Music Industry Moves: Concord Signs Ghanaian-American Pop Singer Amaarae; Reservoir Inks Publishing Deal With Eagles’ Joe Walsh

Thania Garcia Miranda Lambert and Jon Randall have jointly launched a new imprint called Big Loud Texas in partnership with Big Loud Records. Both Grammy winners will be directly involved in signing and developing artists on the roster but Randall will additionally serve as president of A&R for Big Loud Texas. “As a teenager chasing my dreams in the honky-tonks of Texas, Nashville seemed so far away,” said Lambert.

Dua Lipa has acquired the rights to her catalogue of songs in a deal with her previous publishers, TAP Music.In a statement from the company, it has been confirmed that Lipa will now own the rights to her own music.“We wish Dua all the best for the future,” said Anna Neville, co-President of TAP Music. “This is an exciting time for our publishing company – we are expanding our services and teams globally and continue to add talented writers and artists to our already stellar roster”Lipa is currently gearing up to kick off the promotion for her as-yet-unannounced third studio album.

South Korean studio CJ ENM has entered into a MOU with Saudi Arabian content company Manga Productions to jointly co-produce and distribute content.

Former GMA 3 anchors Amy Robach and T. J. Holmes have signed a deal with iHeartMedia to launch a new podcast as well as a full slate of programming. Their podcast titled Amy & is T.J. is set to premiere December 5 on the iHeartPodcast Network. It will be the first time the pair speak publicly following their exit earlier this year from ABC News after reports surfaced of their romantic relationship.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor A24 has forged an exclusive output deal with Happinet Phantom Studios covering the distribution in Japan of A24’s upcoming releases, including Alex Garland’s action film “Civil War,” starring Kirsten Dunst, which has a highly anticipated launch at AFM this week. Happinet and A24 have worked together on the release of a number of films in Japan, including triple Oscar winner “Moonlight,” and “Midsommar,” whose gross in the territory was the biggest outside North America.

Thania Garcia Muesexpo, the annual global music industry conference and showcase event, will be honoring Republic Records Co-President Wendy Goldstein with its inaugural Seymour Stein Global A&R Award. Seymour Stein, known for his discovery of such iconic artists as Madonna and the Ramones, serves as the inspiration behind the award that recognizes the dedication to nurturing and signing talent.

Chung Ha has opened up about her year-long hiatus from the music and why she toyed with idea of leaving the industry.Chung Ha recently signed with the Jay Park-owned label, More Vision, after leaving long-time agency MNH Entertainment this March. Meanwhile, her last solo music release was the July 2022 record ‘Bare & Rare’.In the year between ‘Bare & Rare’ and signing to More Vision, the singer contemplated stepping away from the music industry completely, she revealed in a recent appearance on the YouTube talk show Gabee’s Rising Star.Chung Ha spoke about how during a previous meet up with host Gabee, a member of the dance group LACHICA, the dancer had “counselled and persuaded” her to not “go study abroad”.“I asked her what’s her plan,” Gabee recalled.

ABBA’s Bjorn Ulvaeus has warned of the “existential challenge” of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on the music industry.Ulvaeus is the president of CISAC, a non-profit organisation that represents songwriters and composers around the world, collecting and paying royalties to its members whose music has been used in broadcasts, concerts, bars and on streaming services.A new report from the organisation showed that royalty collections for songwriters and composers had recovered from pre-pandemic levels but Ulvaeus warned that AI could present greater challenges to musicians going forward.In a forward to a new report from CISAC, Ulvaeus wrote: “This year’s results show that the collective management system, despite all the enormous challenges it faces in adapting to digital, is still robust and effective. CMOs (collective management organisations) have the backs of the creators they serve and are now delivering more money to more creators than ever before.“And that is good news – because, fresh from Covid and the economic squeeze, what we now face is another very serious, existential challenge – that of artificial intelligence.

A late night levy for businesses serving alcohol in the early hours would raise around £58,000 per year to be spent on tackling related crime and disorder. Bolton Council wants to introduce charges to 55 businesses across the borough that have a licence to serve alcohol between 3am and 6am.

EXCLUSIVE: Fox‘s international expansion has taken another step forwards following a deal with Canada’s Bell Media.

Thania Garcia Sports company Puma has tapped A$AP Rocky as its new creative director “for the category with a focus on the intersection of the sport and streetwear,” according to a press release announcing the long-term partnership between the fashion brand and rapper. Rocky will work on Puma’s new collaboration with Formula 1, developing capsules designed by him that will influence the brand’s seasonal design directions moving forward. For the remainder of this year, Rocky will design visuals and video content for the brand, starting with his first campaign that explores car culture in America and the impact it has on streetwear and fashion.

Kurt Badenhausen The New York Knicks reached a jersey patch agreement with Sphere Entertainment for the Sphere logo to appear on the team’s uniforms starting with the 2023-24 season, Variety’s sister site Sportico reports. Sphere Entertainment and Knicks’ parent Madison Square Garden Sports, both of which are publicly traded companies, are controlled by the Dolan family.

EXCLUSIVE: Little Dot Studios and its streamer, History Hit, have struck an exclusive deal with Rishi Sharma, a doc maker known for interviewing thousands of World War II veterans.

Married At First Sight star Ella Morgan is lined up to “sign a deal” with major fashion house PrettyLittleThing, after visiting the retailer's London showroom to meet with bosses. The fashion brand is reportedly looking to sign another transgender model and a source revealed to Mail Online that Ella is a “perfect fit” for PLT.

The upcoming animated musical Spellbound has found a new streaming home!

EXCLUSIVE: Global sales agent Palisades Park Pictures has signed an agreement with VIP Medienfonds to represent all available media rights to its catalog, including the Media 8 film library. 

EXCLUSIVE: National Geographic Documentary Films has signed a first-look production deal with director Sara Dosa and producer Shane Boris, the team behind NatGeo’s Oscar-nominated hit Fire of Love.

“American Fiction” has quickly become the movie to watch in the awards season after it premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival to critical acclaim, garnering the festival’s People’s Choice Award. The award has come to be seen as a precursor for Academy Award nominations.

Sabrina Carpenter is making a big career move!

EXCLUSIVE: Lion Forge Entertainment has set a first-look deal with award-winning Nigerian creator and producer Roye Okupe. YouNeek Studios founder and YouNeek YouNiverse creator Okupe recently teamed with Lion Forge on the animated fantasy series Iyanu, based on Okupe’s graphic novel Iyanu: Child of Wonder. Production is currently underway for the Cartoon Network and Max animated series, which Lion Forge will introduce to global distributors at MIPCOM next week.