Sony/ATV Music Publishing has extended its worldwide deal with multiple Grammy-winning singer, songwriter and recording artist Rob Thomas.
This new extension celebrates and extends Thomas' 20-year relationship with the company that includes his entire catalog of songs, including the Matchbox Twenty hits "3 a.m.", "Bent", "Unwell", "Push", "If You're Gone" and "How Far We've Come", his three solo albums including hits "Lonely No More", "Some Day", " This is How a Heart Breaks", and "Her Diamonds", and the multiple Grammy-winning
Santana hit "Smooth", which he co-wrote and performed on. It also takes in future works.
Sony/ATV Chairman and CEO Martin Bandier said: "I am so pleased that Rob has agreed to stay with Sony/ATV for the foreseeable future. I was fortunate enough to have been running the company when he signed his first publishing deal in 1996 and he and his songs have been part of my life ever since then as well as those of all his fans the world over."
Sony/ATV SVP, Head of East Coast A&R Rich Christina said: "It's an honor and a pleasure to know
Rob Thomas and represent his great songs. This new deal extends our incredible 20-year relationship with him well into the future."
Rob Thomas said: "Twenty years ago I signed to EMI Music Publishing and have so much enjoyed my time with my family there. Now the same family is under the Sony/ATV Music Publishing umbrella and I'm proud to say that I have resigned with them and I'm looking forward to many more years of working together."
Rob Thomas's manager Michael Lippman said: "I'm very excited at extending this relationship with Sony/ATV. I clearly remember starting this relationship 20 years ago and it has gone on to achieve unprecedented success."
Having sold more than 80 million albums,
Rob Thomas is one of the biggest-selling songwriters and musicians of the last two decades. He initially broke through as the frontman and main songwriter of the Orlando, Florida rock group Matchbox Twenty before launching a successful solo career, while along the way has written songs for or with acts including Mick Jagger, Santana, Willie Nelson,
Travis Tritt and Daughtry.
With all its songs written or co-written by Thomas, Matchbox Twenty's debut album Yourself or Someone Like You was released in October 1996, reached No. 5 on the Billboard 200 chart and received a Diamond Award from the RIAA in recognition of selling 10 million copies in the U.S. Its sales there eventually rose to 15 million units. The album was also a hit around the world, including in Australia where it reached No. 1 and was 10-times platinum, while the songs "Push" and "3 a.m." both reached the top five of the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
By the time of the release of the group's second album Mad Season in May 2000, Thomas had become a multiple Grammy winner thanks to "Smooth", which legendary guitarist
Santana had cut for his album
Supernatural and which Thomas co-wrote and sang. Having spent 12 weeks at No. 1 in the U.S. as well as becoming a No. 1 hit around the world, the song was recognized with three honors at the Grammy Awards held in February 2000, being named Song of the Year, Record of the Year and Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals.
"Smooth" was subsequently acclaimed by Billboard as the Hot 100 chart No. 2 performing song and number No. 1 rock song of all time. In March this year, the same publication placed it at No. 1 on a Top 50 chart covering the first 20 years of its Adult Pop Songs radio airplay chart. Five of the songs in the Top 50 were written by Thomas.
In the immediate aftermath of his Grammy success with "Smooth", Rob and Matchbox Twenty hit a new career peak of No. 3 on the U.S. albums chart with Mad Season and their first ever Hot 100 No. 1 hit with "Bent". The follow-up single "If You're Gone" was another top five success.
Although the group's 2002 third album More Than You Think You Are was also hugely popular and produced a series of hits including the No. 1 "Disease" penned by Thomas with Mick Jagger, they then took an extended sabbatical. This allowed Thomas to launch a solo career, beginning with the 2005 album ...Something To Be, which made him the first ever male solo artist from a pop or rock group to debut at No. 1 in the U.S since the inception of the Billboard 200 chart. It housed the Top 10 single "Lonely No More" and subsequent hits including "This Is How A Heart Breaks".
In 2007, Matchbox Twenty released a greatest hits album, Exile on Mainstream, featuring the Thomas co-written "How Far We have Come", which went on to be their biggest selling single to date with over five million copies sold in the US. With his 2009 album Cradlesong, Rob became the only male artist with multiple No. 1 hits including "Her Diamonds" and "Some Day" at Adult Top 40, tying Pink with the most No. 1s by a solo artist in the chart's history.
Just two months shy of a decade since their previous album, Matchbox Twenty finally returned in
September 2012 with their fourth studio set North, delivering them their first album to debut at No. 1 in the U.S. Thomas's own third solo album The Great
Unknown came out in August 2015 and reached No. 1 on iTunes, while he has toured extensively since last year and is about to embark on a co-headline tour with the Counting Crows. The album's next single "Pieces" is set to be released in July.
Besides his Grammy successes, he has won a number of other awards, including in 2004 becoming the inaugural winner of the Songwriters Hall of Fame's Hal David Starlight Award, an honor recognizing gifted songwriters making a significant impact with original songs during the early years of their careers. He has also been named Songwriter of the Year by both Billboard and BMI, alongside winning numerous awards for his songs from both ASCAP and BMI. When you ask Thomas what accounts for his stratospheric success, his reply is earnest and thoughtful, just like his music. "I just write songs about people and how they relate to each other. I think that's something that is universal to everybody."
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