Music Industry Moves: Holly Humberstone Signs With Universal Publishing, AEG + Japan’s Avex Entertainment = AEGX Joint Venture

DEALSWarner Music’s EastWest label has signed Westlife. “We have found a record label that shares the same energy and high ambitions as the four of us, in what will be a very busy year, where there will be some surprise announcements and of course new music”, say the band.Holly Humberstone has signed a new record deal with various Universal labels and imprints: specifically Polydor Records, Interscope Records and Darkroom.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorLuke Mitzman of 100 Management is partnering with Pulse Management, the companies have announced. Matt McNeal, who has been working as a publishing A&R consultant for parent company Pulse Music Group will also be joining the management team in a dual role for both the publishing and management divisions.

William Earl Fresh off of being named to BBC Radio 1’s 2021 Brit List and landing a publishing deal with Universal Music Publishing Group, UK newcomer Holly Humberstone has signed with Polydor Records, Darkroom and Interscope Records.The 21-year-old singer-songwriter released several singles in 2020 to rave reviews and had completed a European tour opening for Lewis Capaldi just before the COVID pandemic.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorCrypto.com has named Joe Conyers III EVP, NFT Platform. In his new role, Conyers, who was most recently chief strategy officer of Downtown Music Holdings, will oversee the development of Crypto.com’s invite-only NFT platform, which will feature artists, athletes and sports leagues.

Vivienne Chow Television Broadcasts, Hong Kong’s leading TV group, is set to boost its variety and music programs following a recent management reshuffle. It aims to bring back veteran entertainers who have experience and profile on the mainland Chinese market in order that the station can expand its foothold in the Greater Bay Area.The new appointments come after a difficult year amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ahead of the big Grammys show this weekend, The Weeknd has said that he will never take part in the awards again.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorSony Music Publishing has signed Grammy-winning songwriter/ DJ/ producer J. White Did It, known for his collaborations with Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion, among others, to a worldwide deal.

Holly Humberstone has joined Glass Animals for a new acoustic performance of the band’s recent single ‘Heat Waves’ – watch the collaboration below.Humberstone and the band’s singer Dave Bayley performed the song for the La Blogotheque series while strolling through Hackney in London.The new video is the latest alternate take on ‘Heat Waves’, which topped Australia’s coveted triple j Hottest 100 list for 2020, after Bayley turned the track into a sea shanty back in January following the

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorSteve Greenberg, founder of S-Curve Records, is leaving the company, which he founded two decades ago and sold to BMG in 2015, he confirmed to Variety.

Janet Jackson has dominated the pop music industry for almost 4 decades now. As a prominent figure in the music industry, the star is all set to tell her story in the form of a two-part documentary.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorUTA has announced the acquisition of U.K.-based Echo Location Talent Agency. The firm was founded and led by Obi Asika (pictured above), who will serve as Co-Head of UTA’s UK office alongside Neil Warnock.

coronavirus pandemic.Among the measures announced by Sunak today is the extension of the UK’s furlough scheme into September and further financial support for self-employed people during the pandemic.

DEALSUniversal Music Publishing has signed singer-songwriter Holly Humberstone to a global deal. “I’m really excited to join the UMPG family”, she says.

Holly Humberstone has confirmed that she’s recorded a new song with The 1975‘s Matty Healy.Earlier this month, rumours of a track called ‘Please Don’t Leave Just Yet’ surfaced after the song was registered with the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers.Now, in an appearance on The Late Late Show with James Corden this week (February 25), Humberstone confirmed the collaboration, and that it will appear on her next EP.Alongside the conversation with Corden, Humberstone also shared

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorLive Nation has taken a timeline provided by the British government as an all-clear for the summer festival season, selling some 170,000 tickets this week to three major U.K.

Madison Beer has discussed feeling “very silenced” by older men in the music industry.The singer, who releases her debut album ‘Life Support’ today (February 26), was speaking to NME in a new cover feature.In the interview, Beer reflected on being dictated to by record executives, before learning “how to stand my ground”.“I’ve also learned how to pick my battles,” she said of her responses to the comments.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorRina Sawayama’s self-titled debut album is indisputably one of the most innovative pop records of recent years, a head-spinning fusion of nu-metal, Lady Gaga-style pop and ballads that is catnip for critics, fans of daring music (such as her big fan Elton John) and prestigious awards like the Brits and Mercury Prize.So there was no small outcry when Sawayama, 30, who was born in Japan and is not a British citizen but has lived in the U.K.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorIn its pursuit of carbon neutrality, BMG has committed to offsetting all of its global site and employee-related greenhouse gas emissions, the company announced. In defining a long-term strategy to avoid, reduce, and offset CO2 emissions, BMG revealed it had offset over 3,000 tons of CO2 produced in 2019 by investing in Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) and Climate, Community and Biodiversity Standard (CCBS) certified climate protection projects.