$NOT and CRAWLERS for Kobalt
SECRETLY CANADIAN’S YEAH YEAH YEAHS
With four albums behind them and new music out this fall, New York post-punk mashup trio the Yeah Yeah Yeahs have signed to indie label Secretly Canadian and have announced additional U.S. headline tour dates, supported by Japanese Breakfast and the Linda Lindas.
SKYLAR GREY RETURNS
Multiple Grammy-nominated songwriter Skylar Grey has released her first album in six years, Skylar Grey. Released independently, the collection offers a raw, introspective, honest look at her recent cathartic journey with multilayered sound and, says Grey, offers “songs to cry to.”
Kobalt Music has announced a global publishing administration deal with popular South Florida rapper, $NOT, in a deal to include publishing, global sync, and creative services for all of the artist’s current and future writing. Breakout single “GOSHA” has over 236 million Spotify streams to date and “Mean” (with Flo Milli) inspired over 700,000 TikTok videos using his song. British band CRAWLERS has also been signed to a worldwide publishing deal, with Kobalt covering current and future music. Singles “So Tired,” “Placebo,” and “Hush,” alongside constant gigging led to their launch, with “Come Over (Again)” blowing up on TikTok, amassing over 650,000 followers. Their debut EP has received praise from Jack Saunders of BBC 1, and has stormed the U.K. Singles Chart.
SongsAlive! Open Mics & Workshops
Are you a songwriter living in or visiting the Los Angeles area? Each Wednesday night at Wrigley Coffee in Long Beach, join Songsalive! for their Artist Spotlight & Open Mic session, hosted by Laura Suarez. Shows start at 6pm, sign-up sheet is out at 5:15pm. Songsalive! song session workshops are held monthly on Zoom and can offer feedback and collaboration to showcase your songs to the world. More at: songsalive.org/workshop.html.
UMG Ink the Weeknd, Bayley, Drake
In their latest round of announcements, Universal Music Group has signed an administration deal with The Weeknd—their biggest global revenue generator for 2020 and 4th largest in 2021—for his full catalog and all future works. The agreement adds to The Weeknd’s label partnership with UMG‘s Republic Records, who will stay in place for future releases. In a multi-sided UMG deal, Drake (also with Republic Records) has entered a massive deal—rumored to be worth in the neighborhood of $400 million—covering recordings, publishing, merchandise and visual media. With over 37 million albums sold, Drake is the first to exceed 50 billion combined streams on Spotify. UMPG has signed Glass Animals’ front man, Dave Bayley to an exclusive global publishing deal following the success of 2020’s Dreamland, Grammy and BRIT Award nominations. Glass Animals’ “Heat Waves,” written and produced by Bayley, was certified RIAA Triple Platinum in 2020, was the fourth moststreamed song in the U.S. for 2021, hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 and is the longest-running top 10 single in the ARIA charts.
MLC Streaming Help
Are you getting all of your mechanical streaming royalties? The Mechanical Licensing Collective (The MLC) is presenting their Zoom webinar, “Are You Getting All of Your Digital Mechanical Streaming Royalties?” on Tuesday, June 7 to provide step-by-step instructions on how you can get on top of your digital royalty collection. Learn how to sign up with The MLC and collect all of your U.S. digital mechanical royalties.
ASCAP Honors Composers
MERRISON AND SLATER ADD GREEN
FOWLER AT THE MINT
Eclectic singer-songwriter Jeff Fowler releases Live At The Mint, a decade-longvaulted recording of his sold-out show in Los Angeles. The album includes 16 tracks that combine 1980’s pop covers with positive, upbeat originals including “So Far,” “Firefly,” and “I’ll Try.” 30
June 2022
musicconnection.com
Multiple award-winning composer duo Benji Merrison and Will Slater, best known for their soundscapes on BBC television (Dynasties, featuring David Attenborough, Meerkat: A Dynasty Special), release latest soundtrack, The Green Planet (mastered at Abbey Road Studios) via Silva Screen Records next month.
ASCAP extends congratulations to the Composers’ Choice Award winners from the 2022 ASCAP Screen Music Awards. Voted on by the ASCAP composer and songwriter community, winners are selected from a highly talented group. This year’s honorees include: Germaine Franco for Film Score of the Year with Encanto; Amanda Jones for Documentary Score of the Year with Dreamland: The Burning of Black Wall Street; Cristobal Tapia de Veer with for Television Score of the Year with The White Lotus; and Wataru
