SPIRIT MUSIC GROUP STRIKES MULTI-FACETED GLOBAL PUBLISHING DEAL
WITH MULTI-PLATNUM, #1 SONGWRITER/PRODUCER, GREGG WATTENBERG
Spirit Acquires Wattenberg’s Complete Catalog,
Signs Him to Co-Publishing Deal for Future Works and Partners to Form Joint Venture
New York, NY (February 26, 2019) – Spirit Music Group has signed multi-platinum songwriter and producer Gregg Wattenberg to a global publishing deal. As part of the deal, Spirit will acquire global rights to Wattenberg’s complete songwriting catalog, sign him to a co-publishing agreement for all future works and partner with him to form a joint venture which will allow Wattenberg to leverage Spirit’s resources to find, sign and develop songwriting talent. The announcement comes on the heels of a $350 million recapitalization of Spirit Music Group led by Jon Singer and business partner Ross Cameron in January of this year.
“I have known Gregg for twenty years, dating back to our days at Island Records — we always knew that we would be working together again one day,” said Jon Singer, Chairman, Spirit Music Group. “The timing is right and the team at Spirit is honored to represent and partner with such an accomplished songwriter and producer. This is a multi-faceted deal that not only allows Spirit to represent Gregg as a songwriter, but a partnership to identify and nurture new talent together. This is an exciting time for Spirit Music Group — we’re just getting started.”
“I’ve been a long-time fan of both Spirit and of Jon Singer. Jon was a good friend back when we worked together at Island Records and has become an even closer friend and supporter over the years,” said Gregg Wattenberg. I am thrilled to partner with Spirit Music Group as they understand how important it is to invest in and develop the next generation of songwriters. They fully support me in doing that and I couldn’t ask for a better home for my catalog.”
The deal will also leverage Wattenbergs’ executive and creative prowress. Spirit will form a joint venture with Wattenberg, empowering him to bring new artists, producers, and writers to the company under his Arcade joint venture. Arcade offers a full service writers collective that provides the best new music to studio and media projects while helping to nurture new writers.
Wattenberg joins the Spirit Music Group roster during a period of great momentum for the company. In January of this year, Spirit Music Group executives Jon Singer and Ross Cameron formed Lyric Capital Group taking ownership of Spirit Music Group and securing a recapitalization of over $350 million. Now wholly-owned by the newly formed Lyric Capital Group, Spirit Music Group remains a strong, independent publisher. The capital raise allows Spirit to continue to build upon its already impressive legacy and community of renowned artists and songwriters.
Gregg Wattenberg has co-written and/or produced eight Billboard #1 hit songs, including: “Easy Tonight” by Five For Fighting (#1 on the Billboard Adult Alternative chart); “Superman (It’s Not Easy)” by Five For Fighting (Platinum, #1 on the Billboard US Adult Top 40); “100 Years” by Five For Fighting (Platinum, #1 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart); “It’s Not Over” by Daughtry (multi-Platinum, #1 on both the Billboard Mainstream Top 40 chart and Adult Pop Chart); “Shattered (Turn the Car Around)” by O.A.R. (Platinum, #1 on the Billboard Adult Alternative chart); “Hey, Soul Sister” by Train (6X Multi-Platinum, #1 on the Billboard Adult Pop, Adult Contemporary, and Digital Song Sales charts); “If It’s Love” by Train (#1 on the Billboard Adult Pop Songs chart); and “Gone, Gone, Gone” by Phillip Phillips (multi-Platinum, #1 on a total of eight Billboard charts including the Adult Contemporary chart and the Adult Alternative Songs chart).
Wattenberg has also co-written and produced numerous other singles that reached the Top 10 on a variety of Billboard charts including “Chances” by Five For Fighting, “Let Love In” by the Goo Goo Dolls, “Living in a Dream” by Finger Eleven, “Raging Fire” by Phillip Phillips, and “Fire Escape” by Andrew McMahon.
Among Wattenberg’s many awards and recognitions include a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Song (“It’s Not Over” by Daughtry), ASCAP Song of the Year (“Hey, Soul Sister” by Train, 2010), and multiple ASCAP Pop Awards (“It’s Not Over” by Daughtry, “If It’s Love” by Train, “Shattered (Turn the Car Around)” by O.A.R.), to name a few.
ABOUT SPIRIT MUSIC:
Spirit Music Group, founded in 1995, is one of the world’s leading independent music publishers, owning and/or managing more than 75,000 songs spanning seven decades and every musical genre. Spirit’s portfolio consists of over 200 #1 Billboard hits and over 450 Top 10 songs.
Among its most notable songwriters and writer/artists are James Bay, John Barrett, Alan and Marilyn Bergman, Big Data, Marc Bolan, T Bone Burnett, Jonny Coffer, Zach Crowell, Rami Dawod, Henry Mancini, Matt & Kim, Johnny McDaid, The Marshall Tucker Band, Graham Nash, John Newman, Rick Nowels, David Paich, Doc Pomus, Frank Rogers, Boz Scaggs, Billy Squier, Pete Townshend, Gregg Wattenberg; and the breakthrough work of newer artists including Dagny and Tim Montana.
Spirit has earned a strong reputation as an aggressive royalty administrator and a peerless promoter of its songs into film, television and advertising productions as well as a wide range of new media. In recent years, Spirit has helped transform the publisher’s role beyond royalty collection and song promotion to proactive career and legacy partnership by creating and executing marketing plans to revitalize its clients’ songs and expand their brands.
Spirit Music Group is headquartered in New York with offices in London, Los Angeles, Nashville and the Netherlands. Spirit is a portfolio company of Lyric Capital Group, led by seasoned music executives Jon Singer and Ross Cameron.
For further information about Spirit Music Group, go to www.spiritmusicgroup.com.
