Townsend Music has signed Kaiser Chiefs for a new studio album set for release in 2023 in partnership with Absolute/Utopia, V2 and The Orchard.
The album has been produced by Rudimental’s Amir Amor and features other production collaborators including Nile Rodgers, Fryars and Lewis Thompson.
Creative consultation came from B-Unique, the band’s original label and A&R team. B-Unique’s Mark Lewis and Martin Toher were behind some of the band’s most successful records, including their first four Top 10 albums and hit singles such as Oh My God, I Predict A Riot, Everyday I Love You Less And Less, and Ruby.
A new single from the band, titled How 2 Dance, was released on Friday (November 4).
This latest deal with Kaiser Chiefs will see Townsend and Absolute provide physical and digital distribution for the new album in the UK under its D2C+ model, alongside a global D2C solution. It follows their string of Top 10 album campaigns working together this year.
V2 will distribute the album in France and Benelux with The Orchard distributing in all other territories.
Launched in August last year, in partnership with Absolute Label Services, Townsend’s D2C+ model sees the company sign select artists, labels and other rights-holders offering a wide range of services including finance, creative development, product curation, campaign management, design, manufacturing, digital and physical marketing.
Kaiser Chiefs have kicked off a UK arena tour, with Townsend providing fans with the opportunity to pre-order the new album at shows via its D2C On Tour campaign model.
Townsend Music sales director Bruce McKenzie said: “With the ongoing growth of our D2C business, expanding our exclusive titles into artist-focused album campaigns was a natural move forward. Operating with Kaiser Chiefs alongside international partners, and Kate from the Absolute team, is really exciting, as we all work together with focus.”
Townsend’s head of D2C+ Paul Barton said: “Being able to attract artists of the quality and stature of the Kaiser Chiefs shows just how strong Townsend Music’s D2C+ offering has become. It’s also testament to the support Absolute Label Services has provided to date. We’re extremely excited to be working with this incredible band and with such focused and creative partners in Red Light Management, B-Unique, V2 and The Orchard.”
Absolute Label Services’ head of label operations Kate Hendry said: “Kaiser Chiefs are such a special band to the UK and we couldn’t be happier to support them and their incredible team on the distribution of their new album. They have delivered yet another incredible sound and we have already begun to feel the synergies across all areas of the campaign.”
Red Light Management’s UK MD James Sandom said: “We’re thrilled to bring a fully engaged team together to best serve the audience for Kaiser Chiefs in 2023. A collaboration between Townsend, Absolute, V2 Europe and The Orchard means we have true focus and the bespoke market knowledge required to super serve the band, with attention to detail in every major market, and ambition within the team, which matches the ambition shown by the band with their new music. It’s also a pleasure to collaborate once again with B-Unique on the A&R process. They know the band inside out and understand the art of hit records.”
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