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Primary Wave (company)

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Primary Wave
Company typePrivate company
IndustryMusic and entertainment
GenreVarious
Founded2006, United States
FounderLawrence Mestel
HeadquartersNew York,
New York City
,
U.S.
Number of locations
Austin
Los Angeles
Nashville
New York City
London
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Lawrence Mestel (CEO)
Adam Lowenberg (CMO)
Ramon Villa (COO)
Justin Shukat[1]
Robert Dippold[2]
Jane Reisman (CFO)[3]
Jeff Straughn[4]
Natalia Nastaskin[5]
Services
Number of employees
75
Subsidiaries
  • Brightshop Digital Marketing
  • Brand Synergy Group
Websitewww.primarywave.com

Primary Wave is a private music publishing and talent management company. Primary Wave was founded in January 2006 by music executive Lawrence Mestel. Since its origin as a music publishing company, Primary Wave has expanded into talent management, film and TV production, digital marketing, and branding.

History

2006–2015: Early years

Primary Wave Music Publishing was founded in 2006 after an introduction of Courtney Love to founder Lawrence Mestel, resulted in the purchase of 50% of Kurt Cobain's portion of the Nirvana catalog.[citation needed] The Nirvana purchase would eventually galvanize Primary Wave's acquisitions of Chicago, Albert Hammond Jr., Bo Diddley, Steven Tyler, John Lennon, Lamont Dozier, Hall & Oates, Def Leppard, and Maurice White's (of Earth, Wind & Fire) publishing catalogs.[6]

In September 2013, Primary Wave and BMG Rights Management formed a joint venture for $150 million, with BMG buying a majority of Primary Wave's publishing, including "I Want to Hold Your Hand" by The Beatles, "Kiss on My List" by Hall & Oates, "How Sweet It Is" by Marvin Gaye, and "September" by Earth, Wind & Fire.[7] The joint venture ended in 2016, though BMG kept the catalogues that it acquired from Primary Wave.[8]

2016–present: Acquisitions

Currently one of the largest indie music publishers in the United States, Primary Wave markets the copyrights of over 15,000 songs from the catalogs of various artists and songwriters.[9][10][11]

The platform for a second phase of expansion was established in 2016, when Primary Wave received $300 million of funding from multiple large institutional investors, forming Primary Wave's first music based fund. Primary Wave then purchased Smokey Robinson's catalogue for $25 million.[citation needed]

By 2017, Primary Wave acquired a stake in Rough Trade Publishing for $5 million and music catalogs such as Steve Cropper, Tom Cochrane, and Holly Knight. Later that year in August, Primary Wave acquired publishing and master royalties from Glenn Gould, a Canadian 20th-century classical pianist.[citation needed]

In January 2018, Primary Wave acquired an 80 percent share in Chris Blackwell's Blue Mountain Music, one of the largest independent publishers, which included the rights to Bob Marley. The Blue Mountain Music acquisition also includes songs by Toots and the Maytals, Free, Burning Spear, Steel Pulse, and Marianne Faithfull.[12] That same month, Primary Wave closed a marketing and publishing administration deal with Alice Cooper.[citation needed] In May 2019, Primary Wave closed a reported multi-million-dollar deal with British band Culture Club, led by front man Boy George. The acquisition included a portion of the band's publishing and master recording income stream.[13]

Primary Wave announced an investment into Lava Media Group in September 2020. The new business relationship includes marketing and brand support from Primary Wave to support Lava's podcasts and also gives them access to Primary Wave's roster of talent.[14] In November 2020, the Los Angeles Chapter of the Association of Independent Music Publishers (AIMP) announced Primary Wave as the recipient of its 2020 Indie Publisher of the Year award.[15]

On January 28, 2021, Primary Wave acquired the catalogue of the rock and roll label Sun Records for $30 million, including recordings by Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, and Jerry Lee Lewis.[16] In August 2021, Primary Wave acquired a stake in Prince's music assets which include royalty streams from the songs "When You Were Mine", "I Wanna Be Your Lover", "1999", "Little Red Corvette" and "When Doves Cry".[17]

