Universal Music reveals ‘dream signing’ to its publishing business

Universal Music Publishing has signed multi-award winners DMA’s to an exclusive deal that covers Australia and New Zealand, the major revealed today.

The announcement follows the release of the group’s latest EP, I Love You Unconditionally, Sure Am Going to Miss You, which was released without warning in August.

One of Australia’s most in-demand bands, DMA’s caught the attention of Australia’s music scene with their debut album Hills End in 2016. The album peaked at #8 on the ARIA Albums Chart and earned the group their first ARIA Award nomination for Breakthrough Artist.

The band’s 2018 sophomore and three-time ARIA Award-nominated album For Now peaked at #7 on the ARIA Albums Chart, and the band’s most recent album from 2020, The Glow, debuted #2 on the albums chart, receiving five nominations at the 2020 ARIA Awards.

The album’s lead single ‘Silver’ was nominated for Best Alternative Work at last year’s APRA Awards, while the band also collected three gongs at this year’s AIR Awards.

Arwen Hunt, Universal Music Publishing’s vice president of creative and A&R in Australia & New Zealand, said the addition of DMA’s was “an absolute dream signing”.

“DMA’s have long been a favourite band of mine, so it was music to my ears to find the same love and passion for Tommy, Johnny and Mason across the board at UMPG,” Hunt said.

“As songwriters and collaborators, they are so special and their talents are next level.

“We have a tremendous opportunity to create musical magic for the band and in writing potential for other artists. It’s an honour to be part of DMA’s incredible team and we look forward to a long and fruitful relationship.”

The DMA’s deal follows a busy year of new signings, with The Wiggles, Hiatus Kaiyote and Mo’Ju all joining the publisher’s local roster in 2021.