Publishing: Last News

Neil Young has spoken out over a developing conspiracy theory that his music publishing is overseen by pharmaceutical corporation Pfizer – the company behind one of the most widely-used COVID-19 vaccines.In a since-deleted letter posted to his Neil Young Archives website (as transcribed by Stereogum), Young addressed the circulated belief his views on vaccines were dictated to him by Pfizer – who, according to the conspiracy theory, own Young’s music publishing.The misunderstanding stems from the fact that a former CEO at Pfizer now serves as a senior advisor for asset manager Blackstone, which currently has a partnership with music publisher Hipgnosis – with whom Young presently works.Young described the conspiracy theory as “clever but wrong” in the letter, while also quipping “so much for Pharm Aid” – a reference to both the common conspiracy theory trope of “big pharma” and his own charity Farm Aid.“The publishing share Hipgnosis has in my copyrights is in the Hipgnosis Songs Fund, that is publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange,” Young explained.“The Blackstone investment went into a separate Hipgnosis Private Fund, and none of that money was used for the Hipgnosis Songs Fund. Pfizer has not invested in Hipgnosis, but a past Pfizer CEO is a senior advisor for Blackstone.” The conspiracy theory is part of an ongoing conservative backlash against Young – most recently expressed by right-wing American rock musician Ted Nugent, who described Young as a “stoner birdbrain punk” for his recent protest against Spotify and Joe Rogan.Young removed his catalogue of albums from Spotify last month to protest the platform having Rogan’s podcast The Joe Rogan Experience as an exclusive to the service.

Following Deadline’s story about Michael Mann’s forthcoming prequel/sequel novel to his landmark film Heat — he cowrote the book with Edgar winner-Meg Gardiner — has quickly sold rights in major markets around the world. The novel, which hits bookstores August 9, has already sold in 13 major territories including Germany, Japan, France, Italy, Spain, Holland, Hungary, Mexico, Poland, Brazil, Sweden, Czech Republic and the UK. The international rollout of Heat 2 is mirroring Harper Collins’ launch of Quentin Tarantino’s #1 bestselling novelization of his film Once Upon A Time…in Hollywood.

Sting’s only gone and sold his entire songs catalogue to the good old Universal Music Publishing Group. All of it. Police and solo.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAs long expected, Universal Music Publishing has acquired 17-time Grammy Award winner Sting’s career catalog of music. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but in recent months the artist was said to be seeking around $350 million.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorWarner Music set a record for quarterly revenue in the fiscal first quarter that ended on Dec. 31, 2021, with $1.614 in revenue powered by a 31% increase in publishing revenue, 19% in recorded music and 21% in digital revenue.

Universal Music Publishing has signed Kieran Hebden, aka Four Tet, to a new global publishing deal as his legal dispute with former label Domino on the recordings side continues to go through the motions. Although the albums removed from the streaming services as part of that dispute are back online.“Four Tet has soundtracked my life from GCSE revision to dancefloors at university and now I get the pleasure to work with him”, says A&R Director at Universal’s publishing business, Pete Simmons.

Four Tet‘s albums released under Domino have been returned to streaming platforms as news broke that he has inked a new publishing deal with Universal.The producer and DJ, whose real name is Kieran Hebden, signed with Domino in 2001 for the release of his second album ‘Pause’ before going on to release ‘Rounds’ (2003), ‘Everything Ecstatic’ (2005) and ‘There Is Love In You’ (2010) on the label.But last November Hebden revealed that Domino had removed three of those albums (‘Pause’, ‘Rounds’ and ‘Everything Ecstatic’) in a bid to stop a legal case that he launched last August over historic downloads/streaming royalty rates.In that ongoing lawsuit Hebden claims that the label is in breach of contract over its 18 per cent royalty rate, which Domino applied to record sales, and that a “reasonable” rate of 50 per cent should have been given to downloads/streams.The contract between Hebden and Domino, which was signed in February 2001 long before the proliferation of streaming platforms and the first iPod, stated that record sales are subject to a royalty rate of 18 per cent.Domino has argued that, because digital downloads (including streams) were considered a new technology format in the early ’00s, Hebden is only entitled to 75 per cent of 18 per cent of the dealer price (i.e.