Divisions

Division Formed Description
Primary Wave Music Publishing 2006 Primary Wave Music Publishing (PWMP) is an independent, private music publisher who began with the acquisition of catalogs by Kurt Cobain (Nirvana), Steven Tyler (Aerosmith), and John Lennon (The Beatles/John Lennon). PWMP has expanded to not only work with music icons, but emerging singers, songwriters, producers, and DJs. The New York Times explains, "Primary Wave has carved out a lucrative niche in music publishing by focusing on aggressive branding and marketing campaigns."
Primary Wave Talent Management 2006 Primary Wave Talent Management (PWTM) guides the careers of music, film, TV, and entertainment personalities including Melissa Etheridge, Cypress Hill, CeeLo Green, Aly & AJ, and Plain White T's. Talent management clients range from multi-platinum selling recording artists to hit-making songwriters and producers. Primary Wave's management roster has access to internal branding, A&R, publicity, and marketing resources.
Brand Synergy Group 2011 Brand Synergy Group (BSG) is a lifestyle consulting company that connects brands with entertainment, music, sports, and culinary personalities. Historically BSG has partnered CeeLo Green with 7 Up, Rihanna with Nivea, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with its first corporate sponsor, Klipsch Audio.[18][19][20][21]
BrightShop Digital Marketing 2010 BrightShop is a digital marketing agency specializing in social, mobile, web, and streaming services. Acting as Primary Wave's in-house digital agency, BrightShop also services music, celebrity, and lifestyle brands.[22][23][24]

References

  1. ^ 40 Under 40: Music's Young Power Players at Billboard.com; published September 12, 2014; retrieved February 27, 2020
  2. ^ Billboard's 2019 Digital Power Players Revealed at Billboard.com; published November 18, 2019; retrieved February 27, 2020
  3. ^ Jane Reisman Joins Primary Wave Publishing as CFO at Billboard.com; by Chris Eggersten; published April 29, 2019; retrieved February 27, 2020
  4. ^ The Story Behind Clorox's Mystery Recording Artist CLRX at AdWeek.com; by Paul Hiebert; published February 25, 2020; retrieved February 27, 2020
  5. ^ UTA's Natalia Nastaskin Heads to Primary Wave as Partner/Chief Content Officer: Exclusive at Billboard; by Melinda Newman; published January 13, 2021; retrieved January 13, 2021
  6. ^ "Julian Lennon sells stake in Beatles songs: report". Reuters. Reuters Editorial. 13 April 2007.
  7. ^ "BMG in $150 Million Deal for Music Publishing Assets of U.S. Indie Primary Wave". 3 September 2013.
  8. ^ "Top-Dollar Tunes: A Timeline of 21st Century Song Catalog Deals". 30 November 2020.
  9. ^ "Primary Wave strikes deal to represent Alice Cooper publishing rights - Music Business Worldwide". musicbusinessworldwide.com. 23 January 2018.
  10. ^ "Primary Wave's CEO Explains a New $300 Million BlackRock Partnership, Getting Smokey Robinson a Sneaker Deal". billboard.com.
  11. ^ "Primary Wave Entertainment - Home". Archived from the original on 2014-05-05. Retrieved 2012-03-14.
  12. ^ Sisario, Ben (13 January 2018). "Buying a Piece of Bob Marley's Song Catalog, and His Enduring Legacy". The New York Times.
  13. ^ Primary Wave Buys Culture Club Catalog Stake in 'Multi-Million Dollar Deal' at Music Business Worldwide; published May 29, 2019; retrieved April 15, 2020
  14. ^ Primary Wave Music Publishing and Lava Media Announce Partnership at Money For Lunch; published 2020; retrieved November 1, 2020
  15. ^ "Aimp L.a.'s Holiday Spirit".
  16. ^ "Primary Wave buys legendary Sun Records in $30m deal, including masters for Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis". 28 January 2021.
  17. ^ "Primary Wave buys stake in Prince estate, encompassing publishing, master recording income and more". Music Business Worldwide. Retrieved 2021-08-06.
  18. ^ The Story Behind Clorox's Mystery Recording Artist CLRX at AdWeek; by Paul Hiebert; published February 25, 2020; retrieved March 3, 2020
  19. ^ Tour The Music-Inspired Offices Of Cee Lo Green's Publishing Company And Marketing Team at Business Insider; by Meredith Galante; published October 2, 2012; retrieved March 3, 2020
  20. ^ Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Announces First-Ever Induction Sponsor at Billboard; by Andrew Hampp; published March 2, 2015; retrieved March 3, 2020
  21. ^ Back to School With Marky Ramone at The Wall Street Journal; by Ralph Gardner Jr.; published June 22, 2015; retrieved March 3, 2020
  22. ^ As Seen On TV selects BrightShop Digital to handle social media marketing at DMNews.com; by Erin Dostal; published July 30, 2012; retrieved March 3, 2020
  23. ^ Primary Wave and Violator Management Forge Music Management Partnership at Deadline; by David Lieberman; published September 16, 2011; retrieved March 3, 2020
  24. ^ Primary Wave Acquires Rough Trade Publishing Stake in $5M+ Financing Deal at Music Buesiness Worldwide; published April 28, 2017; retrieved March 3, 2020
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