Music Industry Moves: Halsey Signs Global Publishing Deal With BMG; Curator Michael Gray Upped at Country Hall of Fame
Halsey has signed a new global publishing administration agreement with BMG. The new deal includes all of their future songwriting compositions, plus the recently released single “So Good,” and their Calvin Harris collaboration “Stay With Me,” which features Justin Timberlake and Pharrell.
“I’m thrilled to announce this partnership with BMG,” said Halsey. “I was immediately drawn to their artist-friendly, songwriter-first mentality and I’m looking forward to taking this journey with my new BMG family.”
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Jason Aron and Anthony Li, Halsey’s co-managers at Anti-Pop, commented, “BMG’s creative and refreshing approach to publishing is very exciting. Thomas and his team globally, have welcomed us with open arms. We appreciate their passion and dedication to putting artists first.”
Before this agreement, Halsey’s recorded music and publishing were handled by Universal Music Group’s Capitol Records and Universal Music Publishing Group.
Pictured above (from left): Claire Bernardin, Thomas Scherer, Halsey, Josh Edmond and Jonathan Palmer.
+ Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum historian Michael Gray has been promoted to vice president of museum services. He fills Brenda Colladay’s role, who joined the organization as vice president of museum services in 2018. She will remain on staff through mid-January to assist with the transition.
Gray, who most recently served as executive senior director of editorial and interpretation, will be responsible for the care and management of the museum’s artifact and archival collections. He will also be in charge of overseeing all planning, design and installation of exhibitions in the museum’s gallery spaces, as well as the museum’s online exhibits and digital archive.
Added Gray: “I have had the good fortune to spend the past two decades at the museum surrounded by a world-class collection, steeped in the educational and public programs we offer, and bolstered by collaborative, talented colleagues who are dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of this diverse and significant artform.”
Gray recently spoke with Variety about the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s new exhibition, “Western Edge: The Roots and Reverberations of Los Angeles Country-Rock.”
+ Milestone Publicity has promoted Jessica Bonner to VP of publicity.
In her elevated role, Bonner will will continue to be “hands-on with clients while also being more immersed in an internal leadership role,” according to the firm’s news announcement. Prior to assuming her new role, Bonner was an account executive.
“Jessica has an unparalleled work ethic and passion for what she does,” said Mike Gowen, the company’s founder and CEO. “She consistently goes above and beyond for her clients and the company. Jessica’s level of drive and ambition is becoming a rare character trait these days — it’s beyond fitting that she became a VP with Milestone.”
The company’s notable clients include Dave Stewart, Kiefer Sutherland, Gaby Moreno and John Dolmayan of System of a Down, in addition to labels and music-focused businesses such as Ghostwriter Music, Compass Records Group and Songbird City.
+ Live Nation and Brooklyn Bowl have unveiled new plans to add a new Brooklyn Bowl venue in Parcel B at Audi Field, located in the Buzzard Point neighborhood of Washington, D.C.
Brooklyn Bowl DC will be the brand’s first location in the DC metro area and the fifth location for this venue, which first opened in Brooklyn, New York in 2009. According to the news release, the new space is a 1,200-person capacity concert venue, (a 38,000 square-foot location) that will bring to the District a blend of live music programmed by Live Nation. There will also be 14 lanes of bowling, a craft bar and a menu curated by New York City’s Blue Ribbon Restaurant Group.
Brooklyn Bowl DC is the first announced retail concept at Hoffman & Associates and D.C. United’s mixed-use development Parcel B at Audi Field. It will connect the ground and second floors while serving as an anchor for the double-sided retail and entertainment corridor between Parcel B and Audi Field.
Tuesday, Nov. 9
Giant Music has signed Detroit rapper Tay B. The label, headed by Sony Music veteran Shawn Holiday alongside Irving and Jeffrey Azoff, officially launched in June announcing the singing of Swavay. Tay B released “4EVA IN MY BAG” earlier this year via AFLN. In 2021, Tay and Lil Baby collaborated on the track and video for “Rich All My Life,” which has accumulated over 1.6 million views on YouTube.
