Music Week’s round-up of essential music biz stories you might have missed...
Apple Music Awards announce winner
Lil Baby has won the Artist of the Year award at the second annual Apple Music Awards this year. Other winners include Megan Thee Stallion as Breakthrough Artist of the Year, Taylor Swift as Songwriter of the Year, The Box by Roddy Ricch as Top Song of the Year and Please Excuse Me For Being Antisocial by Roddy Ricch wins the Top Album of the Year.
Big Hit acquisition
Big Hit Entertainment’s chairman & CEO, Bang Si-Hyuk has revealed that the company is acquiring Koz Entertainment, the label of hip-hop artist and producer Zico. Koz was founded in 2018 and this acquisition will see Big Hit continue to expand on its multi-label structure. Bang Si-Hyuk said: “I am happy to stand together with Korea’s top producer and artist ZICO. I look forward to the success of KOZ artists in the global market through Big Hit’s global network and organized music production system.”
Songtradr acquires Cuesongs
Music licensing marketplace, Songtradr, has acquired sync licensing company Cuesongs it has been announced. Founded originally by Pater Gabriel, Cuesongs represents over 150 independent labels and publishers and is known for is catalogue that services high-value rights holders. The acquisition follows the completion of Songtradr’s Series C funding round as it plans to expand globally.
Tully to expand
Music collaboration company, Tully, has announced it has launched Tully Platform, set to give creators and their teams a more organized way to manage their music development process. The new service is set to simplify the preparation of content to distribution to the market. Founder, Joyner Lucas, said: “As an artist, I want my independence, I want ownership, and I want transparency from my team. We built Tully Platform to give me all of that in one simple, easy-to-use app. Tully Platform is an end-to-end solution for a digital music industry. Whether you're on your own, or have a management team or label supporting you, Tully Platform empowers artists to take control of their careers."
Bizness Boi
Concord Music Publishing has announced it has signed Andre “Bizness Boi” Robertson to a worldwide deal covering past and future works. The LA-based producer has worked with the likes of 6LACK, J.Cole, Teyana Taylor, Chris Brown, Jessie Reyez, Partynextdoor. A&R at Concord Music Publishing, Dan Bearman said: “It’s an absolute pleasure to be partnering with Bizness Boi. He brings with him an outstanding catalogue and has an extraordinary work ethic. I look forward to what we can all achieve working together.”
Robert Fowler joins HW Fisher
Chartered accountancy firm, HW Fisher, has announced Robert Fowler will be joining its team as head of music royalty audits. Fowler has garnered 30 years of experience in the biz working with artists and songwriters across the globe, as well as conducting audits on behalf of record labels and music publishers. Most recently he has worked on market valuations of music catalogues. Fowler’s main role at HW Fisher will see him expand its music royalty audit offering.
Youth Sounds
Killing Joke bassist and award-winning producer Youth have joined forces to create a brand new record label, Youth Sounds, set for launch this December. The label will focus on a range of artists through vinyl, CD and DVD, kicking off with I Have A Voice by Vivien Goldman while January will see a new album Interstellar Energy from Youth with Hawkwind’s Nik Turner. Other artists due for release include Blue Pearl, Mad Professor, Lee Scratch Perry, Big Paul Ferguson plus a DVD titled Youth – Sketch, Drugs & Rock N’ Roll from Youth.
Midem launches new networking event
Midem has announced the launch of its brand new networking event Midem Music Networking Week set to kick off November 30 until December 4. The event will be free and will allow professionals to connect via the Midem Digital platform, including a series of speed-meetings, Q&As and networking formats. Midem director, Alexandre Deniot, said: “I wanted to propose a special week dedicated to business meetings, the ‘Music Networking Week’, because the need for our industry to stay globally connected has never been more crucial than it is today. By uniting the global community, I want to give music professionals a new opportunity to come together, grow their international networks and access concrete business around the world.”
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