Music Week’s round-up of essential music biz stories you might have missed...
Marc E Bassy signs to TuneCore/Believe's Pivtl Projects artist service label
Pivtl Projects has signed Marc E Bassy in conjunction with his own New Gold Medal imprint. The deal will allow Bassy to keep ownership of his masters while working with the TuneCore/Believe artist services firm which specialises in hip-hop and R&B music "The partnership we now have in place between my label New Gold Medal and Pivtl Projects is exactly the kind of situation I was looking for,” he said. “To know we can stay independent but can now take advantage of the team and tools they have in place allows us to continue our growth and compete at the highest level."
Restless Road ink global deal with Sony/ATV Nashville
Restless Road have sealed a worldwide publishing agreement with Sony/ATV Music Publishing Nashville. The trio, Zach Beeken, Colton Pack and Garrett Nichols, write for both themselves and others, with credits for Rascal Flatts and Granger Smith. “Country music has a long history of vocal bands who have deeply impacted the genre," said Sony/ATV Nashville CEO Rusty Gaston. Zach, Colton and Garrett are brilliant songwriters, and they have a powerful creative energy as a group – I’m confident they are destined for country music greatness. We’re thrilled to welcome Restless Road to the Sony/ATV family, and we look forward to supporting their rising careers.”
Record Store Day UK, OCC and National Album Day's The Record Club returns
Record Store Day UK, the Official Charts Company and National Album Day are extending and relaunching their The Record Club online feature. Now in association with Bowers & Wilkins, the interview series will run for 12 months, beginning with Future Islands on October 21. The online "book club for albums" runs fortnightly and is hosted by BBC Music’s Jess Iszatt on Facebook Live every other Wednesday at 6.30pm.
Oxide & Neutrino make State-ment about their future with single deal
Oxide & Neutrino have signed a three single deal with New State Music. The first track as part of the agreement will be released before Christmas, with two to follow next year. “We’ve been big fans of the guys’ work for many years, both recorded and live, so to have the chance to work on some new releases is really exciting," said Tim Binns from New State. "UK garage seems to be poking its head above the parapet again right now so what better way to do that than work with two of the scene’s bona fide dons. The first single is an unashamed bash at a return to radio and crossover streaming for the guys, and we’ll be pushing this as a priority release in the fourth quarter and beyond.”
African streaming services MePlaylist strikes distribution deals
African on-demand music streaming startup, MePlaylist, has struct distribution deals with Fuga and Symphonic. This has added seven million songs to the platform's catalogue. "It’s a time of dynamic growth for the music business," said Michael Kay Kiladejo, president, global licensing and content acquisition at MePlaylist. So much of that dynamism is coming from the African industry and its collaborations with global partners. It’s all the more exciting to be in the business of delineating the musical palette and exposing great material to even wider audiences. It gives us great pleasure to open up shop and work in partnership with both Fuga and Symphonic distribution, to provide the musical consumer with their own uniquely tailored MePlaylist experience."
