Billboard Magazine
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TOPLINE DANCE and Kavinsky under the guidance of longtime New York nightlife promoter Thomas Dunkley of GBH. Astral- werks, ground zero of the '9os electronics movement, built new momentum with Swedish House Mafia and EDM Goes Major Eric Prydz. Sony and former indie Ultra Music (led by Patrick Moxey) entered a "global strategic alliance" in Dance music is often pigeonholed as a January. Recent reports indicate that Island will bring singles genre with little alignment with back 4th & Broadway, and Capitol may relaunch iconic hip -hop label Priority as a beats -oriented outpost. the interests of majors. Atlantic's revived The imprints provide the majors with a door into what is otherwise an insular world-one that was Big Beat challenges that perception starting to create stars of its own, on its own terms. By Kerri Mason To open it, majors not only had to convert electronic natives like Miller to their cause, but also broaden the scope of their traditional deals to fit the singles -driven, fast -paced, live -oriented EDM landscape-namely, go In 2010, it took Atlantic Records Group chairman/CEO Craig Kall- 36o. Skrillex, Swedish House Mafia and Prydz are just man nearly three months to convince Liz Miller, now GM of his re- some of the artists who have signed circular deals with vived Big Beat imprint within Atlantic, to join the team. major -label dance imprints, which are becoming the "I said 'no' immediately," says Miller, who was living in Berlin at rule rather than the exception in the space. the time, managing social and digital marketing for techno don Rich- "I wouldn't want to work somewhere where we were ie Hawtin's Minus empire. "I thought, 'Major labels and electronic only making money off of music [sales]," Miller says. music don't mix. I'll be selling out. I'll be working for the man.' Then "That would be very challenging." it occurred to me that it would happen with or without me." In addition to Skrillex and Swedish House Mafia Miller finally signed on in September zoio. A month later, Big Beat Big Beat so-called 36o deals, are moving the needle significantly (both are lucrative mega -stars, despite not releasing a released Skrillex's Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites under a 36o deal. artist for majors since such agreements became more com- full-length original album), Miller points to Big Beat act Chuckle The El' won three Grammy Awards; sold more than 1 million copies monplace in the last five years. For example, BillboardChuckie as an example of 360 success. The Dutch DJ/ of its title track, according to Nielsen SoundScan; and made its half - estimates 360 deals brought in an additional $70 million producer already has "a very solid touring calendar," she shaved -head hero a household name. outside of recorded music or publishing for Warner Mu- says, but his next single, ASERd by the label, will feature The 36o deal increases the moneymaking potential for a label and sic Group out of annual revenue of more than $3 billion. Lupe Fiasco. "We'll take it to [R&B/hip-hop] mix shows also lengthens the list of required skills for a GM. Today's dance imprint During the nextthree years, nearlyevery major would and then eventually top 4o radio. Imagine what his tour- leader has to know the music, touring, merchandising, publishing and stick its flag in the ground of EDM's brave new world. ing will look like then." Chuckie's top -performing track radio, all while maintaining his or her pre -major credibility. Universal revived legendary disco label Casablanca in until now was zon's "Who Is Ready to Jump," which hit But there isn't strong evidence that expanded rights agreements, 2012, with acts like Totally Enormous Extinct DinosaursNo.36 on Billboard's Dance/Club Play Songs chart. 0 PUBLISHING Wixen will now be overseen by the new venture. In ad- dition, Mothership will sign songwriters going forward, having already cut deals with Anti- artists Sean Rowe and the Melodic. Furthermore, Gurewitz adds that the la the April Launching company has just signed Heather Bright, aka EDM art- 13 issue, the ist Bright Lights. In all, Mothership is beginning with a Road Work column catalog of about 75o songs, Conway adds. misstated The Mothership In the wake of Sony/ATV administering EMI Music the name Publishing and BMG doing a rollup of midsize publish- of Keith Urban's Industry veterans join forces to start ers, Conway notes that the majors have gotten too big, booking with so many songs and writers that they can't give agent. boutique publisher with catalog them all 24/7 services. "That's what the new compa- Creative Artists including Tom Waits nies like us can do," he says. "There is a gaping hole Agency is By Ed Christman right now after all the publishing acquisitions," and handling Mothership plans to capitalize on it, he adds. the country star's current Gurewitz describes Mothership as a unique partner- tour. ship because of what he and Conway bring to the table. la the May Veteran music publisher Lionel Conway and Epitaph Records owner "What we combine are years of experience and rela- 11 issue, a Brett Gurewitz have launched a new publishing company, Mother - tionships, along with a well-earned reputation for being story about ship Music, that will bring together the latter's Fig Music and the artist -friendly and repertoire -centric," Gurewitz says.sic Publishing, for synch placements. Billboard's Latin Music former's administered Jalma Music. "We want to work with hip, contemporary artists, but For A&R, there's Conway and Gurewitz, with fur- Conference Conway made his bones in publishing by launching and running we're also looking for writers whose songs are timeless." ther help expected to come from a couple of planned misspelled Island Music, and along the way also headed up PolyGram Music Mothership is self -financed by the two principals, joint ventures with industry tastemakers in deals the names of SBS' and Maverick Music. More recently, he oversaw the U.S. operation who say they're in it for the long haul. close to being signed. Andrew of Stage Three, which BMG Rights Management purchased in zoio. As a stand-alone operation, Mothership will use the While Epitaph is known for rock, folk, punk, blues Polsky, Conway stayed at BMG through late zo12. Epitaph royalty systems to track and pay publishingand singer/songwriters, Gurewitz says Mothership Marca Miami's Mothership will serve as administrator for the Gurewitz-owned Fig royalties, Conway says. also wants to get into contemporary R&B/hip-hop, Stacy catalog as well as Jalma Music, which is the publishing company of Mothership is starting with a small staff, with Connie and will be looking for writers in that genre. Pagan and Tom Waits and his wife, Kathleen Brennan, that was administered by Ashton handling copyright and licensing, while it will He also says Epitaph will likely be more aggressive in MasterCard's Geraldine Conway, who helped bring Waits to Gurewitz 's Anti- label in 1999. use Hitcher, a new company formed by Pulse Music pursuing 36o deals, which includes signing to the label Cooper. Besides Fig and Jalma, early Gurewitz catalog administered by and Joe Rangel, former VP of film and TV for EMI Mu - and publisher and handing over merchandise rights.0 0 BILLBOARD I MAY18, 2013.