Courtesy of Volara
Formerly known as Marina and the Diamonds, the Welsh singer-songwriter has signed with Janelle Lopez Genzing's Volara Management, which also manages Sabrina Carpenter's music career, Mosaic MSC and Leah. Volara partnered with Red Light Management last year to expand its resources while retaining its autonomy.
Marina, who has released five albums since 2010, will support Kylie at the BST festival in London's Hyde Park on Saturday. Her 2012 album Electra Heart debuted at No. 1 in the UK charts in 2012 and her latest album Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land (2021) features the Ivor Novello Award-nominated hit “Man's World”. Her albums have garnered 4 billion streams and over 700 million video views worldwide.
+ Universal Music Publishing Group’s Classics and Screen division has inked a new deal with Jerskin Fendricks, composer of Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things.
Fendrix has signed an exclusive worldwide publishing deal following the success of his critically acclaimed score, which won the 2024 Ivor Novello Award for Best Film Score and was nominated for a BAFTA and Best Original Score at the 96th Academy Awards, making Fendrix the youngest composer ever to be nominated. He is signed to score Lanthimos' next two films, including Kinds of Kindness.
Fendricks said, “I am thrilled to be working with Tash Baldwin, Anna Jaskiewicz and the teams at UMPG Classics and Screen/Decca Publishing and I have great confidence in them to protect and amplify my work. It is an honor to have signed so many unique artists to UMPG under the auspices of such a pioneering and passionate music advocate as Jody Gershon.”
“Jerskin's rapid rise in the score composition world has been extraordinary and the accolades he has received are well deserved,” said Natasha Baldwin, executive vice president, UMPG Classics & Screen. “Jerskin has quietly developed an exciting artist/composer and songwriting style that initially caught the attention of our A&R team, so we're thrilled to welcome him to our expanding publishing company that truly supports what it means to be a composer.”
Pictured above (left to right): Natasha Baldwin (UMPG EVP Classics & Screen), Jerskin Fendrix, and Jody Gershon (UMPG Chairman and CEO)
+ Virgin Music Group, a division of Universal Music Group, has announced a partnership with Frontier Works, a leading Japanese anime-related content production company, to release an anime music project.
VMG will support Frontier Works and its catalog of music associated with its popular games, including popular titles such as Ensemble Stars!!, through VMG's innovative music distribution and marketing platform, powered by patented AI technology, and access to an interconnected global team of music experts.
+ Sony Music Latin-Iberia has promoted Sergi Reitg to vice president of premium content.
In his newly expanded role, Leitog will oversee strategic audiovisual efforts in Spain and Mexico and work with the Latin Iberia regional office in Miami and the Sony Music Vision team in Los Angeles on major film and television development projects. Leitog will be based in Spain and report to Fernando Cabral, Executive VP, Strategic Partnerships, Sony Music Latin Iberia.
In his new role, Rettig will continue to support the global expansion of Sony Music Vision while developing new projects throughout Mexico and the Latin Iberia region. Most recently, he produced Joaquín Sabina's documentary “Sintiéndolo Mucho” (2022), which won a Goya Award for Best Original Song, and oversaw three seasons of MAX's hit series “Acoustic Home.”
“Sergi's extensive experience and innovative approach to film and television make him the perfect creative for this role,” said Cabral. “I am confident that his leadership will strengthen our company's capabilities and drive success in the premium content space across more global markets while creating new ways to serve our artists.”
“I am excited to take on this expanded role and build on the success we have achieved in Spain. I look forward to using what I have learned to replicate programs and create opportunities with partners in Mexico and across the Latin Iberia region,” added Lightig.
+ 2101 Records, founded by Grammy Award-winning producer and creative executive RedOne, has launched a new distribution deal with Larry Jackson's music technology platform Vydia.
As part of the new partnership, Vydia will support new artists on the label as well as manage the rights and distribution of RedOne's back catalogue, which includes the theme song for Spanish soccer club Real Madrid, “Hala Madrid!.. Y nada más.”
“We are excited to work with Vydia to usher in a new era for 2101 Records through their global reach and innovative services that level the playing field for emerging and established artists,” said RedOne.
The partnership also includes distribution of music from the label's newest signing, American singer-songwriter Carol Doucet, whose debut single “Montego” featuring Wiz Khalifa will be released on Vydia on July 19th as the first release from the new partnership.