Angelique Jackson The popular YouTube Originals series “Super Sema,” starring and executive produced by Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o, has appointed UTA as its North American licensing and publishing agency.UTA will work alongside global toy licensee Just Play to focus on retail initiatives and key partnerships in publishing, apparel, home and accessories for the program, which is the world’s first children’s animated series focused on an African kid superhero.The series follows the world-changing adventures of an extraordinary young African girl, Sema, and her twin brother MB, who are on a mission to protect their town Dunia from the villainous Tobor. Fueled by STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) superpowers, Sema knows that with determination and creativity, anything is possible.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorSony Music Publishing has announced Songwriter Assistance, a new program that will provide its global roster of songwriters and composers with access to free, confidential counseling services and wellness resources.According to the announcement, starting February 1, Songwriter Assistance will offer 24/7 counseling support via global hotlines, as well as ongoing counseling services for emotional health matters such as stress, anxiety, depression, and family/relationship challenges.SMP songwriters will also have unlimited access to customized resources for tackling daily responsibilities such as researching childcare and eldercare options, navigating life transitions, co-parenting, budgeting for major life events, and more.In a letter to songwriters and composers announcing the program, Jon Platt, Chairman and CEO, Sony Music Publishing said, “We are committed to providing you with services that matter. The importance of wellness cannot be overstated, and with Songwriter Assistance, we look forward to offering a whole new level of care and support.”Amy Cranford, SMP senior VP of publishing administration, said, “We are passionate about taking care of Sony Music Publishing’s songwriters and composers and providing them with the best level of support.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorPrimary Wave Music has expanded its partnership with long-running British group and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees Def Leppard.The deal will see the company acquire an additional stake in the band’s music publishing catalog as well as master royalty income stream.Terms of the deal were not disclosed; many of the band’s biggest hits are included in deal, such as “Pour Some Sugar on Me,” “Rock of Ages” and “Photograph.”The band’s repertoire includes 11 studio albums, which have sold more than 110 million copies globally.The relationship between Primary Wave and Def Leppard began in 2009 with a deal to market and administer the band’s catalog of songs. Over the years the songs have been synced on a number of television shows, including “Cobra Kai,” “Hit the Floor,” “The Simpsons Guy,” “American Horror Story 1984” and more.

Janey Godley is publishing her first novel in May about a woman's struggle with cancer - which was written before her own cancer diagnosis late last year.

Following the release of his new album ‘The Boy Named If’ last week, Elvis Costello has announced that he has signed a new worldwide publishing deal with BMG. The company will administer his full catalogue, which is quite a lot of songs.

John Stamos has published his eulogy to Full House costar Bob Saget, noting how “Bob was there for me like no other.”

PC. Today (January 20), the publisher revealed the first five of them, including Grapple Dog, Post Void, The Gecko Gods, Lone Ruin, and Completely Stretchy.Grapple Dog is a 2D pixel-art platformer from pixel art veteran Joseph Gribbin.

R Kelly is trying to sell the publishing rights to his back catalogue, but no one wants to buy them.The singer is currently facing an ongoing trial, on charges related to alleged crimes against five female accusers – three of whom were purportedly underage at the time – who allege physical, sexual and psychological abuse.He will also face a number of other charges in separate trials, two in Chicago (one federal, one state), and one state trial in Minnesota.

Sony Music Publishing has signed that Olivia Rodrigo to a worldwide publishing deal, which is good news for Sony Music Publishing.“There’s nothing I love more than songwriting”, says Rodrigo. “It’s my favourite thing in the world, and I’m excited to be working with the team at Sony Music Publishing”.Because this big deal is a big deal, Sony has wheeled out three people to comment on it.

Sony Music Publishing has signed songwriter and producer Ben Jackson-Cook – best known for his work with Rag N Bone Man – to a worldwide publishing deal.“Felix, David, Tim and Sarah [at Sony] have been overwhelmingly welcoming and praising of my work”, says Jackson-Cook. “I can tell they share the same love of songs that I do and we’re definitely going to make some great things happen together.

“Game of Thrones” actress Sophie Turner is about to go Daenerys Targaryen on the paparazzi.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorUniversal Music Publishing has signed rising British singer-songwriter Holly Humberstone, whose debut EP received a rave review in Variety last fall, to an exclusive, global publishing agreement. The 21-year-old singer was voted No.

Sony/ATV has renewed and ramped up its worldwide publishing deal with CamelPhat, giving the production duo – aka Dave Whelan and Mike Di Scala – their own publishing imprint in the process. So that’s nice.

Jay-Z‘s Roc Nation has launched a new book publishing imprint, Roc Lit 101.As The Associated Press reports, the company has partnered with Random House for the venture which will present “books at the dynamic intersection of entertainment and genre-defying literature”.It’s said that Roc Lit 101 is preparing to release a new book about criminal injustice by Meek Mill and a fantasy fiction title penned by Lil Uzi Vert, as well as memoirs from Fat Joe and Yo Gotti.The first slate of titles has already been announced for a summer 2021 release: Shine Bright by music journalist Danyel Smith and the memoir of former New York Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia, titled Till the End.Roc Lit 101 will be led by Chris Jackson alongside Roc Nation’s Vice