Megan Thee Stallion‘s philanthropic efforts will be honored at a benefit event on Oct. 21 in New York City for the hunger-fighting charity God’s Love We Deliver. The Golden Heart Awards will recognize Megan’s non-profit, the Pete and Thomas Foundation, which helps fund charitable programs in her native Houston.
Megan will rcieve the inaugural genLOVE award and actor Sarah Jessica Parker will also accept the Michael Kors award for outstanding philanthropy. Kors is one of the Golden Heart Awards’ co-chairs, along with John Idol and Blaine Trump. Anna Wintour will also resume her role as honorary chairwoman.
Taking place at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, the event will include a performance from Sam Smith. Tickets to the Golden Heart Awards are available for purchase online.
+ WK Records co-founder Oscar Guitián Jr. has launched Serving Sounds, an independent record label servicing Spanish talent in Latin Iberia. It will be distributed by The Orchard.
“We are delighted to partner with The Orchard,” said Guitián Jr. “This collaboration will allow us to provide our artists with the tools and reach needed to succeed in an increasingly competitive industry. Together, we are furthering a platform where Latin music from Iberian talent can flourish around the world.”
The label will be based in Madrid and Miami as Guitián Jr. will maintain his position as co-founder and co-owner WK Records, which he launched alongside Walter Kolm in 2020.
+ Virgin Music Group has partnered with multi-platinum singer/songwriter Kip Moore for the next phase of his career. Moore also teased his first new song in almost two years and the first music under the new deal entitled “Live Here to Work,” which sees him reuniting with co-producer Jaren Johnston (Keith Urban, Chris Shiflett, Darius Rucker).
“I’m a firm believer that this life is what you make it and is enhanced by the people you surround yourself with,” stated Moore. “I see this next chapter of my career as an opportunity to keep building this thing brick by brick. I was making this record independently when I began having the initial conversations with Virgin and other record labels. It was ultimately the tangible passion from Virgin Music Group that made me want to team up and see where we could take this next chapter. There is a trust and a freedom in what I do and I can feel that from this team. The fans are going to be getting more music from me than ever before. The first track from this project is a song called ‘Live Here To Work.’ It pushes the envelope a bit, but we wanted to come out swinging.”
“I have been a fan of Kip’s for years now,” said Jacqueline Saturn, president of Virgin Music Group North America, and executive VP of Global Artist Relations. “His music’s universal themes transcend genre and appeal to a huge variety of music fans. Along with his music, his commitment to relentless touring has helped him build a powerful global fanbase. We know this next phase of his career is going to be amazing.”
+ Warner Chappell Music UK, the music publishing arm of Warner Music Group, has teamed up with British dance label Defected Records to launch a new joint venture. WCM UK will now exclusively administer the publishing roster and catalogue of Defected Music.
Established in 1999, Defected and the label’s publishing arm boast credits on Beyoncé’s “Renaissance” album, and Elton John and Dua Lipa’s “Cold Heart (PNAU Remix),” as well as singles for Purple Disco Machine and John Summit.
“Our mission is to uphold house music’s standards globally, to service our community while helping artists build longer lasting, more impactful, and more profitable careers,” said Wez Saunders, Defected’s CEO. “This JV with Warner Chappell Music UK will allow us to continue this, and grow even further. I am particularly grateful to Darren Young, Sam Lowe and the whole Warner Chappell team for making this happen and to our Director of Business Affairs, Shamus Damani, for his ongoing support and joining me on this next stage of Defected’s journey.”
Thursday, Sept. 12
Coinciding with the celebration of Def Jam Records’ 40 th — which was observed with a big performance featuring LL Cool J, Public Enemy and more at the VMAs Wednesday night — Universal Music Sweden has announced the launch of Def Jam Recordings Sweden. Led by Mattias Caliste, the label will “continue to follow the blueprint of the iconic label,” according to the announcement. Its initial roster includes hip-hop artists as
Asme and Sarettii, rap veteran Sebastian Stakset and up-and-comer Zikai. Caliste will be joined by Hamid Jamshidi and Hermon Alemseghed in the A&R and production areas.
Caliste was an artist in the group Fjärde Världen, a producer and founder of the record label Stadsbild, and most recently managing director of Virgin Music Sweden. He said: “It is a great honor for me to start up Def Jam Recordings in Sweden. Def Jam raised me! I grew up on artists like Public Enemy, EPMD, LL Cool J, Redman & Method Man, Warren G and many others who all released some of their most outstanding albums under Def Jam. The label has a legacy that is incredibly important for hip hop as both a genre and a subculture.”
PR vet Lily Golightly has joined High Rise PR, the long-running firm that reps Billie Eilish and Finneas, Travis Scott, Duran Duran, Tove Lo, Bryan Ferry and Roxy Music, George Michael’s estate and many others. She joins from Verve Label Group, where she worked closely with Jon Batiste, Samara Joy, Madison Cunningham, and others. Previously she spent seven years at 300 Entertainment — working with Megan Thee Stallion, Young Thug, Gunna and many others — and also owned the independent consulting company No Big Deal PR.
High Rise founder Alexandra Baker said, “I have admired Lily’s work for close to a decade now. She’s thoughtful, strategic, and is highly respected in our field. She is a terrific addition to the High Rise family — we are so lucky to have her.”
Wednesday, Sept. 11
Concord Records and Fantasy Records have merged as a combined brand and will keep the name Concord Records. Under the purview of co-presidents Margi Cheske and Mark Williams, the label will
This new iteration of Concord Records will develop and represent artists including Allison Russell, Daffo, John Vincent III and Matt Berninger, in addition to Esperanza Spalding, Lindsey Sterling, Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats, Taking Back Sunday, Seether, the Offspring, and Thirty Seconds To Mars.
“This merger allows Concord to best utilize our global platform while maintaining the boutique level of service artists have come to expect,” said Tom Becci, chief executive of Concord Label Group. “I know Mark and Margi share this notion, and their combined resources, alongside their complementary skill sets, will be a real benefit to the artists we serve.”
Cheske added, “This merger will allow us to better maximize our resources in service of those visions. Ultimately, this means a much more global, interconnected approach—allowing us, in concert with our incredible roster of artists, to bring their music to audiences around the world.”
Cheske and Williams, who have known each other since they worked together at Virgin Records, are based in Los Angeles and report to Becci.
+ Universal Music Group has launched its 2024 “Use Your Voice” campaign.
Launched in 2020, this year’s voting initiative will utilize educational tools and other resources to mobilize eligible employees and other voters throughout UMG’s U.S. communities to vote in the 2024 U.S. general elections. This year’s campaign is supported by UMG’s All Together Now Foundation, the company’s Task Force for Meaningful Change (TFMC) and °1824, UMG’s creative services division.
Lucille Wenegieme, HeadCount’s executive director, said, “As we head into this pivotal election, our partnership with Universal Music Group through the ‘Use Your Voice’ campaign is about more than just registering voters. Together, we’re making sure that every voice is not just heard, but impossible to ignore. At HeadCount, we partner with organizations that see the value of a multi-pronged approach to civic engagement to ensure we are reaching as many voters as possible – this is no different. We are so grateful for UMG’s strategic support during this election cycle. Together, we’re inspiring a new generation to actively participate in shaping their future.”
+ Audiomack has partnered with Mogul, a royalty tracking platform, to provide an estimated 30 million monthly users to track their Audiomack royalties alongside all other revenue sources.
Mogul launched this year and is credited for “help[ing] more artists track and recover $150 million and supports income and registration tracking of [over] 100 distributors, publishers, PROs and platforms,” per a press release.