+ Following a celebration of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis ahead the production duo’s induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Black Music Action Coalition (BMAC) announced a new initiative to award $5,000 annually to an emerging BIPOC songwriter or producer who want to break into the music industry.
The BMAC Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis Music Makers Grant recipient will be selected by Jam and Lewis and will be entitled to studio time and mentorship by members of BMAC Board and Executive Leadership Council. Online applications close November 15.
The Nov. 4 event was attended by Erving “Magic” Johnson, Giveon, Kenya Barris, Jesse Collins, Sugar Ray Leonard, Stokley, Holly Robinson Peete, Chante Moore, Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr, Yvette Nicole Brown and Sony Music Publishing chairman Jon “Big Jon” Platt, among others.
+ Eagles guitarist Joe Walsh is being honored in his hometown of Columbus, Ohio with a street in his name. The City of Columbus and the Columbus Music Commission have teamed for the ceremony, which will be held on Nov. 9 adjacent to the Nationwide Arena entrance, where Walsh will host his VetsAid 2022 concert on Nov. 13.
+ Universal Music Publishing China, a division of UMPG, has signed a global publishing agreement with RYCE Publishing — the publishing arm for RYCE Entertainment, one of China’s leading music and entertainment companies.
With a catalog spanning over 700 songs, RYCE Publishing has handed global administration responsibilities to UMP China which will provide global infrastructure and opportunities for RYCE’s writers and artists. In addition, UMP China will work closely with RYCE Publishing to further expand its roster of songwriters and producers, and the projects available to them.
“We saw the rise of J-pop three decades ago and its massive influence on audiences across Asia. Now K-pop is a global phenomenon as we all know, and there has been a very key bridging force between these genres in the last two decades,” commented Joe Fang, managing director of Universal Music Publishing China. “With China rising to become the sixth biggest music market of the world, I believe the time of C-pop is here. RYCE Publishing, with its hybrid talents and border-crossing catalogs, is a central piece of that next bridging force and I’m thrilled that UMPG will play an instrumental role in supporting these future chapters of music history.”
+ Sony Music Publishing Nashville has signed songwriter and country artist Madeline Merlo to a global publishing agreement. Merlo won NBC’s songwriting reality show “Songland” and her song “Champagne Night,” performed by Lady A, went on to spend three weeks at No. 1 on the U.S. country radio chart. She has worked extensively with producer Zach Crowell, who helmed her EP “Slide,” and also appears on Cole Swindell’s “She Had Me At Heads Carolina.”
Pictured: (Back Row, from left) Chelsey Block, Molly Shehan, Josh Van Valkenburg, Tom Luteran, Cam Caldwell, Dale Bobo, Anna Weisband, Synnovea Halsel, Brad Belanger and Aubrey Rupe; (front row, from left) Rusty Gaston, Madeline Merlo, Kenley Flynn, Zach Crowell.
+ BBR Music Group has expanded its digital department with the hiring of Britt Epley to senior manager of digital advertising, Ainsley Barry to manager of digital marketing, and Aaron Wilder to YouTube manager.
Epley will be responsible for planning, managing and reporting on paid digital campaigns while collaborating with the digital marketing teams on digital advertising solutions. She comes to the label from UMG Nashville, where she executed digital advertising campaigns for country music favorites like Kacey Musgraves and Carrie Underwood. She will report to Elise Stawarz, senior director of digital marketing.
Coming to the label from Black River Entertainment, Barry gained experience in their copyright and licensing department before being promoted to social media coordinator. She will report to Marissa Messer, director of digital marketing.
Wilder will work directly with the YouTube Nashville office to lead and advise the label’s roster of artists in utilizing YouTube, advising on video strategy, YouTube Shorts and more. Wilder joins BBR from Integrity Music, an indie Christian and gospel label and prior to that, he worked at Sony Music Publishing in their global copyright admin department. He will report to Kailyn Arcury, senior manager of YouTube.
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