Sony/ATV Signs Legacy Stars Including Billy Ocean and Slade

Sony/ATV Music Publishing has signed the catalogues of British music greats Billy Ocean and Slade among a series of new deals with legacy songwriters and artists.

The company's London-based Catalogue team has also secured new agreements with talent including Billy Bragg, Divine Comedy, The Real Thing, Embrace, Doves, Swing Out Sister, Matt Bianco and The Bluetones.

Collectively these artists have scored more than 100 Top 40 hit singles in the UK across five decades as well as recording multiple chart-topping albums and enjoying extensive international success.

Sony/ATV Senior VP A&R/Catalogue Fran Malyan said: "I am extremely proud that all these wonderful songwriters and artists have decided to entrust their amazing catalogues of songs with Sony/ATV. Catalogue is a real priority for us and these deals show just how focused we are on this important area of our business. For us, it is all about being proactive. We have an experienced and dedicated Catalogue team who are actively working these iconic catalogues and doing everything possible to make them grow."

Reporting to UK Managing Director and President, Worldwide Creative Guy Moot, Fran Malyan leads Sony/ATV's London-based Catalogue team, which is drawn from different departments across the UK company of the world's leading music publisher. Among the team's responsibilities is overseeing new deals and extensions with legacy songwriters and artists in the UK. Senior Business & Commercial Affairs Manager Andrew Spence works closely with the team procuring and negotiating catalogue deals.

The new deals announced by the Catalogue team cover songwriters newly signed to Sony/ATV as well as renewals or expansions of agreements with talent already on the roster.

Among the brand new deals is an agreement to represent the catalogue of the Trinidadian-born, British-raised Grammy-winning singer/songwriter Billy Ocean who is one of the most successful UK-based artists of all time in the US. His songs "Caribbean Queen (No More Love On The Run)", "There'll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry)" and "Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car" all reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, while he also scored a number of hits in the UK, including the chart-topper "When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Get Going". He received the International Achievement honour at the 2018 Ivor Novello Awards.

Sony/ATV has additionally secured the illustrious catalogue of songs written by Noddy Holder and Jim Lea for their band Slade. The UK office worked on the deal with the company's German office, which had a pre-existing relationship with the group. Described as the missing link between The Beatles and Oasis, Slade are one of the UK's most successful and influential bands of all time with a run of hits including six domestic No. 1 singles and 10 other Top 10 hits. Their chart-toppers include "Coz I Luv You", "Cum On Feel The Noize", "Mama Weer All Crazee Now" and the festive classic "Merry Xmas Everybody" which since it originally debuted at No. 1 in 1973 has re-charted on multiple occasions, including every Christmas since 2006. It returned to the UK Top 20 in December 2018.

Sony/ATV's UK Catalogue team has also agreed new deals with songwriters and artists including:

· The Bluetones - deal extension with Britpop stars whose first album Expecting To Fly debuted at No. 1 in the UK and included the top three hit "Slight Return"

· Billy Bragg - extension of deal with the long-time Sony/ATV signing whose extensive song catalogue includes "A New England", "Levi Stubbs' Tears" and "Sexuality" and who won the PRS for Music Outstanding Contribution to British Music honour at the Ivor Novello Awards in London in May 2018

· Doves - deal extension with British trio whose hit songs include "There Goes The Fear" and "Black And White Town" and who have scored two No. 1 albums in the UK

· Embrace - deal extension with British band whose hit songs include "All You Good Good People" and "Come Back To What You Know" and who have scored three UK chart-topping albums

· Neil Hannon/Divine Comedy - extension of deal with Hannon to include Sony/ATV representing for the first time Divine Comedy's first three albums, featuring hit songs such as "Something For The Weekend" and "National Express", and themes to the TV shows Father Tedand The IT Crowd

· Inner Circle - renewal of deal with Jamaican band whose hits include "Sweat (A La La La La Long)" and "Bad Boys"

· Matt Bianco/Basia - brand new Sony/ATV signings with deal covering Matt Bianco's catalogue, including 1980s classics such as "Get Out Of Your Lazy Bed" and "Half A Minute" and group member Basia's current solo album Butterflies

· The Real Thing - extension of deal with pioneering British soul group who topped the UK singles chart with "You To Me Are Everything" and whose other hits include "Can't Get By Without You" and "Can You Feel The Force?"

· Scorpio Music - extension of deal with company whose song catalogue includes "YMCA" and other classics by Village People

· Swing Out Sister - brand new Sony/ATV signings with deal covering their entire back catalogue, including the Grammy-nominated global hit "Breakout" and songs on the group's 2018 album Almost Persuaded

ABOUT SONY/ATV MUSIC PUBLISHING:

Sony/ATV Music Publishing, established in 1995, is the world's leading music publisher. Sony/ATV Music Publishing owns or administers more than 3 million copyrights, including those of EMI Music Publishing and iconic music catalogs such as Leiber & Stoller, Mijac Music, Motown and Famous Music. Sony/ATV also controls many of the best known songs ever written such as "New York, New York", "Hallelujah", "All You Need Is Love", "You've Got a Friend", "Moon River", "Jailhouse Rock", "The Mission Impossible Theme", "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", "Over the Rainbow", "Stand By Me", "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" and "Singin' in the Rain". In addition, Sony/ATV represents the copyrights of such legendary artists as The Beatles, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, Marvin Gaye, Michael Jackson, Carole King, Kraftwerk, Joni Mitchell, Willie Nelson, Roy Orbison, Queen, The Rolling Stones, Richie Sambora, Sting, The Supremes, Wyclef Jean, Hank Williams and Stevie Wonder, among others. Its ever-growing list of chart-topping artists, writers and producers includes Cardi B, The Chainsmokers, Drake, Calvin Harris, Alicia Keys, Khalid, Lady Gaga, P!nk, Travis Scott, Shakira, Ed Sheeran, Sia, Sam Smith, Stargate, Taylor Swift, Kanye West and Pharrell Williams.

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