer and Andy C have also been newly signed by the UK-based operation, which is run by the world’s leading music publishing company.

They join a roster already including Pharrell Williams, Mark Ronson, Snoop Dogg, Nile Rodgers, Clean Bandit and the estate of Lou Reed and underpin the division’s philosophy of providing a bespoke, hands-on service for a select number of clients.

Sony/ATV UK Managing Director and President of European Creative Guy Moot said: “These are fantastic additions to an incredible roster of clients that we have built up in a very short space of time. Rather than playing a numbers game, we are taking a very different approach to Neighbouring Rights, which to us is about providing a bespoke, highly personal service in which we work with a handpicked group of the very best artists and plug into our creative, business and administrative skills as the world’s leading music publishing company.”

The division is run by George Powell, one of the industry’s leading Neighbouring Rights experts, who previously oversaw Neighbouring Rights at UK-based music licensing and rights organisation PPL. He joined Sony/ATV in 2013 as head of the division.

Powell said: “It’s been an exceptionally positive year for Sony/ATV’s Neighbouring Rights department and we are, of course, honoured that more of the most influential and talented artists in the industry have placed their faith in us. Alongside worldwide NR collections, we also continue to focus on any other areas we can assist our artists. I feel it’s this synergy and personable touch that is assuring our clients that they’re in very capable and caring hands.”

The signing of The Weeknd comes in a year in which the Canadian singer, songwriter and producer has confirmed his status as a global superstar. His second studio album Beauty Behind The Madness debuted at No. 1 in the US, UK, Canada and Australia following its release in August, while the singles “Can’t Feel My Face” and “The Hills” both topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the States and were hits around the world. He also scored a global hit this year with “Earned It”, which was part of the soundtrack of the movie Fifty Shades of Grey, while last year he had a US Top 10 hit with the single “Love Me Harder” with Ariana Grande. He was nominated last week for seven Grammy Awards, including for Record of the Year (“Can’t Feel My Face”) and Album of the Year (Beauty Behind The Madness).

Slash first came to prominence as the lead guitarist of Guns N’ Roses during a decade-long period when they became one of the biggest bands in the word thanks to a series of multi-million-selling albums and hits including “Sweet Child O’ Mine”, “Paradise City”, “Welcome To The Jungle”, “November Rain” and a cover of “Live And Let Die”. While still in the group he formed Slash’s Snakepit after which he reunited with several of his former Guns N’ Roses colleagues to form Velvet Revolver whose first album Contraband debuted at No. 1 in the US in 2004. A solo career followed with the release of an eponymous 2010 debut album.

Hans Zimmer is arguably the most successful soundtrack composer of his generation, having composed the music for more than 100 movies, including The Lion King which won him Academy and Golden Globe awards for Best Original Score, Rain Man, The Preacher’s Wife, As Good As It Gets, The Prince of Egypt, The Thin Red Line, Gladiator, Sherlock Holmes, Inception and Interstellar, all of which landed him Oscar nominations. The German composer and record producer has also won four Grammy Awards, including for his soundtracks to Crimson Tide and The Dark Knight, while in 2013 he won a third Classical BRIT for Outstanding Contribution to Music.

The late Amy Winehouse was hailed by the BBC as “the pre-eminent vocal talent of her generation”, a statement backed up by her astonishing critical and commercial success as well as an enduring influence on other artists, including Adele. Her 2006 album Back To Black is one of the biggest sellers of the 21^st Century, having achieved more than 3.5 million sales in the UK alone, while it became a hit around the world. It won her five Grammy awards on the same night, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year for the track “Rehab, which was a US Top 10 hit and one of four songs from the album to make the UK Top 20 alongside “You Know I’m No Good”, “Back To Black” and “Tears Dry On Their Own”.

Grammy and BRITS-nominated songwriter and record producer Jake Gosling has worked with some of contemporary music’s most successful artists, including Ed Sheeran, One Direction, Christina Perri and Paloma Faith. He co-wrote seven of the songs on Ed Sheeran’s multi-million-selling debut album +, including the hits “Drunk” and “Lego House”, while produced all but one of the set’s tracks. He produced One Direction’s worldwide hit “Little Things” and co-produced the majority of Paloma Faith’s 2012 UK double-platinum album Fall To Grace, including the Top 10 hit “Picking Up The Pieces”.

Roy Thomas Baker has been involved in some of the most celebrated and successful recordings of all time. The UK record producer, songwriter and arranger had a long relationship with Queen, co-producing five of their albums and hit singles such as “Bohemian Rhapsody”, “Killer Queen” and “Don’t Stop Me Now”, while he also produced albums for acts including Journey, Yes, Guns N’ Roses, The Cars, Smashing Pumpkins, Devo and Motley Crue.

UK DJ and record producer Philip George scored one of the biggest hits of 2014 with “Wish You Were Here”, which peaked at No. 2 on the Official UK Singles Chart, reached No. 4 on Billboard’s Dance Club Songs chart in the US and was a Top 10 hit in a number of other territories. He has just scored another UK top five hit with “Alone No More” alongside Anton Powers.

Adam Beyer is a Swedish techno producer and DJ and the founder of the label Drumcode Records, while UK DJ and producer Andy C co-founded RAM Records, which has enjoyed success with acts including Chase & Status, Sub Focus and Wilkinson as well as with his own releases.