+ Openly gay Venezuelan rapper La Cruz has signed with Warner Music Latina and is currently signed to Rebecca Leon's Lionfish Entertainment, whose roster also includes Anitta and Danny Ocean.
+ ASCAP, with support from HeadCount, a nonpartisan, nonprofit voter registration organization, has launched the 2024 ASCAP Citizen campaign. ASCAP Citizen encourages ASCAP’s more than one million songwriter, composer and music publisher members and their communities to vote in this year’s election.
This year's election campaign began earlier than usual on July 9th and will continue until Election Day on November 5th.
Throughout the campaign, @ASCAP's social media channels will feature educational content and personal messages from ASCAP members across all genres about the importance of voting. The initial list includes LENA (“Tu Corazón”), Blu June (“CUFF IT,” Beyoncé), Pinar Toprak (Captain Marvel) and 310babii (“Soak City (Do It)”). ASCAP will also amplify “call to vote” messages from other top ASCAP creators partnering with HeadCount, including Olivia Rodrigo, Alicia Keys and Kehlani.
“Whether it's protecting creators' rights through copyright law or enacting new artificial intelligence regulations, policies directly impact the lives of our members. It's vital that music creators stay engaged in our democracy, and that starts with voting,” said ASCAP CEO Elizabeth Matthews. “Music creators vote, so it's time to show our elected officials that they should listen to more than just our members' music.”
Tuesday, July 9
Warner Chappell Music has signed a worldwide publishing deal with Cash Cobain, who is currently releasing the smash hit “Fisherrr,” which currently has over 8 million streams on Spotify and features Ice Spice and Bay Swag.
The move comes as Cobain prepares to release his EP, “Play Cash Cobain.” Cobain recently enlisted J. Cole on “Grippy,” collaborated with Charlie Wilson on Don Toliver's new single “Attitude,” appeared on A Boogie wit da Hoodie's “Body,” and produced the Runcy Who's “Daylight” featuring Teezo Touchdown.
Regarding his signing with WCM, Cash Cobain said: “I'm incredibly excited about this new chapter in my career and I'd like to thank Warner Chapple Music and the team for making this happen. This is a huge moment and I look forward to building the 'Sleezy' empire with WCM.”
WCM's North American president Ryan Press added, “Cash is one of the hottest up-and-coming musicians right now. As the creator of this entirely new style of drill, he's created a sound that uses some of music's most classic hits, and his delivery is flawless every time.”
Top row, from left (back row): Rich Christina (WCM), Will Foster (Cash Coburn Management), Cash Coburn, Makeda Tewodros (Cash Coburn Management), Wallace Joseph (WCM); (front row): Glynn Brown (Cash Coburn Management) WCM
Pictured above, from left to right (back row): Rich Christina (WCM), Will Foster (Cash Coburn Management), Cash Coburn, Makeda Tewodros (Cash Coburn Management), Wallace Joseph (WCM), (front row): Glynn Brown (Cash Coburn Management)
+ Arista Records has announced the promotion of Nick Petropoulos to Executive Vice President, Promotion and Artist Development. Petropoulos will lead the label's artist development strategy and will continue to oversee radio promotion for the label's artists.
Since joining Arista in 2021, Petropoulos has been spearheading the label's promotions team and radio strategy.
Petropoulos added: “Arista leads with an artist-centric approach that has produced many success stories over the past few years. I am thrilled to take on this expanded role and continue the journey to develop and elevate our unique global roster alongside the entire team.”
+ BMI has hired Tom Kershaw as chief technology officer and Justin Rohde to the newly created role of chief transformation officer. Both Kershaw and Rohde will report to Mike O'Neill, BMI's president and CEO.
“Tom and Justin have the experience and leadership qualities necessary to enhance and improve the value we provide to songwriters, composers and publishers,” O'Neill said. “They will play a key role working with our team as we execute on key elements of our strategic growth plan, continue to expand distribution, evolve our technology and customer service, and explore new revenue streams for our affiliates.”
Kershaw recently joined BMI from Travelport, a leader in air, hotel, car rental and rail travel distribution, and has also held roles at Google and Ericsson.
Rohde brings experience in process improvement, sales effectiveness, product development and global business management to BMI. He joins the company from Xplor Technologies, a private equity-owned global SaaS and payments conglomerate, where he served as Chief Revenue Officer and Chief Transformation Officer.
+ CAA has signed country artist Kashus Culpepper. Culpepper is currently signed to Big Loud Records and has just released the first career single, “After Me?”